Techno Jeep

This is a fun piece, where all the sounds are made from sounds that a car can make. Although there has been other pieces made out of cars/car parts, this one is in one take, with no edits! I have to admit, the first 40secs or so of the piece wasn't all that impressive....but wait until it kicks in. It'll surprise you.

Julian Smith - the one who composed this - talks about how he first had the inspiration when he heard the seats on the jeep make a weird noise. It's that kind of recognition/creativity that's really needed to make music, and I totally admire people who can "hear" musical potentials in everyday life.

The first video is the original vid. The second is a "making of" video, as well as the actual video. ....um, ya, I guess I could just post the second video, but whatever.

Techno Jeep, by Julian Smith:

How Vinyl Records Are Made

Ever wonder how vinyl records are made? For most of us, this is a process which is totally foreign. Check out this short documentary (about 10min in total) about the manufacturing of Vinyl. It's really interesting. I certainly did not know how the master disk is created (the original disk that is made out of silver and used to copy all the other ones).

Mashup of Top 25 Billboard Hits

This is making the rounds on the net right now, and I find it really fun to listen to. I've talked about the similarities in chord progressions in pop tunes before, and this is more or less a creative way to showcase it (of course, there's some heavy manipulations going here, so it's more than just putting together bits of each song). It's a mixup/mashup made by DJ Earworm, called "United State of Pop 2009", based on the Top 25 billboard hits for the year 2009. It contains the following songs:

The Black Eyed Peas - BOOM BOOM POW
Lady Gaga - POKER FACE
Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O'Donis - JUST DANCE
The Black Eyed Peas - I GOTTA FEELING
Taylor Swift - LOVE STORY
Flo Rida - RIGHT ROUND
Jason Mraz - I'M YOURS
Beyonce - SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT)
Kanye West - HEARTLESS
The All-American Rejects - GIVES YOU HELL
Taylor Swift - YOU BELONG WITH ME
T.I. Featuring Justin Timberlake - DEAD AND GONE
The Fray - YOU FOUND ME
Kings Of Leon - USE SOMEBODY
Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo - KNOCK YOU DOWN
Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain - BLAME IT
Pitbull - I KNOW YOU WANT ME (CALLE OCHO)
T.I. Featuring Rihanna - LIVE YOUR LIFE
Soulja Boy Tell 'em Featuring Sammie - KISS ME THRU THE PHONE
Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne - DOWN
Miley Cyrus - THE CLIMB
Drake - BEST I EVER HAD
Kelly Clarkson - MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU
Beyonce - HALO
Katy Perry - HOT N COLD

Totally fun!
....someone should make something similar to this, but with all the standard songs that get played at wedding receptions. I think it would be hilarious.



I'm surprised this has not been taken down yet, due to copyright reasons. As of right now, you can also download the mp3 version of this song at his website here.

Artis the Spoonman

Who has collaborated with Frank Zappa, Soundgarden, Phish, Aerosmith, appeared on Letterman and other tv shows.... and plays the spoons? "Spoons?" You say? Yes. Spoons.

I bet if I had said that this musician played the violin, cello, guitar, or any other mainstream instrument, you would have been less surprised. It's an interesting thought: As much as most of us claim to judge music and artistry on its own merits, we still harbour prejudices against non-traditional instruments. The classical instruments seem to get the most respect, then modern rock band instruments, and then perhaps electronica and DJ equipment, and then ....others, such as the spoons, get a bad rap for being a "lowly" instrument. I wonder why that is...

It's unfortunate that this prejudice exists, because Artis the Spoonman is an awesome musician. He is a street performer who is based in Seattle. Again, I believe we have a prejudice against street musicians as well, compared to "real" musicians who play in concert halls, or even bars. ...but I'll talk about that in another post...

So why is Artis the Spoonman so amazing? Well take a look for yourself! You'll be blown away by what can be done with a few utensils.



By the way, if you're a 90's kid, you will undoubtedly know a song that's actually about him. Ever wonder what "Spoonman" by Soundgarden was about? Here's what Chris Cornell had to say:

"It's more about the paradox of who [Artis] is and what people perceive him as. He's a street musician, but when he's playing on the street, he is given a value and judged completely wrong by someone else. They think he's a street person, or he's doing this because he can't hold down a regular job. They put him a few pegs down on the social ladder because of how they perceive someone who dresses differently. The lyrics express the sentiment that I much more easily identify with someone like Artis than I would watch him play."

He's quite prominently in the video as well, so if you've never noticed before, here it is!