16 Of My Favorite Songs From 2020
Looking back at this odd year, there was a lot of great music floating around. Here are a few favorites.
When The Macy’s Parade Rickrolled Thanksgiving
It really happened! On Thanksgiving 2008, a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade came to a halt, there was a record scratch, and none other than Rick Astley came out to perform "Never Gonna Give You Up."
W.C. Handy Laid The Foundation For Modern Music
The man known as the Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy, was born on this day in 1873, and it's not exaggerating to say rock and popular music wouldn't have played out the same way without him.
NASA Likes To Say Good Morning To Its Astronauts With Music
If you're an astronaut, way up there in space, chances are you started the day with a song. Why? It's a NASA tradition.
The Oomphalapompatronium Is An Instrument That Lives Up To Its Unusual Name
What's In A Name Week continues with a look at the Oomphalapompatronium, a creation of Boston-area musician, composer and inventor Len Solomon. And it definitely fits the name.
Scientists Are Putting Little Cameras On Beetles
Researchers at the University of Washington call it a "GoPro for beetles" - a ultralight, wireless, steerable camera that can ride on the back of a bug. And it's pretty effective at letting us see what these bugs see.
Couple Songs Are A Thing, According To Science
There’s actually psychological research into what are known officially as “couple-defining songs," and there are legitimate benefits to the relationship to choosing a tune to share.
The Doctor Who Took Out His Own Appendix
On this day in 1961 Dr. Leonid Rogozov had to remove his own appendix while stationed in Antarctica.
Meet The Fake Beatles
And now for the youngsters, those fine young men from Florida, the fake Beatles!
Now That’s A Deep Cut: Music Scholars Bring Back “Lost” Songs From 1,000 Years Ago
Music scholars at Cambridge University studied musical manuscripts without modern notation and after years of detective work, reconstructed what they would have sounded like.