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College student creates Disney-esque symphony inspired by the noise of a grilled mushroom

“I’m telling my future children that he’s Beethoven."

@ethanmcmurray_/Instagram

Ethan McMurray wrote a mushroom musical worthy of a Disney movie.

Have you ever seen those videos where someone plugs in little electrodes into mushrooms and uses them to make trippy “plant music”? While that’s cool, this story has nothing to do with that.

Ethan McMurray, a 20-year-old music student at Oakland University in Michigan and gifted composer, shared an epic symphony arrangement onto his Instagram, inspired entirely by the sound of a mushroom being grilled. Yep, you read that right.

In the clip, McMurray listens as a boiled mushroom is picked from a Beijing-style hotpot and placed on a cone grill, and is impressed by the fungi’s “half cadence” and “pentatonic melody.”

So impressed, in fact, that he then cuts to “a little mushroom symphony!!🍄🟫” he wrote that featuring Chinese instruments like the dizi flute, as well as other standard orchestral instruments like the the bassoon, harp, oboes, clarinets, horns, etc.

The final result had, as viewers noted, all the magic of a Studio Ghibli film (known for movies like Spirit Away and Princess Mononoke) or Disney, particularly Disney’s Mulan and Kung Fu Panda.

“Disney should hire you,” one person said.

Another person commented that “I’m telling my future children that he’s Beethoven,” while another gushed, “I’ve no idea how long I’ve been listening to this on loop. This guy is talented, like actually 100% talented. Like mark my word, my dude, you gonna be composing movie scores soon🔥🔥🔥🔥.”

In addition from glowing praise, Murray’s mini-masterpiece also elicited some pretty fun mycelium-based jokes.

“Are you going to share composer credit and residuals?!?” one person quipped, implying the mushroom should get its fair share.

Another said, “His dying screams were immortalized in symphony forever ✨🎶”

One even created an entire backstory, writing, “The lullaby his mother used to sing him, he chooses to sing it in the historic final moment to remember her and his home. Along with the symphony are the memories of the journey, the friends he made along the way, the places he knew and how it was a wonderful life.”

Aside from mushroom muses, McMurray told Today that he draws inspiration from great composers Tchaikovsky, James Newton Howard, Steven Schwartz, and Alan Menken. Although his particular favorite is John Williams, who wrote the music for the Harry Potter franchise.

Since going viral for his mushroom symphony, McMurray plans on continuing to find inspiration from unusual sources. Below is another piece he created using a small toy violin.

And though he didn’t expect these videos to get the overwhelmingly positive response that they have garnered, he tells Today it’s confirmation that “People love classical music — they just might not know it.”

If you have a certain sound you think McMurray could turn into a movie-worthy soundtrack, shoot him a message on Instagram. He is currently taking requests.

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People can't get enough of this epic dance routine to "Somebody That I Used to Know"

The choreography. The camera work. The costumes. Wow.

Sergio Reis/Youtube

Odds are you’ve heard Wally de Backer, aka Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.” It’s the Australian musician’s biggest commercial hit, selling more than 20 million copies since its release in 2011, making it one of the best-selling digital singles of all time. Not to mention it inspired several amazing covers, which you might have also stumbled upon.

The music video, in its poignant simplicity, is every bit as iconic. Gotye stands naked facing the camera, as featured singer Kimbra faces him. As they sing, they are slowly “painted” into and out of the background of geometric shapes using stop motion animation. There’s a very Wes Anderson feel to it that adds so much to the story told in the song, making it all the more memorable.

All this to say…it would be a challenge to recreate the magic that’s so inherent in the original. And yet, one dance company has clearly understood the assignment.

All this to say…it would be a challenge to recreate the magic that’s so inherent in the original. And yet, one dance company has clearly understood the assignment.

Netherland based dance troupe CDK recently went viral for their highly stylized movement performance to the well known art pop ballad.

As thousands of viewers were quick to note, it’s not just the incredible dance moves that make this performance so captivating. It’s a killer combination of choreography, camerawork and costumes that make the piece impossible to turn away from.

“This is pure art,” one person wrote. While another added, “I think I’m going to watch it everyday for the rest of my life.”

Take a look for yourself:

CDK - Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye

This group is clearly at the top of their game, by how easy they make it all look (like, I've already convinced myself that I can pull off those moves). But what’s more evident is that they enjoy what they’re doing to the nth degree.

To find even more of CDK's performances, follow them on Instagram.

Fun fact #1: Gotye allows small independent projects, like student films—and probably this dance piece—to use his music free of charge. "If someone wants to use it commercially I look at what the budget is and the creativity of the project," he said, according to News.com.

Fun fact #2: CDK isn't the only group to have recently breathed new life into the song. A few weeks ago, an electronic remix of the song titled "Somebody (2024)," created by electronic music producers Chris Lake, Fisher, and Sante Sansone, debuted. Much like it's predecessor, "Somebody (2024) is topping the charts.


This article originally appeared last year.

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Unearthed clip shows a joyous MGMT performing one of the decade's biggest hits for a tiny audience

There are only a handful of people in the crowd but they are having the time of their lives.

@steeelo7/TikTok, Rad Scientist/Youtube

All the greats come from small beginnings.

Every generation has songs that help define the era. And without question, MGMT’s synthy, upbeat pop jam “Kids” helped define the early 2000s. Its playful irreverence matched the sort of unbounded optimism felt in a time just before the internet—and all its consequences—would change the world forever.

And this is why people are giddy over finding an unearthed clip of MGMT playing the hit song before it became a hit. It’s taking them right back to that simpler pre-internet time.

In the clip, which has been making the rounds across Reddit and Instagram, we see two goofy college aged dudes (Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, respectively) circa 2003 and having the time of their lives while playing the catchy tune for one of the first times, if not the first time ever.

Zero pretense, zero phones. Just good vibes.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Besides just having a revived appreciation for the band, people were really yearning for a time when cell phones didn’t dominate shared social experiences.

“This video represents the essence of life. Being in the moment, having fun and not taking yourself too seriously,” one person wrote on Instagram.

Another said, “The way I'd do anything to go back and appreciate the early 2000s more is insane.”

Another noted “This slapped me right across the face with memories I no longer thought I had.”

As any MGMT fan will tell you, fun was always the name of the game for VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. While trying to balance out the rigidity of their formal music studies, Goldwasser sought to “write the most stupid song possible,” he told the Times.Never did he imagine that it would end up catapulting their careers.

“One moment we were being irreverent with the academic world, the next we were playing festivals, and I don’t think we understood the implications of that,” VanWyndgarden said. “On college campus we were happy to play out rock star fantasies in front of 15 people. All of a sudden we’re on Late Night with David Letterman and we’re thinking: we can’t do this any more. We were becoming the things we were making fun of.”

Even if the lyrics to "Kids" was written as a sort of parody, they do inadvertently express the pain of wanting to hold onto innocence, while, due to being human and the laws of time and whatnot, simply cannot. This universal message lying underneath its catchy hooks is what gave the song a lightning-in-a-bottle quality in the first place, and it's what makes it so impactful many years later.

We might never be able to truly go back in time, but being able to at least tap back into those bygone feelings—be it through long lost footage, forgotten mementos, or just by listening to a once beloved tune—is a pretty sweet consultation prize.

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19 common American things in film and TV that definitely don't happen in real life

We've all seen them.

Paramount

Just because it's common in movies, doesn't mean it's common in everyday life.

Odds are you’ve come across a movie or television moment that made you think, “this definitely would never happen in real life.” Or maybe you thought something about a time or place which wasn’t actually real, thanks to a show you watched. I, for example, totally thought separate his & hers beds were a common thing in the 50s, thanks to “I Love Lucy.”

That’s kind of the magic of motion pictures. The line between reality and illusion is sometimes so blurred you really can’t discern between the whole “art imitating life” and “life imitating art” thing. Of course, the unbelievability of some common tropes make you wonder how they’ve endured for so long in the first place.

Recently, Reddit user rustyyryan asked: "What American thing is not that common but shown in many Hollywood movies/TV shows?"

Thousands responded. But here are some of the best answers.

1. "On Law and Order, when the police come and people keep doing their drone jobs. Sorry, but the most exciting thing in my day is a visit by the police, so I’m stopping everything, offering coffee, asking lots of questions, and ratting out my neighbors on unrelated things!" —wawa2022

via GIPHY

"The other thing with Law and Order and other cop shows is that people always act annoyed toward the cops. IRL, the vast majority of people are not going to act that way. I’ve had a couple of cop visits and I was always shocked and kind of nervous and there was no way I would have acted like they were getting on my nerves!"—logorrhea69

2."Presents where the box lid is wrapped separately from the rest of the box." —sra19

"This drives me crazy! I get it...it would be a huge hassle to have to re-wrap a present for every take, plus you have to worry about continuity, but I have literally never seen a present wrapped this way in my life."—yourlittlebirdie

3. "At schools, teachers give assignments like normal people and don't shout it at the class as they're departing after the bell rings." —Beezo514

via GIPHY

4. "Women having sex while wearing a bra the whole time. That's the first or second thing I take off of her." —BendingDoor

5. "The houses and apartments shown do not represent the living conditions of most folks." —rjainsa

"One of the reasons Spielberg's films from the '80s/'90s were so believable was that he insisted on houses looking lived in. The Goonies and E.T. both showed messy houses, single parents, scruffy kids, etc." —springloadednadsack

via GIPHY

6. "Empty parking spaces on city streets." —other_half_of_elvis

7. "Especially right in front of the place you’re going."—BxAnnie

8. "Moms making huge breakfasts that no one eats." —babyfresno77

9. "This is the one. Every time, I’m like, 'What time are these kids getting up? What time does school start?'"—DanDan_notaman

10. "Cars exploding in a crash." —St_Ander

"My husband is a firefighter, and he hates car explosion scenes in movies because they don't happen the way movies show them happening."—Specialist-Funny-926

11."I noticed that no one has screens on their windows on TV. Where I live the bugs would carry you away." —RusticSurgery

via GIPHY

"This one drives my husband crazy. He always comments on this when someone opens a window, sticks their head out, or throws something out. Could not do that where I live."—Sunnywithachance099

12. "Shoes on the bed." —slash-5

"I absolutely hate that trope. People with their shoes on beds or sofas. Hate it."—Farscape29

13. "Classes last longer than for the teacher to say something pithy, ask someone a question and then hear the bell ring. School buses don't honk for your lollygagging ass. If the bus stop is empty, they keep driving." —Scrotchety

14. "Halloween party costumes are much more elaborate on TV compared to real life." —Fireproofspider

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"You never see anyone in some crap they picked up at Spirit Halloween 30 minutes before the party."—Repulsive-Heron7023

15. "Nobody ever has to ask someone to repeat themselves in a movie. I probably say, 'What?' about 60 times a day." —Street-Suitable

"This is all TV and movies. Nobody ever stumbles over their words unless it is a plot-necessary miscommunication or the bumbly can't get my words out trope."—Jimmy_riddle86

16. "Abrupt endings to conversations or phone calls without saying bye." —ParapluieGris

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"OMG, thank you. Seriously, I wondered if people actually did this."—raggitytits

17. "The idea that you could be like six months behind on rent before they threaten to evict you, or six months behind on the power bill before they cut off your electricity. Maybe it used to be like that, but it sure isn’t anymore." —komeau

18. "People in a bar ordering a 'beer.' In real life, the server would likely be exasperated and ask about brand/kind and quantity." —remymartinia

"This one drives me nuts. I have never once in my 14 years working at restaurants and bars had someone just order a 'beer.'"—EveInGardenia

…and lastly…

19. "Kids dressed up for school, which would result in them being sent home to change…Also, teens wearing stilettos to school."—Wulfkat

via GIPHY

"Most teenagers today wear a baggy sweatshirt or a large T-shirt to school."—Randomthoughts4041


This article originally appeared in June.

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