Music - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

847 Items Tagged

Music

Share Tweet
This plant might be a Dr. George Milstein fan.
science

A Dentist-Turned-Horticulturalist Made a Record Just for Plants

Dr. George Milstein believed that all plants needed to grow was water, sunlight, nutrients, and a swinging-Sixties soundtrack.
Ashawnta Jackson November 30, 2017
music

The Rhythmic Art of Stick Pounding

Music educator Melanie DeMore is keeping this traditional communication method alive.
Ashawnta Jackson November 27, 2017
The Convent of Santa Ines, in Seville, was founded in 1374.
churches

The Spanish Nuns in Hot Water for an 'Unauthorized' Organ Refurbishment

$170,000 for repairs or a $200,000 fine. Choose wisely.
Natasha Frost November 20, 2017
Detail of Wanamaker Organ.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wanamaker Grand Court Organ

The sounds of the world's largest fully functioning pipe organ dazzle shoppers at a Philadelphia Macy's.
The knives are inscribed with musical notes and a prayer.
objects of intrigue

The Renaissance Knives That Will Have You Singing for Your Supper

Sweeney Todd would approve.
Jim Clarke November 16, 2017
Songs such as <em>Happy Birthday</em> have both high positive "emotional valence" and ultra-happy major seventh chords.
science

The Secret Chord That Makes Pop Music Sound Happy

The musical formula for good vibrations.
Natasha Frost November 15, 2017
Al Green’s Full Gospel Tabernacle Church.
Memphis, Tennessee

Al Green’s Full Gospel Tabernacle Church

The R&B singer's modest church guarantees a religious experience, regardless of your beliefs.
A tea-dance circa 1926.
Gastro Obscura

Tea Dance

The surprisingly subversive history of dancing over afternoon tea.
Harley performing with Sonny Rollins at Switzerland's Montreux Jazz Festival in 1974.
music

Meet Rufus Harley, the First Jazz Bagpiper

Jazz met the Highlands when Harley met the bagpipes.
Ashawnta Jackson November 10, 2017
Symbols of New Orleans carved into the trunk of the tree
New Orleans, Louisiana

The Music Tree

A hurricane-stricken oak tree has been reborn as a beautiful chainsaw artwork.
Szafarnia, Poland

The Chopin Centre in Szafarnia

The manor house where the Polish composer spent childhood summer holidays is now a museum and concert hall.
The Atrium where you can hear the sounds of Majesty and Divinity, Prince's doves.
Chanhassen, Minnesota

Paisley Park

Find out what it sounds like when doves cry at Prince's recording studio estate turned museum.
The Kalamazoo Gals.
Kalamazoo, Michigan

The Old Gibson Guitar Factory

The Kalamazoo factory has 100 years of instrument-making, and one big wartime secret.
The Portsmouth Sinfonia in 1975 before a concert in a jail.
music

Remembering, With Fondness, the 'Worst Orchestra in the World'

In the 1970s, the Portsmouth Sinfonia became briefly famous for butchering classical music.
Eric Grundhauser November 6, 2017
A parade of modern komusō reenactors,
monks

The Bamboo Flutes of Japan's 'Monks of Emptiness'

The basket-masked komusō monks used music to meditate and created a distinctive art form.
Eric Grundhauser November 3, 2017
A 1970s Portapak. Affordable and portable video made it possible to democratize television.
television

The Revolution Was Televised, Thanks to This 25-Pound Video Rig

In the 1970s, the Portapak gave a voice to outsiders and changed media forever.
Ashawnta Jackson November 3, 2017
Louise Huebner, Official Witch of Los Angeles County, making turtle soup for her family in the 1970s.
witchcraft

A Look Back at America's Psychedelic Countercultural Witch Music

Occult albums in the '60s and '70s combined ambient tunes and spoken spells.
Alison Fensterstock October 31, 2017
Just a bit of the BPL's 200,000-piece record collection.
libraries

Digitizing the Boston Public Library's Forgotten Record Collection

It will take years, but all 200,000 pieces of vinyl discovered in a basement will one day be available to the public.
Ashawnta Jackson October 24, 2017