A while ago I shared a post about brainy music. Here’s some mindful music of a different kind.
Can biofeedback help to unlock the mysteries of music’s therapeutic effects? – Aeon Videos
The US musician and research scientist Grace Leslie works at the frontiers of biotechnology and experimental music. From her Brain Music Lab at the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology, Leslie and her students probe the physiological effects of sounds and rhythms, including how biofeedback could potentially be used to create new sonic therapies.
So can a mind sing? Filmmaker Vier Nev thinks so.
Staff Pick Award at Annecy 2020: “A Mind Sang” by Vier Nev – Vimeo Blog
Seeing a shape in the clouds, a face on Mars, or Jesus in your toast is called “pareidolia.” Our tendency to perceive objects, patterns, and meanings incorrectly is a psychological phenomenon filmmaker Vier Nev turned into hypnotizing art in his transfixing animated film, “A Mind Sang.” Leading the audience through themes of transformation, perspective, and rebirth, this work of art kept us visually engaged through each second of the film with stunning optical illusions and a haunting and rich musical score. (via Kottke)
That felt like an eye exam. Let’s have something more … relaxing?
Toccata – Optical Arts
The film is an exploration on the nature of time, the relentless violence of entropy and creative energy and its relationship to music itself. The Toccata and Fugue in D Minor has a cinematic history going back to the silent film era, when orchestras played music to films. The piece became often used in the horror genre and famously as the opening to the 1970’s film Rollerball. (via Laughing Squid)
I love this, the slo-mo timing is perfect. Here’s some more.
Orchestra instruments captured in super slow motion – Laughing Squid
A performer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra demonstrated what the performance of a stand-up double bass looks like in super slow motion. The footage captures how the bow connects with and releases from the string in order to make beautiful music.
Careful with those bows.
Man in Japan arrested for attacking pedestrian with violin bow – Classic FM
The man, who was wielding a horsehair bow, was also reported to be holding a violin. He has no known address and is reported by police to have been intoxicated at the time of the incident.
Maybe he wasn’t a classical music fan. How about something light and carefree?
How the ‘Oh Yeah’ song in Ferris Bueller came to be – Great Big Story
“Oh Yeah.” You’ve heard this song—full of oh yeah, bow bow and ch-ch ch-ch ch-ka!—who knows how many times over the years. Recorded by the Swiss synth pop duo known as Yello, “Oh Yeah” became a pop culture phenomenon after being featured in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” In the 1986 movie, the percussive piece is the soundtrack to the scene where Cameron shows off his father’s prized Ferrari to his friend Bueller. And we all know what happened after that. (via Laughing Squid)
Or something just as poppy but perhaps less carefree?
A brilliant but appropriately anxiety-inducing animated video for the Sparks song ‘The Existential Threat’ – Laughing Squid
Cyriak Harris, the creative mind behind many wonderful surreral short films, created a brilliant but appropriately anxiety-inducing animated music video for the song “The Existential Threat” by the Los Angeles band Sparks, from their album “A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip”.
Or some vintage rock?
Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” gets a video after 43 years – Boing Boing
On Thursday, on his Instagram account, Iggy Pop announced that, after a 43 year wait, his classic track, “The Passenger,” has a video.
Let’s end how we began, with something mindful. Kind of.
Buddhist monk performs a badass cover of the Judas Priest song ‘Breaking the Law’ on classic instruments – Laughing Squid
Buddhist monk Kossan1108, who does amazing, minimalist covers of classic rock songs with traditional instruments, performed a pretty badass cover of the classic Judas Priest song “Breaking the Law”. He used the wooden fish to keep the beat, a standing bell to add color and his own voice to cover the lyrics.
Miscellaneous Details 