Explore 943 Music Collections - Atlas Obscura
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The Kalamazoo Gals.
Kalamazoo, Michigan

The Old Gibson Guitar Factory

The Kalamazoo factory has 100 years of instrument-making, and one big wartime secret.
The Portsmouth Sinfonia in 1975 before a concert in a jail.
music

Remembering, With Fondness, the 'Worst Orchestra in the World'

In the 1970s, the Portsmouth Sinfonia became briefly famous for butchering classical music.
Eric Grundhauser November 6, 2017
A parade of modern komusō reenactors,
monks

The Bamboo Flutes of Japan's 'Monks of Emptiness'

The basket-masked komusō monks used music to meditate and created a distinctive art form.
Eric Grundhauser November 3, 2017
A 1970s Portapak. Affordable and portable video made it possible to democratize television.
television

The Revolution Was Televised, Thanks to This 25-Pound Video Rig

In the 1970s, the Portapak gave a voice to outsiders and changed media forever.
Ashawnta Jackson November 3, 2017
Louise Huebner, Official Witch of Los Angeles County, making turtle soup for her family in the 1970s.
witchcraft

A Look Back at America's Psychedelic Countercultural Witch Music

Occult albums in the '60s and '70s combined ambient tunes and spoken spells.
Alison Fensterstock October 31, 2017
Just a bit of the BPL's 200,000-piece record collection.
libraries

Digitizing the Boston Public Library's Forgotten Record Collection

It will take years, but all 200,000 pieces of vinyl discovered in a basement will one day be available to the public.
Ashawnta Jackson October 24, 2017
The Vegetable Orchestra performing at TEDx, with the remains of shredded cabbage at their feet.
music

This Orchestra Makes Music With Celery, Carrots, and Cabbage

They literally shred.
Anne Ewbank October 24, 2017
The Wurlitzer 4/26, named for its four keyboards and 26 sets of different sounding pipes.
music

In Brooklyn, a Rare Concert Organ Takes a (Hopefully Temporary) Bow

Long Island University's 1928 Wurlitzer will go quiet for at least the next two years.
Ashawnta Jackson October 24, 2017
What does fear sound like?
31 days of halloween

Inside the World of a Halloween Sound-Effects Artist

Spooky sound effects haven't changed much since we first began rattling chains and crunching leaves.
Eric Grundhauser October 18, 2017
Henry VIII: Recorder Hero.
music

Celebrating Henry VIII's Love Affair With the Humble Recorder

The infamous king wrote original compositions for everyone's grade-school flute.
Eric Grundhauser October 17, 2017
Living candelabras sat or stood unflinching as hot wax dripped onto their bodies, forming incredible sculptures and shapes.
cemeteries

A Dispatch From the Other Side of the Veil

In Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, Atlas Obscura's "Into the Veil 2017" was a night of sublime contradictions.
Natasha Frost October 16, 2017
The Sinatra House
Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey

The Sinatra House

Along a busy beachfront strip you may hear Frank Sinatra singing from one boardwalk home.
The Alexander Piano in all its glory.
music

One of the World's Largest Pianos Has Returned Home

The nearly 19-foot instrument will now live in the workshop of Adrian Mann, who built it as a teenager.
Cara Giaimo October 12, 2017
Josh Kantor at one of his many keyboards.
music

The Very Modern Life of an Old-Timey Baseball Organist

Powered by technology and enthusiasm, Fenway Park's Josh Kantor pulls out all the stops.
Cara Giaimo October 6, 2017
Is Mother Nature's ultimate storage device the future of digital music?
science

Which Two Songs Are the First to Be Encoded Into the Fabric of Life?

Advances in synthetic DNA are offering a way to preserve music forever, like a fly in amber.
Natasha Frost September 29, 2017
Covering up records meant your secrets stayed secret.
hidden

Why British DJs From the '60s and '70s Kept Their Best Records Secret

The art of the "cover-up" once led an obscure Marvin Gaye record to be misidentified for decades.
Ashawnta Jackson September 26, 2017
Streicher 1869 Grand Piano on display in the museum.
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Schubert Club Museum of Musical Instruments

A collection of pianos and more guaranteed to delight anyone interested in music history.
Shakira.
Barranquilla, Colombia

Shakira Monument

This 16-foot, 6-ton statue in the singer's hometown doesn't actually look like her.