By Ian Liberman
SCIENCE AND ROCK
In this story about the worlds of science and rock colliding, I am going to examine alt rock band, OK Go. The group is composed of Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka and Andy Ross. Incorporating mathematics and physics concepts into their YouTube music videos helped the band win the 2016 American Ingenuity Award. Late night television host Stephen Colbert stated on his show that “OK Go made music videos relevant again.”
OK Go’s YouTube channel features a comprehensive display of their best educational videos. Their most famous video – for the song “This Too Shall Pass” – is inspired by the Rube Goldberg concept of kinetic energy. In the video, various items such as pianos, guitars, televisions, and glasses connect with each other, creating a domino effect that lasts for the entire length of the song.
The band’s videos, which integrate various math and science themes, are available for teachers and students, with accompanying guides, at the OK Go Sandbox. One of their videos (for the song “Needing/Getting”) demonstrates how to create sound from an eclectic group of inanimate objects, incorporating a car with 1000 attachments. The video also features a car door banging against a pipe that interacts with a wall of about 100 guitars.
With their unique videos, OK Go offers another example of rock and science coming together to provide a fun, educational experience.
“KINGS” OF THE ROAD
Anthrax has released a new DVD of live recordings that spans the band’s entire career. The DVD will precede the album version of Kings Amongst Scotland, which captures the sold-out event that took place in February 2017 at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom. The DVD will be released on April 27, 2018. This album, which follows the band’s successful release of For All Kings, should be in every rockers collection.
Another must-have for Anthrax fans is Scott Ian’s 2017 book, All Access Areas: Stories from a Hard Rock Life. The book features Ian’s encounters with many rockers including: Robert Trujillo of Metallica, Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell, and David Lee Roth (to name a few).
READY PLAYER ONE
If you are searching for an action-packed, virtual reality display of the future with a great classic rock soundtrack, then Steven Spielberg’s film adaption of Ernest Cline’s bestselling book, Ready Player One, is not to be missed!
Set in 2045, the future world consists of a ubiquitous landscape of poverty, destroyed infrastructure, and unemployment. With nothing much to do, adults and teenagers join the virtual reality games space of organization called OASIS, which is administered by a petulant creator who has implanted an Easter egg in the middle of this computer-generated software game. The discoverer of the egg will live a life of wealth.
If you have Spotify, you can stream the soundtrack to the movie now. It features classic rock from Billy Idol, Van Halen, Peter Gabriel, Rush, and more.
IMPACT MUSIC FESTIVAL
One of the hottest rock festivals this summer will be taking place in Bangor, Maine from July 27 – July 29. Impact Music Festival will be donating a percentage of the proceeds to Music Matters, a non-profit organization focused on mental health awareness, education, and suicide prevention. The list of performers includes: Slayer, Prophets of Rage, Rob Zombie, Three Days Grace, Black Label Society, Gojira, Trivium, Hollywood Undead, Corrosion of Conformity, Powerman 5000, Marilyn Manson, and many more.
ROCK AND ROLL TRIVIA
APRIL TRIVIA QUESTION
Which guitarist played the solo on Warrant’s 1990 hit “Cherry Pie”?
MARCH TRIVIA QUESTION
Who was the special metal guest on the video for Machine Head’s “Aesthetics Of Hate”?
Metallica’s James Hetfield
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