Awesome Music (band)

""We are scientists of sound. We're mathematically puttin' it down.""

- Kool & The Gang, "Heaven At Once."

"Announcer: Dr. Weird's mystery will be continued shortly. Say, by the way, doctor, is mystery your sole pleasure? Dr. Weird: Young man, what could be more pleasant...than mystery? Announcer: Well, music. I mean the kind of music men hum or whistle when they feel on top of the world!"

- Abney Park, Until the Day You Die

It's hardly surprising that there would be lots of Music examples for Awesome Music. So, here they are.


 * Classical
 * Country
 * Taylor Swift
 * Electronic
 * Hard Rock (Includes Glam Rock)
 * Heavy Metal
 * Black Sabbath
 * Iron Maiden
 * Judas Priest
 * Metallica
 * Power Metal
 * Helloween
 * Kamelot
 * Nightwish
 * Therion
 * Technical Death Metal
 * National Anthems
 * Pop
 * Progressive (Both Prog. Rock and Prog. Metal)
 * Dream Theater
 * Peter Gabriel
 * Pink Floyd
 * Punk
 * Post-Punk
 * Rap (Also Hip-Hop, Soul, R&B, etc.)
 * Ye
 * Rock
 * Coldplay
 * Foo Fighters
 * Gorillaz
 * Muse
 * Radiohead

Drum Corps

 * Santa Clara Vanguard 1989. Nuff said.
 * I. AM. SPARTACUS.
 * Space chords in general.
 * Especially with the Blue Devils hornine in 2004.
 * 1988 Madison Scouts. A mellophone pulls off trumpet range (well, the "equivalent" of a mello and trumpet at the time).
 * Their performance of "Malaguena" will still peel your face off. And they won the DCI Championship that year, beating even the previously undefeated Blue Devils.
 * Rhythm X Indoor Percussion's 2010 show Inspired counts. The snare run also counts as a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * UPSIDE DOWN.

Folk and Filk
"And you to whom adversity has dealt the final blow With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain And, like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again!"
 * The music of Stan Rogers is always good, but "The Mary Ellen Carter" is the essence of gar.


 * So awesome, in fact, it was the Survival Mantra that saved a man's life when his ship sunk 30 miles off the coast of Virginia in a heavy storm
 * Leslie Fish's "Hope Eyrie" (there performed by Julia Ecklar) is hopeful, and saddening, and beautiful. No surprise it's a Pegasus Award Winner.
 * Mumford and Sons: "Little Lion Man" and "The Cave"
 * ANY of their songs qualify, really. There hasn't been a band with so much emotion and poetry in their music in a long, long time. Just listen to "White Blank Page". You can hear the grit in his voice!
 * Not to mention their performance at the 2011 Grammys alongside the Avett Brothers and Bob Dylan. Look at their faces. That's joy, right there.
 * "Hopeless Wanderer"". Mumford and Sons just topped themselves.
 * Laura Marling. "Rambling Man", "Ghosts", and "Night Terror". That is all. No wait, that isn't all. Click on those links and see for yourself.
 * Mumford and Sons used to be her backing band... then they got famous instead. Now Laura's becoming more famous, however, which is awesome.

Gospel, Hymns, and Other Religious Music
"He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave Our God is marching on"
 * A few Christian hymns qualify. "God of Our Fathers", "Thy Strong Word", and "Built on the Rock" among others. (That last one requires a browser with MIDI support).
 * "The Judgement". This song is...Wow. The powerful singing, the sweeping, uplifting music, and the power in the sheer feeling of it! YES!
 * Also "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is great, if only for the brilliant lyrics by Julia Ward Howe:


 * "How Great Thou Art".
 * "The First Noel", a truly magnificent composition.
 * From the same time of year, "O Holy Night!"
 * Try the Martina McBride version. Wow...
 * Sticking with Christmas carols, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" especially as done by Trans-Siberian-Orchestra, and "Do You Hear What I Hear?".
 * SHeDAISY's version of "Jingle Bells" and "Deck The Halls".
 * The hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" tells the story of a climactic battle between the forces of Good on earth and all the devils in Hell. Just as things are looking bad, the music reaches its final verse, where the organ kicks it into high gear as Jesus comes onto the battlefield and utterly routs Satan.
 * For even more awesome, try John Rutter's arrangement, with an 80-voice choir, organ, and orchestra. The third verse is just the men singing, in a minor key, and sounds as dark as hell itself. The fourth verse builds back up to full power in triumph and joy.
 * Ladies and gentlemen... "Amazing Grace".
 * "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing", sung by one of the undisputed rulers of choral music.
 * Pick an Evensong hymn, any Evensong hymn. They can be so incredibly peaceful when sung correctly -- to the point that it's almost impossible to go away from Evensong feeling angry for any reason. "Abide With Me" and "The Day Thou Gavest" are particularly favoured, the latter because of the imagery of the world rolling onward "into light" while we sleep, while elsewhere, others are waking, and those already awake keep watch.
 * MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine" asks God what happen when we finally meet Him.
 * "Were You There?" is the sweetest, simplest, most plaintive Easter song in existence. Find a simple arrangement, and let it break your heart.
 * There's a style of gospel hymn from the old revivals that are meant to be sung by a lot of people with a lot of enthusiasm, and some of them are pure Crowning Moments. In particular:
 * "To God be the Glory"
 * "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder"
 * "Wonderful Grace of Jesus", with a chorus that splits into two melodies, the men singing a deep, rumbling ostinato, and the women joining in with a descant, building in volume, until the two voices meet at the end in three triumphant chords. Pure win.
 * "Agnus Dei" by Michael W. Smith. The text is a scant two quotes from John's Revelation and a simple tune, but with the right voice and the right backup it's got this ethereal quality that sounds like heaven.
 * "The Doxology"... short, sweet, to the point and it gives any listener goosebumps every time.
 * The Navy Hymn, a/k/a "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is probably one of the most comforting ones out there.
 * "Whose arm doth bind the restless waves", indeed.
 * "Faith of Our Fathers," especially if you're Roman Catholic.
 * Anything by the late Moses Hogan, who arranges spirituals for full choirs completely a capella. Particularly awesome pieces include "Battle of Jericho", "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?", and "Elijah Rock".
 * "Kedushah" is an immensely powerful prayer, building to a crescendo of "ANI ADONAI ELOHEICHEM!" (I AM THE LORD YOUR G-D!)
 * "Nearer My God to Thee" aka the soundtrack to the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
 * "Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah". It's downright goosebump-inducing when there's a strong bass singer to back up the congregation singing it.
 * "Yehei Yehei" by The Chevra. It's just five words, "yehei shlama rabba min shemayah" (May there be abundant peace from heaven), repeated through the entire song, but DAMN if it isn't catchy! Also makes awesome dance music.
 * Back to Christmas music: "Angels We Have Heard on High" by The Piano Guys.  The way four guys turn one piano and a piece of paper into at least six different instruments to perform an absolutely beautiful rendition of this classic hymn (along with a medley of other familiar snippets) is amazing.

Grunge

 * Everything ever done by Nirvana, period, especially their hits "Lithium", "Heart Shaped Box", and the ironically popular "In Bloom", as well as the underrated "Drain You" and "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle".
 * "Smells Like Teen Spirit", undisputably.
 * "Come As You Are". Either the original or the unplugged version, they're both so amazing.
 * Speaking of, "All Apologies" on the unplugged album is absolutely beautiful, especially when they harmonize at the very end.
 * Also, their cover of "The Man Who Sold the World".
 * "You Know You're Right", the last song Kurt & Co. recorded, finally released to the world 8 years after his death and sounded better than anything that had been on the radio in years.
 * "Call my name/through the cream/and I'll hear you scream/again... BLLLLLLAAAAACK HOLE SUN, WON'T YOU COME-".
 * Also, "Spoonman" is the best song off of Superunknown.
 * "Live to Rise".
 * "Rooster" by Alice in Chains.
 * "Would?" is as awesome, and the Opeth cover is EPIC.
 * Also "I Stay Away".
 * "Touch Me, I'm Sick" by Mudhoney.
 * Pearl Jam's live version of "Even Flow", from Live at Lollapalooza 2007. Amazing.
 * "Save You".
 * "Yellow Ledbetter"
 * Hole's Celebrity Skin album is amazing, especially the title track and "Reasons To Be Beautiful". "Live Through This" is also a worthy addition to a music collection. Say what you will about Courtney Love, but Hole is awesome.

Jazz

 * Duke Ellington. Period. He's the one who first showed that Jazz could be taken seriously aprt from Pop music and he was the guy Gershwin listened to for inspiration not to mention he may have the record for compositions by any American composer...and that's not even enough to be condidered a short intro!
 * As if Pharaoh Sanders and John Hicks weren't amazing enough already, they came together and made "You Got To Have Freedom", which is just too amazing for words. The intro alone is a minute straight of John Hicks working wonders, and that's before the vocals kick in.
 * "Creator has a Masterplan" certainly applies too.
 * "Rhapsody in Blue".
 * "Concerto in F, 3rd Movement". That is all.
 * Since we're talking Gershwin... "Cuban Overture" is ten minutes of pure fiesta. And the ending WILL make you want to get up and dance.
 * Most songs by the Puppini Sisters. Not even related in real life, these three ladies are putting the swing sound of 1940s pop music into songs like "Walk Like An Egyptian", "Heart Of Glass", and "Crazy In Love".
 * Bobby Darin's version of "Mack the Knife". The ending is so badass it hurts.
 * Listening to Charles Mingus' "Haitian Fight Song" turns panty-waisted poindexters into switchblade-flicking badasses, and makes plain women gain a cup size and a bad (but sultry) smoking habit.
 * Same with "Better Get it In Your Soul."
 * John Coltrane. First, he wrote "Giant Steps," which is universally recognized as one of the most difficult songs in jazz to preform, and there's also "A Love Supreme," an over 40 minute proto-free jazz jam in dedication to higher power that is often called one of the most passionate preformances in jazz history.
 * Charlie Parker's "Charlie Parker with Strings." While some purists hate it for being too "pop" for bebop, you have to admit there is something incredible about his virtuoso bebop improvs being played over a full orchestra.
 * Almost anything by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, but "Pedal Up" is probably his most ridiculous tune, especially his live preformance of it on "Bright Moments." It's a 12-minute piece which includes circular breathing (he holds out several notes for minutes on end without stopping to take a breath), 3 saxophones (all played by Kirk simultaneously), and the last 3.5 minutes of it are an elaborate solo played just by Kirk without the backing band involving him droning on one sax, setting up a beat and chord progression with another, and soloing on the third (the end solo even has classical-influence harmonization with two of the saxes at once).
 * Perfect blend of guitar, sax and rhythm: Lily Was Here doesn't need lyrics to be awesome.
 * Marc Cohn. Walking in Memphis. That is all.
 * If you were told that in 2011 a female jazz singer who plays the bass could win the Grammy for best new artist over probably the most popular pop singer of the day, you wouldn't believe it, would you? Well, believe it.
 * Louis Armstrong singing "Bare Necessities" from Disney's The Jungle Book. Prepare to feel warm and fuzzy.
 * Art Tatum. Full stop. Blind in both eyes, he taught himself how to play and improvise jazz piano by ear, and became so technically proficient that other pianists regard him with awe to this day; one famous story recalls Fats Waller remarking of him, "God is in the house." Listen to Art Tatum playing Tiger Rag. Now remind yourself that that's only one person playing all those complicated chords and superhumanly fast runs... and he's improvising it.
 * Summertime. Written by George and Ira Gershwin. Performed by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Sheer perfection.
 * Ladies and gentlemen, Wynton Marsallis based his third symphony around the history of jazz, aptly subtitled the Jazz Symphony. It's basically a concerto for an entire jazz big band and symphony orchestra.
 * Steely Dan. Just, Steely Dan.
 * Miles Davis. Listening to album after album of his is like taking the finest walk through an evolution in jazz. Special mention to the haunting introduction to the title track of Bitches Brew.
 * There was a thing in jazz during the '50s and '60s were a band would perform at small parties set up by producers, and it would all be recorded as a live album. People showed up and were offered booze to help them enjoy themselves. Two classic albums of this particular variety are Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and Why am I Treated so Bad!, both by Cannonball Adderley and his quintet, with special mention to the title track of the former (their most recognisable hit).

Other

 * Beethoven's Last Night is concept album by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, telling the story of Beethoven selling his soul to the devil, (it's a long story) and is generally full of awesome (only to be expected from an album based on Beethoven). The highlight is What is Eternal. All through the song there's this pervading sense of melancholy - that he doesn't think he's good enough, that his work will never be remembered, that his life's worth "ended with his birth". Then about two minutes in, the music fades into a short burst of Ode To Joy. It's quite the Tear Jerker. Beethoven might never fully know his own genius, but we sure as hell will.
 * From the same album, there is the magnificent piece A Last Illusion. Starts off with a short ditty on a classical guitar (The first few phrases of Sonata facile by Mozart) and quickly segues into a very strong rendition of Flight of the Bumblebee on electric guitars, backed by the full orchestra. The last two and a half minutes or so of the song is simply the most amazing, emotionally charged rendition of Ode to Joy that can be summed up in the aforementioned two and a half minutes. Not only does the orchestra come back at full blast, there are at least three guitars, plus two pianists, and a full choir. If Beethoven were alive today, he would be able to hear this. It's that moving.
 * A little single name: David Garrett . It's difficult to see in which category he fits.
 * Clint Eastwood
 * Two Words: Lux Aeterna. There's a reason so many movie trailers use it.
 * Not to be confused with Gyorgi Ligeti's Lux Aeterna, which played during the trip to the moon in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
 * The long, orchestrated version seen here and in movie theatres everywhere is actually called Requiem for a Tower. The original version is still awesome, but in a quieter, Nightmare Fuel kind of way.
 * Requiuem for a Tower makes everything epic
 * And now there's the Requiem for a Dream Guitar cover. It's just as epic, if not more so.
 * A great deal of the CMOA that gets our blood pumping in those movie trailers is produced by groups such as Immediate Music, X-Ray Dog, and E.S Posthumus, and licensed out to film distributors for use in their trailers. Hats off to 'em!
 * Their music would be peak CMOA if it weren't for the tiny little fault that... their music cannot be legitimately obtained!
 * Immediate recently released an album on iTunes, including their "Lacrimosa." Big Yes!
 * Immediate also sets lyrics to their music, released under the band name Globus. Standouts are "Preliator", "Orchard of Mines", and "Sarabande Suite (Aeternas)". One can definitely not forget Europa, a truly epic song about the bloody history of Europe.
 * E.S. Posthumus have also released three albums, Unearthed, Cartographer and Makara. The epitome of their epic songs is ''Pompeii."
 * "Diem Ex Dei" is one of Globus' best.
 * Canon Rock. There's a reason why this is one of the most viewed videos on YouTube. (Hint: It isn't because of the hat.)
 * Funtastic Power!'s "THIS IS SPARTA!" mix is hilariously epic.
 * Speaking of 300: "Returns A King" is epic as hell.
 * Anything Funtastic Power is CMOA.
 * When you ask the question of who the greatest pianists of the 20th century were, Fats Waller's name is definitely at the top of the list, and his rendition of "Carolina Shout" does more that show you why. Flawless multitasking isn't just something computers can do, and working it all into something that swings rather than stands stiff is something that the best do with ease.
 * Of course, when it comes to great pianists "all roads lead to Art Tatum," as they say, for his amazing style that somehow took influence from every style that came before it and took them all to the next level. Unfortunately, as occurs in most such cases, pinning down an absolute moment is difficult, but here's a start.
 * This performance of "The Bonny Swans" by Loreena McKennitt and her band. Even if you don't care for the story the lyrics tell, it's got a a violin, and piano and an electric guitar sounding awesome together. And Loreena's voice. Can't forget that.
 * More awesomeness by McKennitt: "The Mummer's Dance," "All Soul's Night," and her brilliant adaptation of Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman."
 * Anything by Beirut. Elephant Gun brings the level of ukelele awesomeness up about four million points, and then when the strings and the accordion and the trumpet kick in- live, it creates hordes of swaying, dancing onlookers.
 * "The Gulag Orkestrar" is similarly INCREDIBLE. "They called it mine," indeed.
 * ALL YOUR BASE-BASE-BASE! ARE BELONG TO US!
 * There's also an excellent version with the lyrics set to the music of Bohemian Rhapsody.
 * "March of Cambreadth" by Heather Alexander is an awesome fighting song.
 * "Bittersweet Symphony".
 * "Message To My Girl" by Split Enz.
 * "Acid" by Ray Barretto. Oh, so brilliant.
 * "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga. Seriously, it's freaking legend.
 * Lemon Demon's "Ask For Nothing" is one of those songs that seems uninteresting the first time, but gets better every time you listen to it. Even though on first listen it sounds like the time signature is screwed up, it's actually in 4/4. It's just disguised as what appears to be 17/8. That takes skill.
 * Also of note is Bad Idea, at least for "Too Much Spare Time" for the flash work, and Word Disassociation for getting away with Word Salad Lyrics, and still being awesome.
 * Kristoph Klover's rendition of Jordin Kare's Fire in the Sky made Buzz Aldrin cry on live television. 'Nuff said.
 * "Weird Al" Yankovic, Jim West, Steve Jay, Rubén Valtierra, and Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz. They have taken any and most genres released in the past thirty years and parodied and homaged it, while playing it, flawlessly.
 * Speaking of "Weird Al" Yankovic, take a polka medley - any of his medleys. Seriously, Crazy Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it. Here's an example: "The Hot Rocks Polka".
 * "Genius in France"--Al's nine minute tribute to the late Frank Zappa, with none other than Frank's son Dweezil himself on guitar. Because it's as ridiculously complex and awesome as you'd expect it to be, calling this song a parody is immediately out of the question.
 * "Albuquerque." Enough said.
 * Sam Spence's "The Lineman". It was made for the NFL, but sounds like an epic superhero theme.
 * Maura O'Connell's "Mystic Lipstick".
 * Roisin Murphy's "Sow Into You" (that's not a misspelling). It's so easy to like.
 * Anything played on a Zeusaphone. How can you not love an instrument that shoots lightning?
 * For example, The Imperial March, now with 100% more lightning.
 * Sanctus by Karl Jenkins. It's a cross between awesome military music and the Ominous Latin Chanting.
 * Of all the musical tributes to Michael Jackson after his death, this medley of his songs by Sam Tsui is the most astoundingly awesome and Tear Jerker worthy of them all. And while we're on the subject of Mr Tsui, also check out his amazing cover versions of "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey, "Run" by Snow Patrol, and a High School Musical song.
 * The Doug Anthony All Stars. Rude, crude, hilarious and incredibly NSFW one moment,and the next they blew audiences away with stuff like this. If Paul Mc Dermott's voice doesn't move you, nothing will.
 * Voltaire. When You're Evil That is all.
 * Hell In A Handbasket.
 * This Sea, The Beast of Pirate's Bay, Death Death Song, Cannibal Buffet.
 * Oingo Boingo. It's Danny Elfman, for crying out loud! For starters, "Dead Man's Party" anyone? Or "Insaniy" perhaps? Hell, "Little Girls" and the Farewell version of "Water" are instant win, period. (In all honesty, whenever Danny Elfman plays a rock song, it's going to be awesome.)
 * Secret Chiefs 3 tend to specialize in this when they're not just dishing out Nightmare Fuel instead. Good examplse would be "The Three" and "Combat For The Angel".
 * It's doubtful that she can end the planet in a holocaust, but that doesn't make this song any less awesome.
 * 'Face the Wall', by Emilie Autumn. Actually, anything off the 'Unlaced' part of that (instrumental) album.
 * Psychobilly.Ridiculously catchy, upbeat, '50's-style songs about the Zombie Apocalypse.
 * Considered psychobilly for whatever reason is The Quakes' cover of The Killing Moon, originally by awesome 80s group Echo and the Bunnymen.
 * The Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch". It's just... not only so Intercourse with You that it's a legend, but it's sheer greatness.
 * This remix/medley of Wind Waker tunes by Fredde Gredde HAS to be recognized. Not only is it astoundingly beautiful, it was all played and synchronized by ONE GUY. Crowning awesome, indeed.
 * Kronos Quartet do impeccable covers as well as their own material. Their cover of "Purple Haze" may outdo the Jimi Hendrix original.
 * Immediate Music and Globus have albums that are FULL of Awesome Music. Look at any of them, you'll probably enjoy it immensely.
 * The Cossack Patrol. The link won't get you to the best version, which was sung by the Red Russian Army Choir and was powerful enough to make you want to join communism. Even if you're called McCarthy.
 * Moscow 1941 Here's a variation for the school band.
 * The Cossack Patrol sounds exactly like Polyushke Polye by Lev Knipper, another kickass Soviet piece.
 * There's a reason Amazing Freaking Grace has its own trope. It's not just the public domain thing. Almost all hymns are public domain, but none of them have ever earned such a hallowed spot in our culture as Amazing Grace. The song is simply wonderful.
 * ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS TO KICK YOUR ASS!!!!!!
 * A lot of Songs to Wear Pants To songs are this, from just about any genre, such as Underage Stalkers and Never Been In Love.
 * William Joseph. The two most notable examples are Piano Fantasy and Within (the orchestra versions).
 * Rodrigo y Gabriela has an interesting story. They are a Mexican duo, that after searching for success in the metal scene decided to move to Europe and eventually changed to flamenco. Listen to their rendition of "Stairway to Heaven". Now listen some of their original songs. Now remember that every single thing you hear is two fucking guitars.
 * YoungBlood Brass Band. Somehow manages to fuse a brass band sound with rap. Sound crazy but it works and works well. Oh, and the sousaphones are powerful enough that your car windows will rattle.
 * "Trains and Winter Rains" by Enya. Made even more awesome by the fact that the entire thing was performed by exactly one person. It's also really catchy.
 * Florence Welch and Dizzee Rascal's live mashup, You've Got The Dirtee Love. The performance was so popular that it was then released as a charity single and shot to # 2 on the charts.
 * Jack Conte from the San Francisco Bay Area is definitely one of the most talented and edgy indie musicians on the Internet, whether he is working alone or with his girlfriend.
 * New Radicals, especially this song. Just try not to dance along. Even if you're not a dancer, try to listen to it without getting it stuck in your head. Why were they a one-hit wonder?!
 * Don't forget You Get What You Give. It speaks volumes when Keith Richards says that's the song he wished he wrote above all others.
 * This reworked piece of The Equalizer soundtrack by Stewart Copeland.
 * Quite a few of Doctor Steel's songs spring to mind. "Dr. Steel", though, in particular.
 * Mairead Nesbitt playing Granuaile's Dance. Take Grace Kelly's dancing, add phenomenal violin skills, and you have Mairead.
 * Made even better if you know who Granuaile was.
 * Two words: ERIC. WHITACRE. Here's a small taste of his work.
 * P!nk has a crap-load of songs that are awesome, but "Raise Your Glass" is her most recent one. We will never be, never be/Anything but loud and nitty-gritty/Dirty little freaks.
 * Pogo (Nick Bertke) He's been played at the Guggenheim! Small taste of his work.
 * Who can't resist Christmas done in 8-bit music.
 * This. Also doubles as Crowning Music Of Heartwarming. Also, how, just how, as it possible to not be in LOVE with this song? So sweet.
 * What happens when you fuse together classical violin with hip hop? You get something completely awesome. Nuttin' But Stringz. YES.
 * TROLOLOLOLO-LOLOLO-LOLOLOLOLO! Damn, Eduard Khil is the coolest guy ever for singing that.
 * Now listen to the METAL version! Your head will EXPLODE!
 * Everything on this playlist. Everything.
 * The song Coolangubra by the band of the same name, featuring percussion, rhythm guitar, and truly epic electric violin. (Note that the *ding!* at the beginning of the video isn't part of the actual song.)

To be classified
"Is this Idaho? Because I will not limbo in Idaho."
 * Bad Lip Reading's, er, "cover" of Bruno Mars' The Lazy Song-slash-Lady Gaga's Alejandro. It's both hilariously surreal and awesome at once.


 * Pretty much all of Amanda Palmer's first solo album, but especially "Ampersand". It's just so defiant and powerful and, well awesome.
 * Also "Leeds United", "Runs in the Family", and "The Point of it All". Oh, and by the way, Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman are a Crowning Couple of Awesome, if that even exists.
 * Imogen Heap's "Hide And Seek". There's something about it that makes it legendary.
 * On the subject of Lux Aeterna, listen... to this.
 * The Ballad of Brisco County Jr. is so awesome NBC ripped it off for all their Olympics ads for the last decade or so.
 * savage genius generally shows up in the anime section, but one of their best, "Still I Love You", is an album only, and deserves a nod here.
 * Ronald Jenkees is an amiable Kentuckian who likes to have a little "disorganized fun" on his keyboard for "YouTubes." When he's feeling a bit more organized, he comes up with stuff like "Throwing Fire."
 * "Dulcissimia" by Corvus Corax. That is folk. First, you can't believe how over the top it is...and then they bring out the chariot.
 * Any march by John Philip Sousa. Of course, the Crowning Music of his catalog is "The Stars and Stripes Forever".
 * The Swedish Diablo Swing Orchestra does also belong here. Not only do they state that the origin of their music dates back to the 16th century, when the original Orchestra was killed by the church for being too awesome, when you heyr the music you're inclined to believe them. Ballrog Boogie!
 * Hybrid's Finished Symphony would damn near be a stock piece of music as a climactic song of triumph, were it not for the 9.5 minute length.
 * Rajaton's "Butterfly" deserves a place on here for sure, but the 3:45 mark of "Dobbin's Flowery Vale" will bring you to your knees.
 * Estradasphere deserves mention here; specifically, the songs "Smuggled Mutation" and "Colossal Risk".
 * Listen to me, my children now...
 * How about "Dragon's Heartbeat" from the soundtrack of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, by Randy Edelman? This seems to get used all over the place, most memorably from Elvis Stojko's figure skating routine in the 1994 Olympics. Timestamp 1:00 in the link is when it gets memorable, and 1:35 is when it gets epic.
 * E Nomine, particularly Schwarze Sonne. Ominous Latin Chanting FTW.
 * Try The Lord's Prayer (German) and the English version for raw epicness.
 * TERRA CREMATA FEROX TEMPESTAS PLUTON EXIT REGNATOR IRIT
 * She is not yours, but she is still your world!
 * Mitternacht. SO CATCHY!
 * "I Kissed A Girl" is another mediocre-at-best Playing to The Fetishes pop song, right? Not when Paul McDermott is singing it. Highlights include the second verse and Mikey Robbins blasting out an awesome guitar solo.
 * A similar moment of awesome came when Los Colorados, a Ukrainian polka band, remade "Hot & Cold".
 * This is the one of the most awesome pieces of music that ever was or ever will be produced by humankind. Listen through once, then listen again when you've found a translation for the lyrics. The music is awesome, and the message is awesome. Tikvah wins. Also, it's the Crowning Music of Awesome for Subliminal and The Shadow themselves, along with the entire TACT Family.
 * As is this, no wonder it was covered as an Easily Forgettable song by Dj Sammy.
 * Labi Siffre's "Something Inside So Strong".
 * Steve Hackett + Steve Howe + Max Bacon + Phil Spalding + Jonathan Mover: GTR's "When the Heart Rules The Mind...
 * With many people consider music was an important weapon against South Africa's system of apartheid, the protest song "Sun City" by Artists against Apartheid is a powerful moment when a good portion of American and European pop stars musically declared their refusal to play at one of that nation's largest resorts while that tyranny prevailed. Imagine of this line in The Eighties were money was supposed to run supreme while about principles about justice were sneered at: "You can't buy me/I don't care what care what you pay!/So don't ask me, Sun City/Cause I ain't going to play!"
 * Not only that, but they also made a piece of music that in its own right is TOTALLY. KICK. ASS. It's a grand all-inclusive alternate universe where Miles Davis is rubbing elbows with Grandmaster Flash, Jefferson Browne jammed with Joan Baez, and Lou Reed and Joey Ramone cavorted with the Fat Boys and Bono and the P-Funk Allstars.
 * Anything by Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain. For example.
 * "This was a triumph..."
 * Cliffs of Dover. Very impressive to see played, and played well at that.
 * Classical Gas. Epic moment at the 0:45 second mark.
 * The two demo tracks for the Impulse Tracker program, t=0m33s Drifting Onwards and Blue Flame. So beautiful that words alone can't describe them...
 * Mr E's Beautiful Blues. Doesn't matter how many things go wrong, it's a beautiful day...
 * Pretty much anything by The Polyphonic Spree, but "Hold Me Now" and "Suitcase Calling" stand out the most.
 * And let's not forget their cover of "The Town Meeting Song" from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
 * "Green Onions" by Booker T. and the MGs, which can really only be described with the word "cool."
 * Dick Dale's version of "Miserlou", a.k.a, "That Slick-Ass Guitar/Gunshot Opening to Pulp Fiction". In addition, majority opinion states that the song was much more awesome before Black Eyed Peas shat all over it.
 * This remix of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" combined with "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'" by the Wu-Tang Clan and "Quiet Storm" by Mobb Deep.
 * John Marnie's "Water on the Moon". Yes, it's about the LCROSS mission, but darned if it doesn't give you chills. "We're on our way, we're on our waaaahaaaaaay!"
 * "Tincan Hitman" by Robotronica.
 * eRa. Voxifera is awesome distilled.
 * This Chinese song.
 * Practically everything by The Smashing Pumpkins. Mostly for "Tonight, Tonight", "Landslide", "Zero", "To Forgive" and "Jellybelly".
 * This is war, like you ain't seen. To an awesome WWII battle, even. Also contains a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming at the end, when the German soldiers leave the mother and her newborn baby alone.
 * "Matsuri" by Kitaro.
 * "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas" is an utterly epic, 10 minute long musical rendition of Godzilla terrorizing Las Vegas, with the French Horns providing his roar, the bass drum as the cannon blasts aiming to kill him, the musicians screaming "GODZILLA", music teachers tangoing across the stage, a mambo, xylophone hits representing morse code over a telegram, and a blood curling scream. It is absolute epic, find it on youtube.
 * The final battle between Neo and Mr. Smith in Matrix Revolutions while the song, Neodammerung plays in the background. Although to the untrained ear the lyrics sound like random ominous chanting, it's really a Hindu Vedic hymn about enlightenment spoken in Sanskrit.
 * Anything by Paul Winter. He rocks. Whales Alive album especially though.
 * "Adiemus" by Karl Jenkins. Epic. Just... epic.
 * Lemon Demon's classic Web hit, "Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny". Pure, unadulterated ''awesome'.
 * Tetris, remixed by 2PM. SO. FREAKING. EPIC.
 * More Tetris, but with a twist: It's the complete history of the Soviet Union, sung to the theme. It's impossible to stop listening.
 * "O Magnum Mysterium" by Tomas Luis de Victoria, especially as sung by the Boston Camerata. 2:32 of pure harmony. There are some pieces of music that make you stand up and cheer, and there are some that make you just lie down and listen. This is one of the latter.
 * Muppet. Bohemian. Rhapsody. The faithfulness to the original video is just astounding (though it did cut out the famous guitar solo right before the equally famous 'Opera' section.) Someone even made a video in which the two videos played in perfect simultation. It will astound you. (Starts around 0:15.)
 * Buckethead is so great he can make a Funk and Blue grass hybrid and make you enjoy it.
 * What happens when someone blends the lyrics of the Nat King Cole classic "Nature Boy" with the Mad Men theme? Well, an actual band was assembled to give us this treat, with the icing on this cake courtesy of the vocals of Allison Williams (daughter of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams).
 * This live collaboration between Japanese turntablist DJ Kentaro and shamisen player Kinoshita Shinichi. Who would have thought that traditional Japanese music could be fused with hip-hop and drum n' bass is such an awesome way?
 * The Jurassic Park theme, slowed down by 1000%... and my GOD does it make you want to weep with the sheer beauty of it.
 * Don McLean's "American Pie" is an eight minute long tribute to the Baby Boom generation. And it's amazing.
 * Zoot Suit Riot.
 * The Evolution of Video Games Epic Medley is a nine-minute long Crowning Music Of Awesome multiplied by 22--it features 22 classic Nintendo and arcade video game theme songs packed in a single medley with transitions and will stun you from beginning to end. And it's made in Mario Paint Composer, with 16-bit limitations.
 * NEDM? NEDM.
 * LOL! INTERNET!
 * Most of DJ AnounymOS's tunes. Notably, BAWWWWW, and of course
 * So I Herd U Liek Musics... (which also happens to be the best tune on 420chan's album Lulz: A Corruption Of LOL).
 * Motown as a whole deserves its own page.
 * Woodkids Iron. Better known as that one kickass song from Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
 * Not to mention his cover of Adele's "Someone Like You".
 * Gabriel Kahane's song cycle Craigslistlieder. The piano forms a hilarious counterpoint to the lyrics, taken almost verbatim from particularly pathetic Craigslist posts. An example: Neurotic and Lonely
 * Death May Die, a Lovecraftian pastiche of Auld Lang Sye. Even if you don't like the lyrics, one must admit the instrumentals are AWESOME.
 * Where Eagles Fly combines the power of two very different vocalists: Sarah Brightman and Eric Adams to create something incredible.
 * Nick Phoenix and Thomas Bergersen, a.k.a. Two Steps From Hell, have some awesome music of their own. Just listen to it. There's a reason it's been used for movie and video game trailers, like Mass Effect 2 and 2009's Star Trek. Here's the trailer for Mass Effect 2, and the trailer for the reboot of Star Trek.
 * In the 90s in Indonesia, there was a group called Padhayangan Project or P-Project whose portfolio was to take one song and then make a parody song from it. For instance, take an already good and powerful song like "Tenda Biru" (Blue Tent) by Desy Ratnasari (then a popular artist/idol)... and they turn it into an utterly hilarious and awesome music out of it (with the same title) with its music video equally funny.
 * Sucker Punch soundtrack, is actually life changing. Covering everything, like, rock, metal, industrial, pop, rap and alternative. All made all the more theatrical and over the top, cuz it is possible. Army Of Me is industrial and rock screaming for power and taking no crap, Tomorrow Never Knows is trippy, but healing, I Want It All/We Will Rock You's rap is funny but true, Where Is My Mind and its fellow track Asleep both touch you in a emotional level and Sweet Dreams is one of the few geniunely life changing addictive songs ever which really never gets old. They kept both the dramatic moments of the movie in the soundtrack and kept the songs intact for casual listening purposes and to relive the movie without watching it. How often does a various artists soundtrack do that right?
 * Truxton, whose mantra states "0% original content, 100% fun." None of his songs contain anything original, save a few drum loops, it is almost all crazy mashups with unbelievable outcomes. From bass heavy mashup of Flux Pavilion/Green Day/Skrillex/Doctor P to a chilling combination of the Whistle Concert from Mega Man 3 and Wake Me Up When September Ends