GarageSpin

Poll: Best Name for Cover Song & Portrait YouTube Mashup?

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We’re constantly thinking of (often bad) ideas for new songs, YouTube channels, Facebook Apps, etc.  Here’s a silly, hypothetical one — a YouTube channel with a cover song and pop star portrait mashup.  For example, imagine simultaneously seeing a portrait of Usher being painted from scratch and hearing a cover of his hit song.

The BIG question:  What should the name of the YouTube channel be?  (Pick 1 or 2)

[poll id=”6″]

The other big question:  Sure, it might be a fun endeavor for kicks.  But would any YouTuber care to watch?  Let me know what you think.

Crowdsourced Choir + Phat Video Editing

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Eric Whitacre, composer, conductor, lecturer, and model, invited anyone who felt like it to perform one of his choral pieces…via YouTube.  2,000 plus singers from across the globe later, and the Virtual Choir 2.0 video is almost done.

Below is a video of Eric at TED presenting a teaser of the project.  As good as the musical piece is, I have to say, it wouldn’t be nearly as compelling without the video editor’s incredible job mashing it all together.  Worth checking out.  (If you want to skip to the two videos he presents, go to 6:30 for Virtual Choir 1.0, and 12:00 for Virtual Choir 2.0.)



Crowdsourcing Music Video Production with Fans

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As many of you know, I love the intersection of creative music production, funky technology, and engaging promotional campaigns.  I also happen to like quirky music videos.

Mashable totally hit paydirt with all the above, by gathering a collection of crowdsourced music videos.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.   Check out this video, which is still being produced, to which 19,000+ fans have already contributed photos:




Craftsman Music: More Cool & Less Tool

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Mixing video from different takes to create a music mozaic is all the rage on YouTube nowadays…  Pamplamoose, David Choi, Jake Bruene, and a hundred other talented YouTube-ers.

This video was kinda unique, since no actual instruments were involved…just tools.  Kudos to Craftsman for creating something that’s actually…more “cool”, and less “tool”:




New Song: “Just Say Yes" (Snow Patrol cover) & Music Video Experiment

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snow patrol just say yes lyricsMy acoustic cover of the new single by Snow Patrol, “Just Say Yes“, went on sale yesterday (two weeks before Snow Patrol’s version will be in stores on Oct 30th). How’s that for an unsigned band moving faster than a record label?  Digg It!

Snow Patrol’s “Just Say Yes”, the single from their new album Up to Now, caught my attention with its techno qualities, atypical of the band. I thought it might be interesting to record a stripped-down, acoustic version of the track, using an acoustic guitar, cello, a capella beatboxing, and piano.  So I did – check it out below.

I also thought it’d be interesting to capture video of myself recording the song for a YouTube video as an experiment. I’ll be posting that video here in a few days — stay tuned!

Listen & Download

Check out the track, and let me know what you think in the comments below. (You can even compare it to the original Snow Patrol version.) Though I can’t give the track away for free (I’ll need to pay royalties on any sales to Snow Patrol), it’s available at the new GarageSpin Store, for anyone interested.

Watch Video

Once the video is launched on YouTube, I could really use your help promoting it — giving it ratings, “favorite” votes, etc. It’ll be fun to see how it does.

Other Stuff To Do

In case you’re interested, you can also:

Thanks for listening!

How Uncle Sam Can Help You Shoot Your Music Video for Free

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Celebrate the upcoming 4th of July holiday by using a US law to shoot a music video for free.

That’s what the band The Get Out Clause did (except it was in the UK).  From the Future of Media:

“The band set up their music equipment, from microphones to drum kit, in eighty different locations, including buses and what appear to be taxi cabs, and then requested all of the footage using the Data Protection Act, an English statute similar to the U.S.’s Freedom of Information Act that mandates any individual should have access to all information collected about them.”

Pretty sweet.  Now yes, granted, though the footage was free, the travel expenses and editing costs probably weren’t.  But it’s still an awesome idea.  The video looks great, and the song…well…I’ll let you form your own opinion:


Who will be the first band in the US to accomplish the same feat?  (Thanks Taylor! Via chasejarvis; via Telegraph)

The Ultimate Funky YouTube Loop Mashup Music Video

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This guy, Kutiman, took loop groove creation to the next level by mashing up a bunch of YouTube clips together.  Funky, funky, funky.  It’s kind of like…consumer generated media-generated media.

I wonder where this all falls with regards to licensing, content ownership, clearance, permission…oh, never mind.  Awesome stuff. (via Mashable)

Microsoft Songsmith: An Evil App Used for Good

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microsoft-songsmithYou may have heard of Microsoft Songsmith, a software that generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. (Imagine an 80’s Casio keyboard following your lead with one of its demo sample music styles, like Bosso Nova or Swing or something.)  The results are generally chillingly painful.  (Is that harsh? Here’s the demo…you decide.)

However, brave soul Johannes Kreidler overcame the inherent evil of the app by composing the cultural masterpiece, The Billion Dollar Song, which quite literally follows stock chart implosions and such with graceful, even upbeat, melodies.  This is a must-watch:

So, perhaps we need not fear Songsmith.  You can get a free Songsmith download here, and create your own computer generated masterpiece.  We’re one step closer to 1984’s prediction…

(Via Hypebot)

Automagic Music Video Geekery: Submit Songs to Animoto

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Animoto - automatic music video creationRemember the blurb in Orwell’s 1984 about all music being computer generated in the future?  (I guess that’s only partially come true…nice try, George.)  Here’s a little computer generated music video creation for ya…

Animoto is a web application using Cinematic Artificial Intelligence to create music videos from images and music you upload.  It’s sort of a slideshow on steroids, analyzing audio characteristics to determine ideal visual cut and transition times.  Kinda cool.  But not totally free — 30-second clips are free, but full-length videos cost $3 each. 

But here’s something cool — Animoto started a Music Submission Program for musicians and bands.  Basically, you can submit up to one song per month to join a pool of music that regular users can use in their own videos with their own pictures.  The songs that are used the most will become permanent additions to Animoto’s hand-selected "best song catalog".  It’s another way to promote your music in this crazy web 2.0 world of ours.  Mashup city, suckas.

So go and upload your best song today, and prepare to game the system by getting all of your friends to create 100s of music videos with your song.  Just kidding.