Music

TapeScape ‘Bot Turns Old Boombox Into Glitch Music Automaton

Using little else than the parts inside an old GE boombox, Michael Colombo made TapeScape, a robot that front-mounts the jambox’s tape head and uses it to follow strips of cassette tapes on the ground. The signal from the tape head is transmitted via FM radio to a receiver, which then records the glitchy sound…

Tech News John Mahoney

Hand Charge Your Floating Musical Orgel Spa Ball

This Orgel Spa is a floating, hand cord-charged ball that plays one song and one song only. It’s waterproof, goes into your bath, and is supposed to give you three minutes of relaxation. The downside is that it’s $20. This would be great if you could somehow load your own MP3s on there and play…

Tech News Jason Chen

Old School Computer Band Rocks Bohemian Rhapsody (Poorly)

I can’t think of a more old school, geeky tribute to Queen than a band comprised of an Atari 800XL, 8-inch floppy disk, 3.5-in hard drive and HP Scanjet 3C. If only it sounded better. The composer, YouTube user bd594, says what you hear is 100% pure, straight from the machines themselves—no effects or sampling…

Tech News Jack Loftus

How To: Calibrate Your Turntable For the Best Possible Sound

Did our Listening Test week light up the fire inside to dust off some old records and whip a turntable back into shape to start enjoying them again? It’s really easy, and cheap. Here’s how. If you saw our feature earlier in the week, you know Michael Fremer is crazy about vinyl. He’s been defending…

Tech News John Mahoney

How Tech Changed the Way We Listen to Music

Technology always helped bring the listener closer to the music. Progressing from wax tubes, to records, to cassettes, to CDs, each jump has benefited the music fan. But maybe it’s gone a bit too far. The History Admittedly, new music formats have always changed the way we listen to music. However, I don’t think any…

Tech News Adrian Covert

Kraftwerk, as Reimagined Through the 90s Lens of Tim and Eric

There are few groups more influential to electronic music than Kraftwerk. Spacevoyaging from Dusseldorf since the 60s, these 4 Germans are the essence of cool. Now, Tim and Eric imagine them as 1990s computer nerds. As Prefix’s Andrew Winistorfer points out, this video plays out like a giant homage to the group. The emotionless computer…

Tech News Adrian Covert

My First Album

I stared at the cover a lot. And I gawked at the inside album art even longer, wondering what the hell they were all wearing, vaguely aware that they were badass and I was not. The only song my mom ever played off of Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusion I was “November Rain.” And…

Tech News Matt Buchanan

10 “Instruments” That Have No Business Playing Music

As part of our week long tribute to music tech, it’s fitting that we honor artists that challenge our definition of musical instruments. Here are ten examples that shatter our perceptions (and eardrums). Tesla coils have always been a popular instrument for nerdy conductors. Not surprisingly, the arrangement of choice is usually one of two…

Gadgets Sean Fallon

How We Listen: A Timeline of Audio Formats

Humans have been writing music for at least as long as we’ve been recording history. It was storing it that took a little more time. Here are all the ways we’ve done it to date: For full resolution, click here. It wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that mass-produced recordings were available to…

Tech News John Herrman

Audiophile Test: Speaker Wire, AC Power Cable, Record Demagnetizer

As promised, here are more details on the unscientific audiophile gear comparisons I did in Michael Fremer’s audiocave. They range from the mildly crazy to the borderline batshit—and they were all fun as hell. https://gizmodo.com/why-we-need-audiophiles-5213042 My objective in experiencing a full-bore audiophile’s listening room was not to try to call him on whether or not…

Tech News John Mahoney

My First Album

The first album I owned was Still Cruisin’ by the Beach Boys. It was 1989. Shoulder pads were big. Hair was bigger. The Beach Boys were on Full House the previous year. I was eight. Eight and easily impressionable, as I’d love to say I selected this cassette because of some deep appreciation for campy…

Tech News Jack Loftus

Handmade Playlist: The Greatest Mixtape I Ever Made

In 1994, I painstakingly crafted the greatest hip-hop mixtape cassette I would ever make, comprised solely of songs on the radio at the time. I was 9. While Bill Gates was becoming a one-man megapower, Steve Jobs was getting lost in a sea of ego and suck, and Nelson Mandela was inspiring people across the…

Tech News Adrian Covert

Pump Up The Dial: Photographic Daps for the Iconic 80s Boombox

Boomboxes. Synonymous with hip-hop. Synonymous with loud. Its standing in the cultural zeitgeist has faded over the years, but their past glories and appetite for D batteries will always be loved and adored by me. Perfectly timed to complement (or perhaps aid in) the rise of hip-hop, the boombox rose to prominence in the late…

Tech News Adrian Covert

Cool Album Art and Packaging: Records, Cassettes, CDs Then Nothing

CDs originally came in long boxes with amazing art. Word went around that they’d go away, since hippies—like Sting—were pissed off about killing trees, but I was sad. Music packaging says a lot about music. Album art used to be a serious pursuit, as if it was equally important to catch both the eyes and…

Tech News Wilson Rothman

Have You Ever Bought An Album More Than Once?

Only the best albums are worth buying more than once. Maybe you lost it, maybe you bought it in different formats—whatever the reason, let us know which albums are worth the investment. Have You Ever Bought An Album More Than Once? ( polls)

Tech News Sean Fallon

My First Album

Unlike Jason, I have a reason to be proud of my first album purchase. It was Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine on cassette. https://gizmodo.com/my-first-album-5213281 As I recall, I saw the Head Like a Hole video on MTV and liked the direction they were going in. At this point hair band music was wearing itself…

Tech News Sean Fallon

Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers

A speaker system can cost as little as $35. Or as much as $350,000. As a normal person, you probably have just one question about speakers that cost as much a Ferrari: What. The. Hell. https://gizmodo.com/why-we-need-audiophiles-5213042 How Speakers Work Especially when you consider just how simple the overall mechanism behind a standard speaker is: It…

Tech News Matt Buchanan

My First Album

I got off to a rough start. I had, used and loved a clock radio for years before this, but the first music I truly owned came from a playground friend, who bought me a tape single of Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life“, with “Tattoo of the Sun” as a b-side. (Like Dan, I’m a…

Tech News John Herrman

Let’s Get Busy: Songs to Listen to While Making Things

Phil Torrone, senior editor of MAKE and creative director for DIY site Adafruit, is a DIY guru and all-around good guy. So we had him give us good songs to listen to while building stuff. He gave us a list of tunes chock full of productive, creative goodness. We posted the songlist and a video…

Tech News Adrian Covert

The Streets: “I Love My Cellphone”

Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, is a man of many interesting thoughts. Few, however, grip me as much as this love tribute to his cellphone, aptly named "I Love My Phone." You may prefer his musings on how fit his girl is, whether or not he did too many drugs, or what happened to his…

Tech News Adrian Covert

TapeScape ‘Bot Turns Old Boombox Into Glitch Music Automaton

Hand Charge Your Floating Musical Orgel Spa Ball

Old School Computer Band Rocks Bohemian Rhapsody (Poorly)

How To: Calibrate Your Turntable For the Best Possible Sound

How Tech Changed the Way We Listen to Music

Kraftwerk, as Reimagined Through the 90s Lens of Tim and Eric

My First Album

10 “Instruments” That Have No Business Playing Music

How We Listen: A Timeline of Audio Formats

Audiophile Test: Speaker Wire, AC Power Cable, Record Demagnetizer

My First Album

Handmade Playlist: The Greatest Mixtape I Ever Made

Pump Up The Dial: Photographic Daps for the Iconic 80s Boombox

Cool Album Art and Packaging: Records, Cassettes, CDs Then Nothing

Have You Ever Bought An Album More Than Once?

My First Album

Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers

My First Album

Let’s Get Busy: Songs to Listen to While Making Things

The Streets: “I Love My Cellphone”

What’s Actually the Best Way to Get a Good Night’s Sleep? We Asked Scientists

Game to Lose Online Mode After Its Server Partner Pivots to You’ll Never Guess What

This $400 (Not) AI Keychain Is Pointless, Extravagant, and Weirdly Lovable

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pCloud Easter Special: One Payment, Lifetime Storage for Entire Family (68% Off)

Getting Stuck Inside a Glitching Robotaxi Is a Whole New Thing to Be Scared of

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NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission Blasts Off

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

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Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

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