Thomas J. West Music

I have previously featured videos by both a cappella artist Peter Hollens and dubstep violinist Lindsey Sterling. The two have teamed together to produce a YouTube video cover of the theme from 2011 video game of the year Skyrim. It is a remarkable achievement, both in Tom Anderson's 12-part vocal score, Devin Graham's cinematography, Ben Leiberman's editing, and Bill Hare's mixing. These are all artists who are making a living doing what they love without "being chosen" by a major recording label.

This video has had over 1 million viewers in the first two days since upload - a testament to Peter Hollens' ability to do artistic covers of material that appeals to a wide audience. You know a video is a bona fide YouTube success when fans start overdubbing and remixing it, such as this one - it's really funny.

This video is a testament to the collaborative power of the internet and to keeping alive musical creativity in the mainstream that is more than a quarter-inch deep. The world needs more artists like these who can appeal to a mass audience and yet still bring well-crafted and aesthetically rich music and video to bear without having to distribute it through the entertainment industry's money machine.

Posted by Thomas J. West on April 7, 2012 at 9:43 AM

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