Internet killed the radio star

So we all know the power of the mighty Interweb. If you’re reading this now, obviously you are aware that most teenagers these days are so tech-savvy they pretty much know more about gizmogadgetry than 10 old geezers combined (well, 10 old geezers excluding Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, of course). Gone are the days when musicians needed to tour their asses off just to get the word out about their music. You don’t need to have a lot of connections, or a lot of money. All you need to be an internet star is a computer and a webcam, your choice of musical instrument, and voila: instant stardom. That is, of course, considering you have talent.

The strangest things can be found on the internet. A friend of mine has a disturbing fascination with watching internet videos of people getting shit on [Off topic question: what is the past participle of shit, anyway?], while my mother is piqued by the videos of Journey that have been posted on YouTube. It’s true, with the internet, everything is at your fingertips. Nowdays, google is a word you can find in the dictionary.

I like to browse the web for acoustic performances of bands and offbeat antics from music stars. And sometimes you stumble on a few acts that are actually pretty amazing. Here are a few easter eggs found on the interweb:

This band Boyce Avenue likes to post their covers of their favorite songs on YouTube. Some of their performances are even better than the originals, in my opinion; such as this one, a cover of Leona Lewis’ overplayed single “Bleeding Love”:

Now this guy is like a super internet star. His name is Luke Sandoval, and his voice is absolutely amazing. This guy has a really nice voice. He does many covers, and they are all great but this one is a standout for me, only because I absolutely adore Chris Garneau. Here is his cover of “Not Nice”, one of my favorite tracks off of Music for Tourists. The nice thing about this video is he also shows some emotion when he sings–like he really understands the song’s lyrics.

Here’s another favorite Luke Sandoval cover, “Casimir Pulaski Day”, one of my favorite Sufjan Stevens songs.

So as you can see, it’s easy to be an Internet star. What’s not easy is to inherit the same amount of talent these people have.