It's the commons, our right of birth
And to you who would own everything all around the Earth
Our future is your downfall, when we cut this ball and chain
You who'd sacrifice the public good for your private gain

"So, that’s my long and winding history of a little postcard from the Upper West Side of Manhattan!" Suzanne Vega writes about writing the hit song Tom's Diner, coping with its numerous remixes, and its part in the birth of the MP3 music compression format.
posted on Sep 24, 2008 - View this thread

The Jupiter Foundation and the Whalesong Project are both organizations which record humpback whale songs from floating buoys; some of their archived recordings can be found here, here, and here. (Warning, last two may resize your browser.) DOSITS hosts a more comprehensive collection of oceanic sounds, with seals and fish along with its whales and dolphins. It also has a couple of nice sections on how animals use sounds in the ocean. (Previously.)
posted on Sep 7, 2008 - View this thread

If adventure has a name, it must have an electric violin solo!
posted on Aug 26, 2008 - View this thread

Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish of Adam & Joe fame put forward their proposals for the theme tune for the upcoming Bond film Quantum Of Solace
posted on Aug 9, 2008 - View this thread

David Byrne writes three thoughtful essays on robots, song, and the uncanny valley on the occasion of the creation of a robot which sings in his voice at a Madrid museum: Visiting the robot factory in Texas, regarding the uncanny valley, on machines and souls.
posted on Aug 8, 2008 - View this thread

The BBQ Song
posted on Aug 4, 2008 - View this thread

For those still wondering what the hell Joe Cocker was singing in 1969 at Woodstock in his landmark version of "A Little Help From My Friends", this hilarious video"transcription" (with some visuals added to the footage) should help. For purists, the original unedited version here.
posted on Jun 20, 2008 - View this thread

"Happy Birthday to You" is the best-known and most frequently sung song in the world. Many - including Justice Breyer in his dissent in Eldred v. Ashcroft - have portrayed it as an unoriginal work that is hardly worthy of copyright protection, but nonetheless remains under copyright. Yet close historical scrutiny reveals both of those assumptions to be false. [Full pdf here.] [via]
posted on Jun 19, 2008 - View this thread

You'd be forgiven for thinking that the iconic American folk song The Wabash Cannonball was written as a tribute to an actual train, but in fact, in an interesting case of life-imitates-art, the actual train name was inspired by the song. The Lake Erie, Wabash, and St. Louis Railroad Company was formed in 1852, but there was no train called the “Cannonball” when the song was first sung late in the 19th century. There have been many, many, many wonderful versions through the years, but I think Roy Acuff pretty much owns it, wouldn't you say? [NOTE: See hoverovers for link descriptions]
posted on Jun 7, 2008 - View this thread

The Japanese master intercultural stereotyping. Is it racist when non-whites do blackface?
posted on May 25, 2008 - View this thread

Songs that clearly and directly address or reference economic hardships and injustice in America, not to mention that do so in a bitter, regretful tone, don't often become enormous hits. Matter of fact, it's such a rare phenomenon that you could count such songs on... um, one finger? Yes, Yip Harburg and Jay Gorney's iconic Brother Can You Spare a Dime is that song. Covered by a surprisingly wide range of singers through the years, the song still resonates.
posted on May 10, 2008 - View this thread

Sometimes, when you've had your fill of people basking in the golden light of their self-righteous indignation, you just wanna hear a song about somebody telling those holier-than-thou-ers where to get off. Something like, say, Harper Valley PTA.
posted on Apr 24, 2008 - View this thread

Feel good hit of the year; Discovery Channel's 'I Love the Whole World' ad
posted on Apr 19, 2008 - View this thread

The best-known version of that joyful ode to getting smashed, Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee, would surely be the Jerry Lee Lewis rendition, and Memphis rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette recorded a hopping little version of the tune as well. But the song was written and originally recorded by Stick (aka "Sticks") McGhee, who adapted it from a chant he learned during his stint in the Army. And yes, "spo-dee-o-dee" was a substitute for another word, which, though fine for the Army, wasn't exactly radio friendly. Stick wrote a few other tunes in celebration of the alcoholic beverage, including "Six To Eight" and "Jungle Juice". And as has been pointed out previously, the song title was likely the inspiration for the alcoholic concoction known as the "spodi". Drink up!
posted on Apr 13, 2008 - View this thread

Apa Tani bleeding tubes filmed by Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and Paro, Bhutan in 1936 from Frederick Williamson, are just two of the extraordinary offerings from the Digital Himalaya Project.
posted on Apr 3, 2008 - View this thread

A Swedish pop song about IRC is resurrected into an English number one hit.
posted on Mar 8, 2008 - View this thread

Who knew when Arnel Pineda, lead singer of a Journey cover band called "The Zoo," posted videos of his band on YouTube that he'd grab the attention of Journey itself and be invited to be its new lead singer? (via)
posted on Feb 22, 2008 - View this thread

A most succinct explanation of the current problems facing Wall Street.
posted on Feb 8, 2008 - View this thread

Written in 1967 by Bob Dylan, it was originally quiet, lowkey... and vaguely menacing. But when Jimi Hendrix redefined it the following year, even Dylan knew that the song had changed forever.

Since then, it's been covered (over and over again), praised almost as often, analyzed, referenced, and, of course, found to be encoded in the minds of Cylons.

Originally released 40 years ago, erm, yesterday: All Along the Watchtower.
posted on Dec 28, 2007 - View this thread

A good chuckle about surviving the hellidays: Dysfunctional Family Holidays, the music l an interactive karaoke with several songs l What exactly is a dysfunctional family? l What are the roles for the kids?
posted on Dec 25, 2007 - View this thread

Merry Christmas, Mefites! Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, you might enjoy this fun bit of flash goodness.
posted on Dec 13, 2007 - View this thread

It's Turkey Time! (mp3) And this song is playing in my head, over and over...
posted on Nov 22, 2007 - View this thread

Just watched a tv show, looking for the music you just heard? Playing the radio, and didn't catch the DJ saying the title? On the go? In the woods? (Also)
posted on Aug 14, 2007 - View this thread

Thoth has been the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary. He's appeared on "America's Got Talent. And he's one of the most mesmerizing street performers out there. [Previously]
posted on Aug 2, 2007 - View this thread

Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue from 1811. Canting Dictionary (thieving slang) from 1736. Three Centuries of Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes (1536–1896). Before you end up scragged, ottomised, and grinning in a glass case, you should learn to sing Frisky Moll's Song... and know what the heck it means:
A famble, a tattle, and two popps,
Had my Boman when he was ta’en;
But had he not bouz’d in the diddle shops,
He’d still been in Drury-Lane.
posted on Jul 1, 2007 - View this thread

The new video for Paul McCartney's UK single, "Dance Tonight" starring Natalie Portman.
posted on May 29, 2007 - View this thread

Bolt ya nugget. A send up of ned culture in Glasgow. [Single youtube link alert]
posted on May 18, 2007 - View this thread

Word Dissassociation A lovely little song made up of completely random words.
posted on Apr 28, 2007 - View this thread

Make the logo bigger. (mp3) The fine folks at Speak Up provide a bit more explanation. One can only assume that the follow-up hit will be entitled either 'Split the Difference' or 'The Client Loved It, But They're Changing Everything.'
posted on Apr 20, 2007 - View this thread

The Kansas City Sheet Music Collection is an enormous catalog of zoomable, high-rez scans of old sheet music. See how the popular music of years past was marketed with Black and Native American imagery as well as exotica. There are lovely and fanciful calligraphic designs, songs of World War 1 and, uh, vegetables. There's even a little ditty by Mark Twain. Plus some undeniable truths and the age-old question.
posted on Apr 13, 2007 - View this thread

Beware the Ides of March. Almost everyone knows that the phrase comes from the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar, most familiarly in the Shakespeare version, although "The Life of Augustus," written by Nicolauas of Damascus, contains what is thought to be the earliest narrative of the plot to murder Julius Caesar, based in part on eyewitness accounts. But, not everyone knows that The Ides Of March is also a band [flash intro] (best known for the song "Vehicle") [YouTube], an epistolatory novel by Thornton Wilder (with forward by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.), an instrumental song by Iron Maiden [YouTube], and two paintings, one by Edward Poynter and one by Andrew Wyeth.
posted on Mar 15, 2007 - View this thread

The Red Army Choir vs The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. (hypothetical) Battle of the Century.
posted on Feb 21, 2007 - View this thread

When I was a kid, my dad, who grew up in London, during the Blitz, used to play this old record: a song called "The Laughing Policeman." It always put a smile on my face. According to Wikipedia, it was written in 1922 by Charles Jolly, who wrote "numerous other laughing songs (The Laughing Major, Curate, Steeplechaser, Typist, Lover, etc)." If you want to hear the happiest policeman ever, here's the mp3. The song has inspired cartoonists, mystery novelists (great series, by the way!), filmmakers, a more-recent recording (mp3), and, inevitably, some scary people on youtube. Speaking of youtube, this is how I remember the song.
posted on Feb 11, 2007 - View this thread

War Pigs : An unofficial video for Cake's cover of War Pigs, previously covered by Faith No More.. Originals by Black Sabbath.
posted on Feb 2, 2007 - View this thread

A Mall Divided (youtube) - a musical tale of commerce, employment and electrical distribution for our times.
posted on Dec 18, 2006 - View this thread

An American troubadour pays tribute with a Steve Irwin death song, while the Australians blokes insist that stingrays must pay!!!
posted on Sep 15, 2006 - View this thread

"Don't Download This Song." A free, and rather hilarious, download from "Weird Al" Yankovic done in the 'charity gospel' "We are the World" style, including a few gems in the lyrics like "even Lars Ulrich knows it's wrong." Direct MP3 link. Music video evidently coming shortly.
posted on Aug 22, 2006 - View this thread

"Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?" [MP3] A stupefying song (sung by the Joker) from a forthcoming Batman musical, written and sung by Jim Steinman of Bat Out of Hell fame. He discusses the matter in depth on his blog. If it's a hoax I fell for it. But a cursory Google search bears it out!
posted on Jul 24, 2006 - View this thread

The verses no one dares to sing these days ... Till selfish gain No longer stain The banner of the free!
posted on Apr 28, 2006 - View this thread

Hands to Boag A love song about web standards with lyrics like, "Tonight I need your CSS, coding in the darkness. From now on no more tables nest; you will meet web standards"...
posted on Apr 26, 2006 - View this thread

[Warning! This is completely and utterly not safe for work. We're talking NSFW with sugar on top.] We've all been there. You meet someone you find attractive. They're intelligent and they share your interests. But there's still one thing you need to know about them and you're just not sure how to ask... [Link is to embedded video.] [Seriously. This is not safe for work. Hell, it's probably not safe for Alabama.]
posted on Feb 23, 2006 - View this thread

The mystery of John Doe No. 24 outlived him. But this 1993 obituary in the New York Times, briefly covering what was known of a deaf, dumb, blind teenager found wandering the streets of Jacksonville in 1945, inspired a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter, which in turn inspired Illinois journalist Dave Bakke to "meticulously reconstruct nearly fifty years of John Doe's life...using police reports, mental health records, oral interviews, newspapers" and write God Knows His Name: The True Story of John Doe No. 24.
posted on Feb 22, 2006 - View this thread

Songs of Brazilian Birds A fantastically diverse collection of .au files, including the beautifully evocative Organ Wren or Uirapuru, the mooing of the Capuchinbird, the sci-fi minimalism of the Short-tailed Antthrush and a duet of Laughing Falcons (they'll make you laugh at the end).
posted on Jan 23, 2006 - View this thread

Mark writes ditties for you. Including such songs as THINK! BEFORE MARKING YOUR EMAILS HIGH PRIORITY and others.
posted on Dec 2, 2005 - View this thread

Remember the JCB Song? [Warning: Flash and Heart Warming Cuteness] Well they're going for a much coveted Christmas Number 1! Their single is released December 12th in the UK.
Non-UK residents may be unfamiliar with the Christmas Number 1 phenomenon - Being #1 in the music charts on Christmas Day - guaranteeing near-constant air-play and exposure. Disclaimer: Not affiliated with the band. Just sick of rubbish xmas #1s.
posted on Nov 22, 2005 - View this thread

50 Years of Eurovision --pics, video, info on 14 of the best(?) songs ever performed in the contest. Tonight they're picking the Number One of all time.
posted on Oct 21, 2005 - View this thread

Beethoven's Ninth -- the score.
posted on Oct 11, 2005 - View this thread

Collected works of Enrico Caruso. Approximately seven hours of vintage, public domain recordings of Il Maestro, courtesy of the Internet Archive's 78 rpm collections. Amongst my favourites: Del Tempio Al Limita, a duet with Mario Ancona from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, and Cantique de Noel. Sublime.
posted on Sep 14, 2005 - View this thread

The Song and the Singer For many he is the greatest Lieder singer of the 20th century. As he turns 80, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau reflects on his long career.
posted on Sep 8, 2005 - View this thread