Street Musicians Unite

Sadly, I can't embed this one for your viewing convenience, but check out the loveliest video I've seen in a while. And I didn't even love "Stand By Me" as a song--these guys have changed my mind.

About the project:

"This cover of Stand By Me was recorded by completely unknown artists in a street virtual studio all around the world. It all started with a base track—vocals and guitar—recorded on the streets of Santa Monica, California, by a street musician called Roger Ridley. The base track was then taken to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Grandpa Elliott—a blind singer from the French Quarter—added vocals and harmonica while listening to Ridley's base track on headphones. In the same city, Washboard Chaz's added some metal percussion to it.

And from there, it just gets rock 'n' rolling bananas: The producers took the resulting mix all through Europe, Africa, and South America, adding new tracks with multiple instruments and vocals that were assembled in the final version you are seeing in this video. All done with a simple laptop and some microphones."

This is what the internet is for--connecting people in the best way possible. (I mean, that and porn, right?)

Also check out Playing For Change, the group that put all this together. Their goal: "to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music...No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world." They also have other videos bringing musicians together, so be sure to check them out.

Buskers rock. (But then, we already knew that.)