The Vocaloids,¹ anime-like characters created for the singing synthasizer program by the Yamaha Corporation, have been capturing the imaginations of Japanese fans for more than a year. They've inspired and starred in a large body of fan-produced songs and animated videos,² ranging from macabre to sorrowful to dramatic to humorous. [Massive MLYTP] [more inside]
posted by anthy on Jan 28, 2009 - 7 comments

Story From North America. A boy learns to appreciate life in all its forms via song.
posted by ludwig_van on Jan 5, 2009 - 8 comments

And now, a singing crocodile dressed as a cowboy teaches you to meditate. [SLYT, via]
posted by homunculus on Dec 8, 2008 - 39 comments

Animata is an open source real-time animation software, designed to create animations, interactive background projections for concerts, theatre and dance performances.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Dec 8, 2008 - 14 comments

In 1975, Roger Glover of Deep Purple staged a rock opera based on William Roscoe's poem "The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast". (The book had been reprinted the previous year, with illustrations by popular record sleeve artist Alan Aldridge.) The performance -- which featured such talent as Judi Dench, Vincent Price, Twiggy, and Ronnie James Dio (!) -- and subsequent recording met with enough interest that British animation company Halas & Batchelor had planned a feature-length animated adaptation. While the full animated movie never materialized, a Max Fleischer-influenced three-minute short accompanying the opening song, "Love is All", was broadcast frequently around the world. (Stateside viewers might remember it from such disparate programs as"The Great Space Coaster", "Pinwheel" and, uh, "Night Flight".) [Previously on MeFi: Alan Aldridge.]
posted by pxe2000 on Aug 1, 2008 - 8 comments

Ren + Stimpy Production Music: 109 Instrumental Tracks!
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 24, 2008 - 38 comments

The unusual video for Tais Toi Mon Coeur, by Dionysos, featuring Olivia Ruiz. [more inside]
posted by scrump on May 21, 2008 - 15 comments

Clever! Peppy! Immensely entertaining! The opening sequence of the Dick Cavett Show was a little masterpiece of 60s pop graphics. A similar aesthetic is at work here in this 60s era PSA reminding you to vote. Here's some jazzy 60s animation: a commercial for Beechnut Gum. And lots more typically 60s animation and graphics on display here in this Animation Commercial Collection.
posted by flapjax at midnite on May 6, 2008 - 22 comments

For the fourth single off their second album, My Chemical Romance shot a World War II mini-movie^{^} that was turned into the video for The Ghost of You. Fast-forward to MCR's third album and a fan-made animated storybook video that continues the story from The Ghost of You video, incorporating the plot from the concept album Welcome to the Black Parade^{^}, and set to the song Mama. Fans are sometimes pretty awesome.
posted by FunkyHelix on Mar 14, 2008 - 26 comments

Autobahn, a 12 minute animated film by Roger Mainwood, was commissioned by Kraftwerk's record label in 1979 to be released on one of the first ever laser discs. [more inside]
posted by Item on Mar 2, 2008 - 7 comments

18 animators collaborate on a cute little cartoon set to a song by Oppa Novy God, a "festive brass band" from St. Petersburg. (via Bloody Circus of Scary Dolls)
posted by madamjujujive on Jan 28, 2008 - 8 comments

Let's pay a little visit, shall we, to everyone's favorite lasso twirlin', geetar strummin' stars of the Vaudeville stage, Otto Gray's Oklahoma Cowboys Then let's head for the South Pacific, for the "Hawaiian" sounds of Witt and Berg. And from the early days of the "talkie", Max Fleischer explains the new-fangled technology for us in the 1929 cartoon, Finding His Voice.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jan 25, 2008 - 10 comments

I Am the Very Model of a Psychopharmacologist. [Via Omni Brain.]
posted by homunculus on Nov 19, 2007 - 33 comments

"Not much chance for survival, if the Neon Bible is right." Presented by Arcade Fire which is a band that hails out of Montreal. Okay. So I'm easily entertained, but you will believe a turkey can roast marshmallows. Requires flash.
posted by ZachsMind on Oct 15, 2007 - 45 comments

Hamsapham
posted by vronsky on Jul 31, 2007 - 22 comments

Hailing from wholesome Riverdale, USA, The Archies were a fresh-faced gang of teens who rocketed to the top of the pops. Listen to their first album on ArchieComics.com now! [Via Comics Should Be Good!]
posted by Alvy Ampersand on Jul 25, 2007 - 28 comments

1, 2, 3,4, 5,6,7, 8, 9,10, 11,12! Classic Sesame Street taught us Counting and other important stuff.
posted by louche mustachio on Jun 15, 2007 - 50 comments

Anime Music Videos. Yet another remixing web subculture, they're usually a source of amateurishly produced angst. From the competitive perfectionists, though, come well lipsynched, action packed, meta-mashuped, and occasionally just filthy stuff for cartoon nerds. Besides the usual metal, ballads, and pop rock, there's some Daft Punk, club, and downtempo accompaniment. Or you can just go to hell. Wear headphones and no-one will know.
posted by anthill on May 28, 2007 - 22 comments

Orpheus and Eurydice, the acid-tinged, animated music video version.
posted by Wolfdog on Apr 22, 2007 - 8 comments

The One that Got Away - Tom Waits
posted by BrotherCaine on Feb 15, 2007 - 34 comments

Harry Everett Smith was a, "20th-century Renaissance man, working as an abstract film-maker, painter, musicologist, anthropologist, theoretician, self-mythologizer and connoisseur of arcana". His Anthology of American Folk Music was hugely influential on American music, while his alchemical, synæsthetic films were to have a similar impact on experimental film and animation. Enjoy his mesmerising and astonishing "Early Abstractions" on Youtube [part 1 or 4], hear Harry lecture, or listen to some tracks from The Anthology.
posted by MetaMonkey on Dec 8, 2006 - 9 comments

Animusic! (youtube) Animusic! Neat animation.
posted by disclaimer on Nov 16, 2006 - 11 comments

Futures, organic abstraction in motion in this music video directed by Robert Seidel (previously) for Zero 7.
posted by ijoshua on Sep 20, 2006 - 9 comments

Tale of How, [mpg] a short film by The Blackheart Gang. [with extra mp3 audio]
posted by ijoshua on Jul 25, 2006 - 5 comments

The Music Animation Machine is a way to visualize complex music - fugues and sonatas and all that. Other tools, such as those mentioned previously here and here, accomplish a similar task in a way, but this is still very, very cool. Watch and download all the videos you can. Bach, Chopin, Scarlatti... if only there were more! Of course, you could buy the DVD.
posted by BlackLeotardFront on May 2, 2006 - 21 comments

Whitney Music Box [flash] from KrazyDad. You can read about and see examples of John Whitney's work on this extremely ugly website.
posted by tellurian on Apr 25, 2006 - 5 comments

Excellent music video for an interesting cover version of Radiohead's Just (originally off of The Bends) by British musician Mark Ronson. Song is done in a more 1960's Stax-Volt Records style, using gratuitous horn samples; video is shot on the streets of an English city (I believe London, but am not sure) and features animated graffiti coming to life & dancing to the song, as well as a cameo by the tiled creations of Invader. First link goes to a page about the song, with video download links in wmv & qt at the bottom. Still no answer as to what that guy was saying in the original version of the video, sadly.
posted by jonson on Mar 9, 2006 - 32 comments

"Heard 'Em Say" is Kanye West's latest video, animated by the legendary Bill Plympton.
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Dec 1, 2005 - 87 comments

Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities is so called because it asserts that what makes up a city is not so much its physical structure but the impression it imparts upon its visitors, the way its inhabitants move within, something unseen that hums between the cracks. This, however, has in no way dissuaded people from attempting to give form to his works. One such example is the Hotel Tressants, a building in Menorca, Spain containing 8 rooms named after and inspired by various cities from the novel. Meanwhile, artists offer illustrations^1,2,3, installations ^1,2,3,4,5, music^1,2,3,4,5,6 and dance, hypertexts^1,2, computer programs and animations, even View-Master slides, while intellectuals offer readings and commentary^1,2, lectures^1,2, and critical texts^1,2,3 sparked by the man and his writings. It has been dubbed "The Calvino Effect". Do you know of any more?
posted by Lush on May 20, 2005 - 37 comments

Four happy flash music clips to kick off your day: pla, 9:09, Brazil, and Field Guide to Snapping.
posted by madamjujujive on Feb 22, 2005 - 8 comments

Every July, peas grow there. {mp3}
Eat Your Peas. {mov}
posted by You Should See the Other Guy on Dec 28, 2004 - 8 comments

Hey how's it going? Welcome to Billy Harvey dot com. Thanks for stopping by my site...I like to sing & dance & draw. The folks at sofake deliver another intriguing interface. (flash and sound alert) via B.A.'s Weblog
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 11, 2004 - 12 comments

Animusic Just saw a video from thes folks as a between shows filler on PBS. Remember Herbie Hancock's robotic music video from the mid-80s? This is classical music but even cooler--no hands used in playing--endorsed by Jon Anderson and Alan Parsons.
posted by billsaysthis on Jul 22, 2004 - 9 comments

Videohelper.com sells music and sound effects to film/video producers. Here's their FAQ. It's the most fun FAQ I've ever read when I wasn't even trying to have fun. Though they are a serious business, their entire site is in this style. I want to work there!
posted by grumblebee on Oct 23, 2003 - 10 comments

The Real Hussein Warning: Shockwave
posted by konolia on Jul 27, 2003 - 4 comments

We Didn't Start The Fire in Flash. Hilarious and educational. All together now ... [via LMG]
posted by feelinglistless on Nov 28, 2002 - 26 comments

Kittens + The White Stripes = "Punk Kittens" I know it's not Friday yet, but I thought this was too good to wait.
posted by Reggie452 on Sep 10, 2002 - 22 comments

mysterio sympatico is the latest collaboration between jazz guitarist bill frisell and cartoonist jim woodring, who designed a few covers for frisell's records. in honor of flash friday, whimgrinder is online for your amusement (though sadly without frisell's score). what are some animation/music combos you'd like to see?
posted by pxe2000 on Jun 13, 2002 - 6 comments

www.nevergetoveryou Instant musical classic? With lyrics like: "I stayed up all night - Construction web-site - Just click on our fight - And watch me crying" how could you go wrong? Make sure you check out the trippy animated music video. I guess, like Gorillaz, Simon & Milo are "not real", but it looks like they're huge in Canada.
posted by owillis on Feb 12, 2002 - 15 comments

Mean-spirited flash rock mockumentaries: Behind The Music That Sucks
posted by signal on Jan 30, 2002 - 8 comments

Love the new Gorillaz video (in Cinema section. Warning: Shockwave intensive). But is it me, or is their music just a bit so-so? And rejecting the Mercury Music Prize was just petulant.
posted by Summer on Oct 4, 2001 - 40 comments