MIDI Zone
http://www.midizone.totalserve.co.uk
Sometimes being on e-mail lists is a tedious process of skimming through tons of boring mail and deleting it almost immediately. Other times it can be a gold mine of curiosities, like when something like this gets brought to your attention.
The original link I received sent me to a MIDI version of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room.” The bass line was wrong, but the attention to detail for the vocal melody was hilariously good. There’s something inherently amusing to me about sequenced computer sounds, and when they’re approximating the sounds of Fugazi, the comedic factor grows exponentially.
I nosed around the site some more and kept laughing. There were links to tons and tons of other sites where you could download free MIDI versions of songs, so there’s obviously a huge community of people who compose and listen to these covers. It’s actually pretty addictive.
I spent a few hours on the site listening to Muzak-ish versions of songs from a large assortment of bands. There were the expected finds like Deep Purple (five versions of “Smoke On The Water”), Led Zeppelin, Snap, and things like that, but it was the rare finds that most caused me to laugh hysterically. Favorites? Against All Authority’s “Lifestyle of Rebellion,” Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Less Than Jake’s “9th and Pine,” War’s “Cisco Kid,” Weezer’s “El Scorcho,” two Madness songs, and seven Cradle of Filth songs. Heh heh. Yeah.
Listen to Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” with a flute-ish sound doing the vocals, and see if you can keep from chuckling.
