What happens when you get 1,000 musicians together to play a cover version of a song? A mess would have been my guess. Then I found these, and my jaw dropped. That many people doing the same thing must be incredibly difficult was my first thought. Then I gave up on the thinking and let the music just bear me away. It is awe-inspiring. It is transcendent. It is exactly what the world needs post pandemic to remind us why we love music so much, all it’s facets, both artistic and social. (via Kottke)
Wow. I’m not sure exactly what I find most moving about this after the last year. Is it that many people in a single place having such obvious fun? Is it that in combination with the incredible synchronization required to pull it off, or is it just the sheer joy of the music that is obvious from everyone involved. I’d guess, for me, that its all three.
I love how the sheer mass of people doing one thing in unison merge disparate voice and sounds into one, so that rather than be a cacaphony of sounds loosely related, it all merges into a joyous and faithful rendition of the song. Just to see all those drummers pounding away in unison (especially for that famous opening in the clip above), is pretty amazing.
There is a whole series available on YouTube, including “Won’t Get Fooled Again“, “Seven Nation Army“, “Bittersweet Symphony“, “Rebel, Rebel“, and “Learn to Fly“, among others.
These are definitely worth a few minutes of your day.