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This week we thought we bring you something useful. We’re not all about silly links and nutty videos (well mostly but we have to take a break now and then). For those of you planning musical Christmas gifts or just wanting to treat yourself, Tunechecker is a music price comparison sites for mp3s and albums. Handy for saving money this Christmas.

Want to know the link between Bony M and Lady Gaga or Queen and The Black Eyed Peas? The art of sampling and crate digging (searching through old records for those few seconds of audio dynamite) is a long standing musical tradition and Who Sampled is a new site seeking to document the art. So if you’re wondering what made up Paul’s Boutique or any other classic then check the site’s database out for enlightenment.

Finally, it wouldn’t be an Owngig newsletter without a silly video. The pink glove dance was done by staff at a US hospital in order to raise awareness of Breast Cancer and has been a global viral hit. It also brings a smile to your face.

A combination of the silly and the chinstroking make up this week’s newsletter. First we bring you a right bunch of muppets… literally. The Muppets have been popular for over thirty years and have already attracted 3 million views with their unique version of Bohemian Rhapsody. Check it out here.

Also involving silly dancing and music is this rather quirky Japanese video featuring the Helicopter Boyz (I don’t know who they are either). Attaching small personal projectors to themselves as they dance makes for a rather interesting spectacle.

Finally, Owngig brings you a first in this newsletter, an academic paper. Before you all stop reading, this is the first academic paper I’ve ever seen that has 80s video games referenced. This paper on the history of chiptunes (computer music – particularly those in video games) is both fascinating and fun. Check it out here.

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This week seems to be all about all about unorthodox musical instruments. There are some creative people out there and they’ve been making beautiful music out there. First is the world’s first subway station stairway piano. A very clever Swedish clip on YouTube shows how people can make beautiful music on their way to work.

Closer to home here in Britain, a few electronic musicians have teamed up to produce a solution to a problem that’s been a problem at many electronic gigs over the years – namely that they’re really boring. This writer from past experience can definitely testify to the dullness of watching someone hunched over a laptop. It just doesn’t compare well with a rock gig. So their Eigenharp looks to present a solution by creating an electronic instrument that is both versatile and fun to watch. Have they succeeded? Judge for yourself here.

Finally, and everywhere on the internet, this final video is an example of lip dubbing – where people combine lip syncing and audio dubbing to make a music video. This one – in time to the Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling is certainly one of the most ambitious, using the whole of the campus of the University of Quebec.

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Ok, the title of this first link is a little sweary. But the idea – play two YouTube videos simultaneously and use a crossfader to make your own mini DJ mixes (and record the results) is genius. One for the why didn’t I think of that? file. Marvel at it here – and we apologise if the title of the site offends your sensibilities, just enjoy the music.

Also fitting into the why didn’t I think of that category is this rather simple time lapse video of the US festival Coachella. One weekend’s festival crammed into four minutes. Although if we’re honest we’d like to see this for Glastonbury – the way in the video the area is cleared is very efficient but we’d like to see some of the casualties still floating around as the sun came up.

Finally, fitting into the arty category is this rather crazy project that uses Mexican jumping beans to make music by triggering synth patterns. View this strangeness here, and of course, feel free to bid for him on Owngig.com. You never know…

This is from the Owngig newsletter. To recieve this in you inbox every week, simply register on site

Want to spread the word about Owngig and help promote a one-off gig from your favourite artist? Remember that on site we have tools that allow you to make custom badges and banners you can use to place on forums, blogs and websites. They’re perfect for artists too. Check them out on our site here.

This week on the web we’ve been loving…

Well although he seems to have been having a bit of a melt down on Twitter today over a bad review in the Guardian, we’ve still been rather impressed with Calvin Harris’ amazing human synthesiser. Using fifteen models, conductive paint and markings on the floor, his new single can be ‘played’ by dancing. To be honest we can only explain this so well – check out the videos here. Then, in a similar and somewhat simpler vein, this remote controlled instrument allows you to play tunes automatically on your kettle when it boils. Very clever.

Finally we spent quite a while playing with this Lyrics visualiser. Simply put in the name of a song you like and it plots similarly lyriced themes on a nifty little chart. Great for preparing similarly themed mixtapes.

My Secret Playlist

Surprised no one’s thought of this idea before. Simply get a load of musicians from the mainstream (Katy Perry, Supergrass, Donna Summer) to the more underground (Rubies, Pivot, Midlake) to publish their favourite songs of the moment. Plus, with so much music on the web these days, we actually get to hear at least some of their choices. Nice work, Secret Playlist – who hail from Australia, also the home of the mighty Resident Advisor.

Your iPhone = Your new studio?

Software like Garage Band has bought the recording studio to the masses but new software called Four Track from Sonoma Wire Works and profiled in Wired allows your iPhone (or iPod Touch) to become a 4 track recording studio.

Given the announcement as well about the iPhone being able to be used as a 3G modem, your phone has the potential to be used as a portable live streaming mixing desk… which is nice.

…and finally

Owngig would never recommend mixing speakers and fire.

But you have to admit this is kind of cool. Have a good weekend!