Awesome Music

The 1983 New Order song Blue Monday incorporated plenty of synthesized sounds. Polaroids of the Pyramids thought it might be fun to play the track entirely on those lo-fi Casio synthesizers of the era. They recorded this multi-track rendition on instruments like the VL-1 mini keyboard, SK-1 sampling keyboard, DG-20 digital guitar, and DP-1 drum pads.

The A-Ha hit Take on Me has been remade a million different ways, but once in a while we come across a new variant that’s worth a listen. Algal the Bard transported the pop classic from 1985 to 1485, conjuring images of burly men swigging down flagons of mead while a fight breaks out in the local tavern.

My eyes are blind, but I can see… somebody’s watching me. Mashup artist Bill McClintock masterfully combined Rockwell f/Michael Jackson’s 1984 hit Somebody’s Watching Me with Black Sabbath’s tracks Snowblind and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. This makes us want a Crazy Train/Thriller combo now.

The Weeknd’s 2019 Blinding Lights is a modern synthwave masterpiece. Jeremy from Skatune Network put his ska revival spin on the hit track, replacing the lead synth parts with brass and amping up the energy to 1000. It’ll have you skanking and shuffling within 10 seconds of hitting the play button.

With tracks like Clint Eastwood, Feel Good Inc., and DARE in their catalog, Gorillaz has made some great music. Throughout most of its history, only two things remained constant – musician Damon Albarn, and artist Jamie Hewlett, who brought the group’s image and backstory to life. Music Vibe explores the history of the band, its characters, and its collaborators.

Filmmaker HR Pao created a fantastic documentary of life in the 1980s. The video collage was made from bits of movies, TV, music videos, and other sound bites. Now he’s hoping to make a feature length version of his “Docu-Musical” by raising funds on Kickstarter to secure licensing rights to the music and to pitch it to streaming services.

I’m a drinker, I’m a smoker, I’m a loser, I’m a poet… yeah I got some bad habits and I think you should know it. Fatboy Slim’s disco-backed collab with Dan Diamond and Luca Guerrieri speaks volumes about how just being a celebrity doesn’t make you a role model for others. The music video features questionable deepfakes of celebs singing the lyrics.

Guitarist Marcin Patrzalek teamed up with another of the world’s greatest guitar players, Polyphia’s Tim Henson, for the first single off of Marcin’s debut album, Dragon in Harmony. The warm and enveloping track isn’t just a demonstration of their tremendous skills but their passion for playing.

Josh Harmon is no ordinary percussionist. In addition to his drum-playing skills, Josh replicates sound effects from classic cartoons using various instruments and props. Whether you’re a fan of Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, or Peanuts, there’s a fun video for you. Check out his YouTube Shorts for more, including cameos by Benny Blanco and Jason DeRulo.

Musician Jamie Dupuis performs a wonderful arrangement of The Doors’ classic Riders on the Storm on his unique double-neck harp guitar. Turn down the lights, turn up your headphones, close your eyes, and let the sounds wash over you like a gentle ocean tide.

We’ve always enjoyed listening to Luna Lee’s interpretations of popular songs played on the gayageum. Her nuanced performance of Prince’s 1984 hit Purple Rain gave us chills like the original, milking the vibrato and adding a modern edge to the ancient Korean string instrument with a heaping helping of distortion.

A24’s Talking Heads tribute album Everyone’s Getting Involved turned out to be a mixed bag. But it did give us this wonderful cover from Ohio’s indie rock legends, The National. Matt Berninger’s distinctive tired-but-still-fighting voice and the weighty drums give the song a more somber and nostalgic vibe. We actually like it more than the original.

Look Mum No Computer enjoys making music with analog audio gear like modular synthesizers. In this video, he goes even further to avoid digital technology by making a reverb device out of a spiral of copper tubing. By placing a small speaker at one end of the tube and a microphone at the other it produces some interesting audio delay effects.

This guitar will self-destruct in 10 seconds. Lingling Guitar shows off her fingerstyle acoustic skills with an energetic performance of Lalo Schifrin’s classic theme song from Mission Impossible. Check out her similarly impressive versions of Misirlou and Axel F for more delightful ear candy.

Alanis Morissette and Joan Jett are two of the most badass women of music. They’re even touring together. Now, DJ Cummerbund brought the collab to a new level. Crank the volume up to 11 and get ready to rock out to this perfectly angry mashup of I Hate Myself for Loving You and You Oughta Know.

A while back, we saw a bass guitar made from LEGO bricks. Musician BERNTH built a LEGO acoustic guitar. Other than the neck, strings, and bridge, his guitar is pure LEGO goodness. Rather than focusing on the build process, his video showcases his new song, Memories. We’re impressed he was able to such a rich sound from its plastic body.