Verano Viajando

Jay Z and J.T. Too many J’s in suits for this girl to handle…lawd.

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.

There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

Art: Toni Silber-Delerive

40 plays

Rhapsody in Blue, composed by George Gershwin

Paul Whiteman Orchestra, 1924.

Via: The Library of Congress

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25 Most Powerful Songs of the Past 25 Years

This is an awesome post from MentalFloss about some of the past few decades’ greatest songs. My favorite of the bunch (though difficult to choose) is the 1991 re-recording of Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable,” complete with a duet from his daughter, Natalie Cole. The post goes on to say that many found the recording “creepy,” but I think it is anything but.

Via: MentalFloss

House party outlet speakers

Designed by Jinseup Ted Shin, this nifty piece of technology would go a long way to a more even distribution of music at house parties, etc. I would definitely like to purchase a couple of these things next time I want to have some people over. It could definitely be improved if there was an option to control them universally, (i.e. adjust the volume universally), but the idea is great.

Via: Designboom

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Starálfur by Sigur Rós

Good night, good night Mr. Fox. Let this one put yah to sleep.

I put on my blue pajamas,

go straight to bed.

I caress the soft covers,

close my eyes.

I hide my head under the sheets.

A little elf stares

Turns me in, but doesn’t stir.

From his place, himself

A staring elf

Via: kayanaom

Why Songs Get Stuck in Your Head

Rhitu Chatterjee from PRI’s The World did an amazing piece on earworms, stuck-song syndrome, sticky music, cognitive itch, or simply: songs that get stuck in your head. One of the more interesting pieces of the article is the fact that this phenomenon is not homogeneous- according to statistics gathered at Earwormery, most people experience this phenomenon with a range of diverse songs.

You can click here to hear the staff from PRI’s The World talk about their own ‘sticky songs.’

Some common earworm offenders, according to BBC:

Lady Gaga, Queen, Abba, Kylie, Beyonce, Adele, Europe, Coldplay, Elbow, Johnny Cash

For quite awhile, my little sister and I would listen to a mix that included Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” and I would find myself singing it for the entirety of the day- it even had a starring role in my dreams. Weird.

What are some of your earworms?

Musical Architecture

When it rains, this unique colorful wall in Germany becomes a charming musical instrument.

Referred to as Neustadt Kunsthofpassage, when water runs through the drain pipes and gutter system that are attached to the outside of the building, they become an awakened orchestra.