Anime is mainly known for its animation, in fact, that’s where the term comes from, but there is another aspect of anime that many people overlook: the music. Unlike western animation, which tends to use music composed by small-time artists, anime aims for the best and sometimes manage to bring in some of the biggest names in the Japanese music industry. Of course, this results in anime with soundtracks that any J-pop or J-rock fan would appreciate. Many of these songs not only make it to the Oricon charts (Japan’s equivalent of America’s Billboard charts), but some manage to make it to the top 10. Below are 10 anime series with music that is sure to please your ears.

Macross Frontier

The Macross franchise has long been known for bringing popular music to the anime industry, beginning with its first series, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross back in 1982. Macross Frontier is the latest installment in the franchise and features the voices of Maaya Sakamoto, Megumi Nakajima, and May’n in its theme songs and insert songs. Below is a list of Macross Frontier’s accomplishments on the Oricon weekly singles chart.

“Triangular” by Maaya Sakamoto peaked at #3.

“Diamond Crevasse” by May’n peaked at #3.

“Lion” by May’n and Megumi Nakajima, and “Northern Cross” by May’n were released together and peaked at #3.

Macross Fontier’s first soundtrack album also peaked at #3 on Oricon’s weekly albums chart.

Angel Beats!

Key is well-known in the anime world for the anime adaptations of Kanon and AIR, both of which were visually and acoustically appealing. It’s no surprise that Angel Beats would have the same qualities with Key joining in the production. What’s interesting about the music in Angel Beats is that the popular in-series band “Girls Dead Monster” released singles in the real world using the voices of Marina and LiSA. Angel Beats also had theme songs sung by Lia and Aoi Tada. Here is how their music performed on Oricon’s singles chart:

“My Soul, Your Beat! / Brave Song” by Lia and Aoi Tada peaked at #3.

“Crow Song” by Girls Dead Monster peaked at #7.

“Thousand Enemies” by Girls Dead Monster peaked at #4.

“Little Braver” by Girls Dead Monster peaked at #2.

“Last Song” by Girls Dead Monster peaked at #2.

“Ichiban no Takaramono (Yui final ver.)” by Girls Dead Monster peaked at #3.

“Keep The Beats!” by Girls Dead Moster peaked at #6 on Oricon’s weekly albums chart.

The Angel Beats original soundtrack peaked at #9 on Oricon’s weekly albums chart.

Girls Dead Monster has proven that even if you are a bunch of anime characters in the afterlife, you can still make it big in the 3D world.

K-ON!

The insanely popular light music and cake anime K-ON proved that you could combine cuteness with random silliness, and then add some music by singers no one had heard of and come out with a huge hit. The main cast of K-ON (consisting of Aki Toyosaki, Yoko Hikasa, Satomi Sato, Minako Kotobuki, and Ayana Taketatsu) actually does sing their own music, and their success on Oricon’s weekly singles chart is highlighted below.

“Cagayake! GIRLS” peaked at #4.

“Don’t Say ‘Lazy’” peaked at #2.

“GO! GO! MANIAC” peaked at #1 (the first strictly anime song to do so).

“Listen!!” peaked at #2.

“Utauyo!!MIRACLE” peaked at #3.

“No, Thank You!” peaked at #2.

It’s amazing to think that a band that premiered in an anime was actually more popular than most other Japanese bands for a time.

Guilty Crown

Guilty Crown might not be the most unique or exciting anime out there, but they deserve some credit for promoting one of the hottest music groups in the anime industry right now: Supercell. Having played a role in Miku Hatsune’s success and the creation of Black Rock Shooter, the members of Supercell were hired to create the character designs for Guilty Crown and write the theme songs as well as the insert songs for the fictional band, Egoist. The first opening song “My Dearest” peaked at #10 on Oricon’s weekly singles chart, while the ending song “Departures” peaked at #8.

Durarara!!

An interesting anime that takes to the streets of Ikebukuro, Durarara takes several characters that couldn’t seem any further apart and drags all of them into a conflict over control of the district. Durarara might have a weak showing when compared to the other titles on this list, but if it can get hordes of fangirls raving about its theme songs, then it certainly deserves a look. Below is how well its music performed on Oricon’s weekly singles chart.

“Uragiri no Yūyake” by Theatre Brook peaked at #12.

“Trust Me” by Yuya Matsushita peaked at #10.

“Complication” by ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D peaked at #11.

“Butterfly” by On/Off peaked at #15.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Mention Madoka to anyone who has seen the anime and they will most likely think of Kyubey or Mami’s unfortunate accident, but it also has pretty good music. Puella Magi Madoka Magica combined the talents of ClariS, Yuki Kajiura, and Kalafina to create a perfect balance of cute girlish-ness that you expect from a magical girl show and of the dark mood from the realization of what it means to sign a contract with Kyubey. Their music ranked on the chart as follows:

“Connect” by ClariS peaked at #5.

“Magia” by Kalafina peaked at #7

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Haruhi will probably be most remembered for her craziness, if not for the Endless Eight arc in the second season, but there was another part of the series that made a big impact among fans: the school festival concert. Some fans have even claimed that Angel Beats copied the concert scene in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but that’s hard to say. All of the anime’s singles were led by Aya Hirano, who was the voice of Haruhi. Considering that Aya’s only single before being cast on Haruhi only reached #79 on the Oricon chart, it’s amazing that her singles as Haruhi reached the positions below.

“Bouken Desho Desho?” peaked at #10.

“Hare Hare Yukai” peaked at #5.

“Suzumiya Haruhi no Tsumeawase” peaked at #5 and remained on the chart for 133 weeks.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

One of the things that Nanoha is known for is its action-packed battle scenes combined with superb animation quality and cute girls. Another thing that Nanoha and its sequels is known for is having Nana Mizuki perform all of its opening music and Yukari Tamura perform all of its ending music. Both singers are hugely successful in the music industry and voiced that two main characters: Nanoha Takamachi (Yukari Tamura) and Fate Testarossa (Nana Mizuki).

“innocent starter” by Nana Mizuki peaked at #9.

“Little Wish ~lyrical step~” by Yukari Tamura #32.

“ETERNAL BLAZE” by Nana Mizuki peaked at #2.

“Spiritual Garden” by Yukari Tamura peaked at #10.

“SECRET AMBITION” by Nana Mizuki peaked at #2.

“MASSIVE WONDERS” by Nana Mizuki peaked at #4.

“Hoshizora no Spica” by Yukari Tamura peaked at #7.

“Beautiful Amulet” by Yukari Tamura peaked at #11.

Gundam Seed

When you think of the Gundam franchise, you normally don’t associate it with music, but it has some surprisingly popular songs in its lineup. Gundam Seed took this a step further by taking a nod from Macross and introducing a character that sung: Lacus Clyne, voiced by Rie Tanaka. It’s no exaggeration when I say that Gundam Seed has dozens of singles that have made it to the Oricon charts. Below are just some of the higher-ranking ones.

“INVOKE” by T.M.Revolution peaked at #2.

“Realize” by Nami Tamaki peaked at #3.

“Ignited” by T.M.Revolution peaked at #1.

“Pride” by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR peaked at #2.

“Bokutachi no Yukue” by Hitomi Takahashi peaked at #1.

“Wings of Words” by CHEMISTRY peaked at #2.

“Reason” by Nami Tamaki peaked at #2.

“Vestige” by T.M.Revolution peaked at #1.

Inuyasha

For a while, Inuyasha seemed like one of those anime that would never end as Inuyasha and Kagome could never really get ahead of Naraku. The series eventually spanned 10 years between its first and last episode (although non-continuous). That’s not a bad thing though, especially when you consider that the series used some of the best artists in music to perform its opening and ending songs. The list below shows the rankings of the TV series’ top theme songs.

“Change the World” by V6 peaked at #3.

“One Day, One Dream” by Tackey & Tsubasa peaked at #1.

“My Will” by Dream peaked at #6.

“Fukai Mori” by Do As Infinity peaked at #5.

“Dearest” by Ayumi Hamasaki peaked at #1.

“Shinjitsu no Uta” by Do As Infinity peaked at #5.

“With You” by AAA peaked at #2 as part of the single “Hide-Away”.

Others

These are not the only musically inclined anime out there, but I thought they were worth mentioning. If you have more anime titles that you think have great music, feel free to share in the comments or discuss it on our forums.

Skyrim Logo

This cover by Jason Yang does the original Skyrim theme credit, though, and but I have to say that Skyrim enthusiasts need to be the judges. Jason Yang is no stranger to us – or at least, he shouldn’t be. Remember our post about Game of Thrones Theme Song Covers? Jason Yang is the guy who gave us the electrifying violin version. And now he comes back with another cover, this time an awesome Skyrim violin cover.

This Skyrim violin cover is actually two themes that can be heard in the game. Whether or not you know that, it won’t matter much by the time you finish watching and listening to the video.

I think that it would not be wrong to say that if this music is any indication, merely observing as someone plays the game will be enjoyable enough. If you want to be updated on Jason Yang’s work, you can follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jasonyangviolin. Yes, he does play the game!

So, Skyrim enthusiasts, what do you think of Jason Yang’s rendition of the themes? Does his performance make you want to leave work and play the game, or does it suck?

Shatner Band

Earlier this year, we saw Leonard Nimoy in a music video that I never thought I’d see him in. As it turned out, the video was actually pretty amusing. It was so wrong to see “Spock” live such a dump of a life, but the entire production turned out well.

This time, we have another Star Trek character entering the music business. It’s no less than the Captain himself, known in the real world as William Shatner. Truth be told, I have always liked Spock better than Captain Kirk, but I am probably not alone. Still, I have the highest respect for that Captain, and seeing what he has done has just turned me into a nostalgic emo [beep]!

Think I am exaggerating? Watch and listen to this – in its entirety if you can.

It’s so bad, but I can’t stop. It’s like knowing you’re in a speeding train knowing it’s going to wreck and yet being unable to do anything but keep watching. Oh, Captain Kirk, what have you become?

That’s not all, though. William Shatner has launched a metal album (spoken word, really) called “Seeking Major Tom”. Yes, there is an entire album of “songs” such as the one you listened to above.

To be fair to William Shatner, he is not really a singer. I don’t think Captain Kirk sang as well. What makes this album really sad is that good musicians collaborated with Shatner to create it. Think about Ben Folds. Think Sheryl Crow.

And just to make you suffer as much as I did, here is another cover. This time the song is from Black Sabbath.

If, by this time, you are not convinced that this is something that you just have to pass up on, then I admire your pigheadedness tenacity. You can buy the entire album (mp3 format) at Amazon for $7.99. (Fine, one can probably afford to lose that money. But still!) If you want to go one step further and be able to say “Been there, heard The Shat, and even got a CD for it”, then by all means pay $13.99.

Game of Thrones Ned Stark

The first season of Game of Thrones may have come and gone, leaving us waiting in anticipation for the second season, but it does not mean we can’t have our regular dose of the Starks, the Lannisters, the Targaryens, and every other family in the story. I am going back to re-reading the books (as soon as I get the darned ebooks loaded) – which many other people are doing.

Here’s something a little more fun, though – scouring the web for noteworthy Game of Thrones Theme Song covers. After that heavy metal version I wrote about a couple of months back, it seems that there is more to be found online. Not as much as I would prefer, but good enough for now.

Check out 10 Game of Thrones Theme Song covers that may – or may not – impress you. Needless to say, I have got the tune in head for a while and it doesn’t seem like it’s going away soon.

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Acoustic Guitar Version

I like listening to acoustic music, and I had high hopes for this cover by OggirtMoonfrad. It is a good cover, but I think that the music is too powerful to be played on an acoustic guitar. While the melody is there, something just seems to be missing.

So is my assessment correct or is this awesome and I am the one missing something?

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Acoustic Guitar and Company

This is another cover using an acoustic guitar, but it does bring a little more to the table because of the accompanying instruments. However, I feel that the beat is too fast.

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Bağlama Version

My first thought – what the heck is a Bağlama? A quick check on Wikipedia gives me the answer – “a stringed musical instrument shared by various cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean, Near East, and Central Asia”.

This version is not brilliant, but the fact that it is played on an exotic (at least for me) instrument is interesting. I can just imagine how awesome the Game of Thrones Theme Song can be if played on the Bağlama and a host of other similar instruments.

Game of Thrones Theme Song – 70s Metalstep Remix Version

The name says it all, and I am still not sure whether I like it or not. I did find myself listening to this version several times, though.

What’s your judgement?

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Piano Version

This version is done purely on the piano, and I find it haunting. A perfect match with the theme of the series!

The best thing about this – you can find the sheet online!

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Piano and Violin Version

This kid played this by ear, and she did a pretty good job. Individually, the piano and violin tracks are great, but I think there are moments when they are not in sync. Still a good version!

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Les Paul Google Doodle Version

Okay, so this version might not be totally representative of the Game of Thrones Theme Song, but hey, it’s the thought that counts!

If you feel that you can do better, access the Doodle at http://www.google.com/logos/ and create your own!

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Heavy Metal Version

Hands down, this is still the “bestest” version ever! I raved about this heavy metal version some months back and still can’t get over how awesome it sounds.

Game of Thrones Theme Song – Violin Version

Here’s a version that gives my favorite rendition a run for its money. Arranged and performed by Jason Yang, this version makes use of an acoustic and an electric violin. The result is electrifyingly moving.

Game of Thrones Theme Song – The Notes You Need to Know

So this version is very very plain. It’s all about the most basic notes that you need to know in order to play the melody yourself. Now it’s up to you to add embellishments that will make you worshipped in the Game of Thrones circles. Are you up to the challenge?

In your opinion, which cover should take home the prize?

If you are still looking for things to fill up that Game of Thrones meter, visit our collection of all things Game of Thrones. Oh, and just a couple more days before the Dance of Dragons comes out. If you haven’t read the books yet, there’s no better time than now!

Photo via The Telegraph

What Tau Sounds Like

If that title sounds or looks familiar, then it is probably because we had a similar post earlier this year, courtesy of Robin. Around the time we celebrated Pi Day (I am assuming you guys ate your fair share of pie in March), musician Michael John Blake released his interpretation of what pi sounds like musically.

Now we all have heard or read the side of Michael Hartl, the brains behind the Tau Manifesto. Just the other day, people subscribing to the superiority of the constant tau celebrated Tau Day. In spite of the fact that I hold Pi Day in high regard, as I said in my post, I just can’t help but like the idea of celebrating Tau Day with two pies (τ=2π)!

Anyhow, Michael John Blake has done it again. Using his initial piece of work, The Sound of Pi, as a basis, he has created new music – his idea of what tau sounds like. “What Tau Sounds Like” – or the sound of tau – has been making the rounds, and its creation is based on the first 126 digits of the constant. (That’s 6.28… instead of 3.14, yes?)

The “rules” are the same – you get a quick orientation at the start of the video. Blake assigns notes to the numbers and plays those notes (with some musical tweaking, of course) at 125.6 beats per minute. And just like with the previous video, he also uses various instruments to create the final piece of work for the sound of tau. The result? Something very pleasant to listen to. Watch the video below and let me know what you think.

I am not sure, but I think I like the sound of tau more than the sound of pi – musically, that is. The sucky thing is that I can’t remember the sound of pi much and the original video has been taken down by YouTube due to a copyright complaint raised by Lars Erickson. Blake sheds some light on this in another video. (You can find tons of offshoot videos on the sound of pi on YouTube, though.)

What do you think about the sound of tau? If you like this music, you can purchase it for $0.99.

What I am wondering about right now is which constant Blake leans toward.

And no matter what you end up thinking about the plot, characters, etc., I think that you will agree that the opening theme of the show is impressive. It’s something that seems to be inherent in stories about kings, wars, castles, dragons, and what have you. The background music has to be grand. It has to make you feel as if you were sweeping along a vast countryside with your armies to back you up. No need for words – just the music.

From what I have been able to find, this theme was composed by Ramin Djawadi. The soundtrack of the show will also be released on June 14.

For now, watch/listen to this so that you will better understand what I mean.

Now I didn’t really think one could make it any better – but I was oh so wrong. Last Friday, this video hit YouTube, and even if if has been talked about a lot over the weekend, I think that it deserves to be viewed over and over again. I present to you WhiteNoiseLab’s take on this already awesome theme – rockified, if you will.

One-man-band. Two electric guitars – at least. One acoustic guitar. One bass guitar. A drum set. All the technical stuff you need to put the music together. He calls it “heavy version”, I say it’s the awesomer version.

I’m in love.

The Jarre Double Action Harmonica Pistol is, as the title suggests, a pistol featuring a method to reload the gun which looks like a harmonica.

Between 1859 and 1862, several patents were filed for harmonica pistols by a French inventor, Jarre. The idea behind the weapon was to offer users a swift method of firing and reloading one’s pistol.

After a round was fired the gun-toting individual would simply push the magazine from right to left and fire the pistol again until all rounds were spent.

From the Firearm Blog concerning the pistol pictured above:

“The bullet chamber houses nine pinfire 38 cartridges. The action functions in both single and double action. There is lower trigger attached to the rear of the primary trigger which fits through a slot in the bottom of the trigger guard that when pulled back advances the chamber and cocks the hammer. To fire double action one simply uses the primary trigger in the traditional manner.”

One of the more bizarre-looking handguns I’ve ever seen and a huge let down in that there isn’t an actual harmonica on the gun.  Great harmonica players with an affinity for weaponry everywhere must be in tears.

If the lack of a real harmonica doesn’t keep you from wanting to own the Jarre Double Action Harmonica Pistol, perhaps you can locate one and acquire one for yourself.  The question is, would you actually want to own one of these pistols and if so, how much would you be willing to pay?

Neatorama

Chess, in its present form, originates from the second half of the 15th century, and features two players huddled over a chessboard with sixty-four squares in an eight by eight grid.

At the outset of a chess match, each player has sixteen pieces at their disposal: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s king, meaning there is no way for the checkmated player to move or defend their king from an attack on the next move.

The game is, to say the least, difficult if you’re a dolt, or even remotely intelligent, given that theoreticians have developed extensive chess strategies and tactics, the vast majority of which I can neither name, nor implement, in a match.

To make chess more interesting, Jonathan W. Stokes, states the following:

“One can’t help but notice that algebraic chess notation maps almost perfectly to scientific pitch notation…”

Kudos to Stokes, because I’ve never noticed, nor given any thought to his idea.  That said, unlike chess, I do understand music.

Spurned by this notion, Stokes sets about proving his point that chess and music go together in perfect harmony (yes, I went there):

“The eight columns of a chess board correspond to the eight audible octaves.  E.g., C4 is a middle square on the chess board and C4 is “middle C” on the piano… We’ll simply use the Northern European system of musical notation, where an “H” indicates a B Natural, and a “B” indicates a B flat.  This is the notation that composers from Schumann to Lizst used to sign the name “B-A-C-H” into their music (see BACH motif).”

Now that we’ve established Stokes’s fascination with the relationship between chess and music, here are two MP3′s he created to prove his hypothesis:

1. In “The Immortal Game (June 21 1851)” Adolf Anderssen gave up both rooks, a bishop, and ultimately his queen, in order to checkmate Lionel Kieseritzky using only his three remaining minor pieces – a bishop and two knights. - LISTEN TO THE MP3: The Immortal Game
2. At the World Chess Championship 1972, Game 6, Bobby Fischer beats Boris Spassky using an agressive queenside attack. Spassky not only applauded Fischer, but called it the best game in the match. LISTEN TO THE MP3: Bobby Fischer 1972

The music and inspiration behind the MP3s are impressive.  Visually, the connection between chess and music is even more impressive, as evidenced by a video created by Stokes where he translates Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” into a chess game.

Are you a chess player?  How would you rank yourself (bad, average, great)?  Did the music-chess relationship ever occur to you?

WIN: Chess, Algebra and Music
It’s a triple threat this week! Jonathan W. Stokes, blogger and man clearly gifted with superior intelligence and entirely too much time on his hands, used algebra to turn famous chess games into piano music, which he then turned into mp3s. It’s not often boardgames, mathematics and tunes get to have a hot threesome, so for that I tip my hat to Mr. Stokes.

FAIL: Microsoft Update
Monday’s Windows Phone 7 update designed, according to the Windows Team Blog, to “improve the software update process itself “, seems to have broken the phone. At least for some users, whose complaints Microsoft’s been fielding on their WindowsPhoneSupport Twitter account. The only recourse Microsoft is offering? Take it to a store. Why? Could it be because the update designed to improve the update process has screwed up the update process? And now unfortunate Windows Phone 7 users wait with great anticipation for the next update which will undeniably be intended to fix the previous update, but will only further &@#$ things up. Because that is The Microsoft Way.

WIN: French Kissing
Ever wanted to control your video game with one of the least graceful and most accident-prone acts of intimacy in the arsenal of human contact? Probably not. But now you can, regardless. Developer Hye Yeon Nam has created a video game controller that’s powered by French kissing. I’d make a joke about no geek ever being able to take the the Kiss Controller for a test drive, but it’s already been done to death. Yawn. Next.

WIN: Amazon Prime
Amazon announced plans to stream videos free to its Amazon Prime users, a paid service that offers shoppers free 2-day shipping on all qualifying products and, now, movies and TV on demand. Of course, Amazon has been offering on demand video for a long time now, so it’s really not much of a revelation. It is, however, a volley at Netflix, since Amazon’s Prime pricing works out to less per month than Netflix charges for its streaming-only subscription plan. The selection may not compare as yet, with Netflix offering the larger of the two, but we’re talking about Amazon, here. How long can it take for them to fire off another shot?

FAIL: 911 Calls
Specifically, 911 calls via Verizon. It’s been revealed that a staggering 10,000 calls to 911 were dropped in the Washington suburbs during the massive blizzard late last month. As you’d expect, the Federal Communications Commission is pretty darn upset. The FCC is asking Verizon investigate the issue out of fear that the problem may be more widespread than just that one area, and could happen on a large scale again. It’s not the first time 911 calls have been fouled during a blizzard (filed under New York City). Will the Snowpocalypse force carriers and responding agencies alike to review how they handle things when that abhorrent white stuff starts to fall?

It may not look like your usual six-string instrument, but you can’t deny just how cool that looks, can you?

The guitar’s body is made from a reused NES case while the guitar’s neck is one that you would find in any standard guitar. For the purposes of acoustic integrity, the body has solid oak wood inside. Since it works in the same way as your regular electric guitar, this NES electric guitar also has the following features:

• Adjustable height Single coil pickup
• Output Jack and Volume knob
• Strap Buttons
• Intonation has been adjusted
• Stays in tune really well

In addition, the makers have taken into consideration serious musicians who want to play around with the instrument to suit their preferences. As such, there is room inside for custom electronics that you may want to add. Each guitar is custom made so no two are the same. How’s that for uniqueness?

The NES guitar goes for $150 plus shipping, which can be anywhere from $12 to $32.

The sad news, though, is that they only made a couple of these guitars, and they’re already out of stock. On the upside, there is a possibility of the guys making more of these guitars. Just send an e-mail to circuitmaster@gmail.com for more details.

Now to tease you a bit more, here’s a video of the NES guitar in action.

$150 does not seem such a bad price for this, don’t you think?

I’ve never been that big a John Lennon fan, but I have to say that I have spent many a working day tripping to The Beatles. Indeed, upon seeing the Google Doodle today, I have been listening non-stop to The Beatles (as opposed to my daily music list).

John Lennon’s 70^th birthday Doodle is easily one of my favorites.

That may seem simple and nothing out of the ordinary, but click on the play button, and I bet you’ll be yearning to hear more of The Beatles today.  (Yup, this is another one of Google’s interactive Doodles!)

On another note, what do you say to listing down the best Beatles songs to listen to while working? For me, the most inspiring songs (read: they get the writing juices flowing) are:

1. Here Comes the Sun
2. Let it Be
3. Hey Jude
4. Helter Skelter
5. Strawberry Fields
6. Yesterday

What’s on your list?

Muse may not be every geek’s choice when it comes to music, but this one has a thing for Matthew Bellamy and his gang.  One, he does have a British accent (yeah, some are suckers for that).  Two, he is not bad looking at all (ask Kate Hudson).  Three, he is a musical genius! (Maybe I should have listed that first…)

So anyway, a friend posted an 8-bit music video of Muse’s Uprising, and I had so much fun listening to it. Never mind that the magical voice of Bellamy is gone or that the “real” instruments cannot be heard – listening to the melody and being transported back to many many summers ago is so worth it.

Non-Muse fans may just give me a blank stare, but I am taking the chance that are some Muse fans on FG. Here’s that video.

Here’s another song – I think my current favorite: Super Massive Blackhole.

If you want to know more about Muse, you can visit their official web site. (I strongly suggest that you do if you want to listen to awesome music.)

Now what about other songs that you might want to hear in 8-bit? Do a quick search on YouTube – you’ll find lots. From what I have read, I think you can DIY. Does anyone know how to do this exactly? (For those times when you feel like tearing your hair out because of boredom…)

The Social Network soundtrack will be released digitally on Tuesday September 28th with physical formats to follow in October. You can pre-order standard CD, Blu-ray (audio only 5.1 surround and high resolution stereo) and 2 disc 180g vinyl formats now. All preorders include an instant 5 song sampler download and a full digital album delivered by email on 9/28. Standalone digital will be available for purchase EXCLUSIVELY on Amazon.com at a promotional rate of $2.99 for a 48 hour period starting 12:01am on 9/28. Digital purchases will begin here 9/30 at 12:01am.

If you can not wait until the end of the month, go get your 5 track sampler EP now for free!

I like poetry as much as any other person (which is not saying much, if you think about it).  Seriously, I do like certain poets, and there are episodes in my life when I would read nothing but poetry.  Writing poetry is a totally different thing, though.  I would not even dare go down that path.

That’s why I am giving this Swedish guy, Benjamin Olah Lindholm, a thumbs up.  I have no idea if he is a “real” poet – probably not – but what he did with Spotify certainly made him strike gold with his girlfriend.  The image up there, folks, is a “poem” that he created by putting song titles together.

So what did he do?  He didn’t give many details in his post, but I think he simply looked up song titles that would fit his message. He then sent each song, according to the order he wanted, via the Spotify Inbox feature.

The web site is in Swedish, by the way, so best use Google Chrome to automatically translate the content.  If you enlarge the image, read the song titles only.  I put them together – a testament to my poetry-writing abilities, or lack thereof:

Elizabeth,
I have seen the last day on Earth.
I have seen Santa’s little sleigh bells.
But, honestly, it doesn’t matter
Because nothing compares to you.
In your eyes I see the ocean.
In your lips I feel free.
In your hair I can feel the youth;
Smooth as silk.
Over and out,
Your protector for all time, I hope.
Your boyfriend won’t let you down.

Pretty neat, huh?  Yeah, cheesy it is, but Benjamin says “it worked better than ever.” (Now that’s the Google Chrome translation, so something might have been lost or mistranslated.)  I say I’d give him an A+ if only for the thought!

With the MU Space portable pillow-bed, however, you can at least have the comfort something nice to lay your head on. Of course, since it is also a portable bed, you will have a layer of comfortable material between you and the hard bench (or floor). More than that, however, you also get the added plus of listening to music! There are rotating speakers inside, which will pipe in music to relax you as you wait for your flight. The unit is USB and memory card compatible.

As you can see from the picture, MU Space is easy to carry around, being a whole unit on its own. The casing actually reminds me of a bowling ball case or a makeup kit. To be honest, it doesn’t appeal to me that much – in terms of looks anyway; however, the idea of having a bed and pillow PLUS music (with no headphones, by the way) is just impossible to resist. And even if you don’t plan on traveling anytime soon, you can always stash the kit in your workstation and catch some zzz’s during your break!

While newer technologies are constantly surpassing older ones in terms of quality and features, vinyl records do have some novelty in them. There’s this certain sense of nostalgia with going old school. And in some cases, you might have no other choice than vinyl records, especially for long-forgotten artists whose works weren’t re-mastered in digital or other newer format.

A good in-between is how gadgets like this briefcase USB turntable from ThinkGeek can successfully marry old technology with new.

Pop-open the latches and take a look inside to find a high-quality belt driven turntable. The built in speakers allow self contained playback of all the vinyl you can shake a stick at… and that’s quite a bit. What’s more however is the integrated USB port, which allows you to plug the turntable directly into your laptop and convert your oldfangled vinyl into newfangled digital audio files perfect for burning on CD or transferring to your iPod or iPhone.

The turntable works well enough on its own. I guess this would a hit at parties with like-minded geeks who might be audiophiles as well. Or perhaps you want to preserve your collection of old tracks by ripping these into MP3s. Don’t count on IDv3 tags being automatically imported, though!

This tee shirt takes the concept a little further.

Attached to the front is a drum kit printed on a touch-sensitive pad, and when you press various parts of it, an appropriate sound is played.

There’s an embedded speaker (as you’d expect) and it’s all driven from four triple-A batteries. Apparently the top volume setting is really loud — what a great way to annoy everyone around you.

Now, you do have to go through a slightly more complicated process when you want to wash it (that’s no excuse not to wash it) but it’s surely worth it for the fun of having random strangers approach you and fondle your chest?

Which leads me to the point that you’ll need to be really careful if a girl is wearing this shirt. You could get into all sorts of trouble trying to produce all seven kit sounds.

Trust those guys over at ThinkGeek to come up with this one.

Via

scoreLight is “a laser-based synesthetic experience” and works by allowing one, two or more red lasers to trace over drawn shapes, objects, even people.

Similar to how the pickup of a record player scans the grooves in vinyl, these lasers simply traces the shape and then sound is generated based upon its movement. There’s no camera or projector involved.

It’s not only the shape of the objects being traced that affects the sound, but also their colour and texture. Abrupt changes in direction (such as a right angle) trigger discrete sounds such as percussive effects, while smoother shapes change the sound in other ways.

What’s really cool is that this is another example of the visuals enhancing the audio, rather than simply being a by-product. It’s quite mesmerising watching several laser pointers tracing around a picture or object.

It’s also possible to have the lasers “bounce” around objects or to interact with each other, and it’s a great base for collaborative music-making.

OK, some might question how musical the output is at present, but I can imagine some genres really making use of this, and what an amazing live show you could put on, maybe with audience participation?

Really, the possibilities are near endless, and to think (apart from the lasers and processing unit itself) all you need to get going is a whiteboard and a marker pen.

scoreLight (Via)

That’s why Pacemaker has decided to relaunch its website as LetsMix.com.

An email to its fans says that most people who visit the site don’t own a Pacemaker, but they use the downloadable Pacemaker editor, create their own mixes, upload them to the website, and listen to other people’s creations.

The new site is supposed to make finding and listening to mixes more streamlined, intuitive and interactive. Think of it as YouTube for audio mixes.

The beta version launches tomorrow (Thursday December 3rd), with updated mix software also available then.

LetsMix.com

For those who aren’t scratching their vinyl (in a DJ kinda way, not in a careless way), but do have a record collection worth playing or converting to digital, the Linos USB record player could be the most portable solution.

Interestingly, the designer reckons you shouldn’t use the device if you don’t like music OR if you’re an audiophile. Either that’s an incorrect use of the word, or the sound quality isn’t actually good enough for those who absolutely revere the analogue platter format.

I don’t own any records but I can see this being a useful addition for those who don’t want the bulk of a hi-fi component but still want to dust off the old collection from time to time.

Not quite sure where you can get it from, or how much it costs.

Pyott Design (Via)

Yes, it’s a fairly bizarre concept — take data from Japan’s Kaguya explorer as it orbited the moon between 2007 and 2009 and then assign musical notes and instruments to that data.

Sadly, it’s a Java applet (sorry, I have a thing about avoiding Java unless it’s absolutely necessary) but it’s still definitely worth a look. You can tweak a number of parameters to get the sort of effect you want.

It’s not going to make it in to the charts, but then I generally don’t like chart music, so that’s a good thing.

Via

So the HARP (Harmony and Acoustic Research Project) — which would see these interesting circular desks and seating placed in inner city parks around the world — is a really cool one.

It looks as if you could have up to four people playing the instrument together at any one time (probably more knowing how people crowd around anything a bit different and interactive in a public space — see the video below for a simple prototype instrument)

Sounds could be fixed or selectable, and apparently there could even be a more global sense of collaboration by remotely connecting these instruments via satellite and sharing in vast global composition.

Practically there could be some problems, of course. There are always idiots around to vandalise stuff like this, but on the plus side, perhaps local buskers and musicians might use it in their own live performances?

Who knows? I’d love to try it out, but I don’t know where (or if) it’s being installed. Can we have one in London please?

Via

Here we have 11 Daft Punk tracks covered using 8-bit gaming systems:

1. Around The World by The Listrix
2. Short Circuit by Random
3. Voyager by Zombectro
4. Revolution 909 by Note!
5. Aerodynamic by Je deviens dj en 3 jours
6. Superheroes by Stage7
7. Crescendolls by Flashbob
8. One More Time by Microchip
9. Teachers by Fluxxin
10. Indo Silver Club by Motone
11. Veridis Quo by EvilWezil

Go grab the free download and cover art.

Via

Anyhow, it got me reading up on more Walkman stories, and one of the most interesting that I ran across is Scott Campbell’s little experiment. Scott is a 13-year-old kid who has used an mp3 player most of his life. When challenged to swap his iPod for a Walkman for one week, he didn’t realize just how much of an adventure he was in for.

The BBC featured his review and comparison of the two portable music players. It was quite amusing to read his thoughts:

My dad had told me it was the iPod of its day.

He had told me it was big, but I hadn’t realised he meant THAT big. It was the size of a small book.

When I saw it for the first time, its colour also struck me. Nowadays gadgets come in a rainbow of colours but this was only one shade – a bland grey.

His dad’s Walkman must have been way older than mine – mine is black and not THAT big (at least I think so!). Anyway, you can read the rest of his story here.

Maybe you have your own nostalgic moments about the Walkman? Any interesting stories of your own?

Members can now get access to three lossless music download file formats – Apple Lossless, 16-bit FLAC and now 24-bit FLAC.

Membership is £23.95 for six months or £33.95 per year, and for that you get to download an album every month, recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios.

This isn’t iTunes or any other mass-download music site, so it probably isn’t for everyone, but it does offer a range of alternative music for those who like to branch out a little.

In the first year, artists who have recorded albums or tracks have included Gwyneth Herbert, Dub Colossus, former Suede frontman Brett Anderson, guitarist Tom Kerstens, Mercury Award nominees Portico Quartet and Eurythmics star Dave Stewart.

Future releases include the new album from Dengue Fever, a band that blends Cambodian pop music with West Coast psychedelic rock.

Check it out here