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Awesome Rock

Michael Jackson + Judas Priest = Judas Jackson

Michael Jackson + Judas Priest = Judas Jackson

You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’, Billie Jean. Mashup maestro Bill McClintock took these two very different songs and combined them with Steely Dan’s Do It Again to create the heaviest pop song imaginable. We think Rob Halford’s spiked leather sleeves would look great paired with MJ’s sequined glove.

311 Tiny Desk Concert

311 Tiny Desk Concert

On 3.11.2024, NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert dropped this excellent short performance by alt-rock band 311. Lead singer Nick Hexum and his bandmates sound as good as ever, with a four-song set that includes Beautiful Disaster, All Mixed Up, Amber, and Down. We always loved the way they blened rock, reggae, and funk sounds.

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Unchained Love Machine

Unchained Love Machine

It’s time to put on your best polyester suit and hit the dance floor. Van Halen meets The Miracles in this fantastic disco-rock mashup by Bill McClintock. Come for the music, stay for the outfits.

Dark Side of the Clown

Dark Side of the Clown

Puddles Pity Party takes on two prog rock classics from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The sad clown’s back-to-back covers of Brain Damage / Eclipse are dark, brooding, and every bit as intense as we hoped they would be. Credits to James Beaton for the arrangement and piano, Tim Delaney on the bass and drums, and Derek Ennis on guitar.

Sandstorm on a Pipe Organ

Sandstorm on a Pipe Organ

Musician Alexander Uhl loves to perform rock, pop, and movie music on a church pipe organ. His YouTube channel is packed with covers including this version of Darude’s 1999 trance hit Sandstorm. We also suggest checking out his covers of Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and Cutting Crew’s (I Just) Died In Your Arms.

1000 Musicians Play Knights of Cydonia

1000 Musicians Play Knights of Cydonia

For their July 2023 concert in Cesena, Italy, the Rockin’1000 gathered 1000 guitarists, drummers, bass players, keyboard players, and vocalists to perform the Muse track Knights of CydoniaWe always thought Muse sounded much bigger than a three-person band, but the wall of sound created by hundreds of musicians makes the track even more epic.

The Beatles vs. The Stones, Animated

The Beatles vs. The Stones, Animated

Whether or not there was a true rivalry, the media loved to play up the competition between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Dog & Rabbit’s brilliantly executed short film plays out this battle through a series of slapstick collages animated using the dueling rock bands’ album art. Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python animations were clearly a source of inspiration.

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Crazy Train on Bagpipes

Crazy Train on Bagpipes

Who here thought that an Ozzy Osbourne song would sound good played on bagpipes? The talented and beautiful Ally the Piper proves that with the right arrangement, it can definitely work. Her cover of the 1980 hit Crazy Train is as solid as any we’ve heard. And if you’ve ever wanted to know how bagpipes work, Ally is here to help.

The Best Stone Temple Pilots Cover Ever

The Best Stone Temple Pilots Cover Ever

We hadn’t heard of Lavish Lucy before now, but this band is now officially on our radar screen. Their cover of the Stone Temple Pilots’ track Plush is as good as it gets, with a lead vocal performance that sounds like Scott Weiland has come back to life. Their covers of Nirvana’s On a Plain and Pearl Jam’s Alive are next level too. (Thanks, Craig!)

System of a Brightside

System of a Brightside

Musician Mac Glocky likes to record cover versions of songs as if different bands performed them. He recently dropped this gem, which imagines what The Killers’ track Mr. Brightside would sound like if System of a Down played it. We’re setting this as our new alarm sound. If this doesn’t wake us up, nothing will.

Rock Solos on Harmonica

Rock Solos on Harmonica

Musician Will Wilde is an incredibly talented harmonica player. He’s especially adept at interpreting vocal and guitar solos from rock songs, including this jam from Pink Floyd’s The Great Gig in the Sky. His harmonica solos from Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven and Guns N’ Roses Sweet Child o’ Mine are equally compelling.

Turning Fruit Into Rock

Turning Fruit Into Rock

The Hydraulic Press Channel shows us how it’s possible to turn fruit like bananas and apples into rock when subjected to enough pressure. Why you would want to do this, we have no idea. Maybe goalies would enjoy eating hockey pucks that come flying at their faces. They also turned some socks into a rock, presumably because it rhymes.

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System of a Tunak Tunak Tun

System of a Tunak Tunak Tun

System of a Down is known for its ferocious guitar shredding and staccato vocals. Musician Andre Antunes replicated their guitar sounds and melded them with the similarly rapid-fire vocals of Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi and his energetic 1998 Indi-pop track Tunak Tunak Tun. We’ve struck internet gold, baby.

The History of Rock Music – One Riff Per Year

The History of Rock Music – One Riff Per Year

Now that he’s schooled us on the history of heavy metal music, guitarist Andrea Boma Boccarusso is back with a medley of iconic rock riffs from 1965 to 2022. Crank up the volume to 11 on your headphones and see how many you can guess without looking.

Rock Music on Percussion Instruments

Rock Music on Percussion Instruments

Multi-instrumentalist Joe Porter is back with another medley of music performed on various percussion instruments. This time, he played rock tunes from bands like Metallica, AC/DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Iron Maiden. It’s also likely to be the only time you’ll hear Sweet Child of Mine played on a steel pan drum.

The Main Squeeze: Comfortably Numb

The Main Squeeze: Comfortably Numb

The members of The Main Squeeze and their guest musicians present a stellar performance of the Pink Floyd classic Comfortably Numb. They captured the mood and emotion of the original while adding a soulful new dimension, thanks to the fantastic lead vocals by Corey Frye and killer guitar work of Maximillian Newman.

Appetite for Destruction by 12 Bands

Appetite for Destruction by 12 Bands

Musician Steve Welsh imagines what it might have sounded like if the album Appetite for Destruction wasn’t just written by Guns N’ Roses, but they shared writing credit with 11 other bands. We can’t decide if Motörhead It’s So Easy or Mr. Brownstone by Oasis is our favorite.

Clint Eastwood: Metal Edition

Clint Eastwood: Metal Edition

Leo Moracchioli is feeling glad, and he’s got sunshine in a bag. So kick back, crank up the volume, and enjoy his amped-up rock cover version of Gorillaz’s 2001 hit track Clint Eastwood. It’s so good that we want him to cover Dare now.

Rock Songs on Percussion Instruments

Rock Songs on Percussion Instruments

Musician Joe Porter is back with another round of covers performed on unexpected percussion instruments. Crank up the volume for Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train on slapaphone, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit on marimba, Dick Dale’s Misirilou on hammer dulcimer, and Rush’s YYZ on drums and a hammered synth controller.

If Muse Played Master of Puppets

If Muse Played Master of Puppets

Andre Antunes takes a momentary break from riffing on viral videos to perform a new arrangement of the Metallica track Master of Puppets as if it was performed by Muse. He does an amazing job capturing the nuances of the arena rock masters while creating an awesome new version of a classic metal track.

Renegade Illustrated by AI

Renegade Illustrated by AI

Here’s another cool AI-generated video. Like SolarProphet did before, Daara used Midjourney to create a sequence of haunting and dystopian images based on the lyrics to the Styx classic, Renegade. Oh mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of Cyberdyne Systems.

10 Rock Classics on a Blues Slide Guitar

10 Rock Classics on a Blues Slide Guitar

Musician Justin Johnson is a blues guitar master. This captivating 43-minute video features a series of classic rock songs he arranged and performed on a beautiful Gretsch slide guitar, including tunes from ZZ Top, The Beatles, The White Stripes, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rolling Stones, and more.

Seven Nation Army @Glastonbury 2022

Seven Nation Army @Glastonbury 2022

During the 2022 Glastonbury Festival, Jack White performed one of his biggest hits, and blew the roof off of the place – despite it being an outdoor event. The White Stripes’ 2003 classic Seven Nation Army sounds as killer as ever, and is the ultimate crowd-pleaser.

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