Vitamin String Quartet

Available Now: VSQ Performs The Music from the Films of Wes Anderson

Director Wes Anderson has made films such as Rushmore and the Royal Tenanbaums cult-favorites, and great tunes always go along with his hilarious deadpan scenes. Vitamin String Quartet Performs Music from the Films of Wes Anderson pays tribute to these unions of intimate film and music with innovative string arrangements. Hear Elliott Smith’s “Needle in the Hay,” Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby” and more as violin, viola and cello sweep you back into his stories. 

Available now on iTunes! 

From The Vault Friday: No Doubt

No Doubt fans, rejoice! Last week, the band announced their new album’s release date, (the first since 2001,) which isslated for  September 25^th.

While we eagerly await the album’s arrival, the group is documenting the process of the albums completion with a mini-webseries. You can check out the first installment here, which features snippets of the band recording in producer Spike Stent’s Santa Monica Studio.

We’ve got a bit of time on our hands (just a little over four months) so kick back, relax and get stoked for new tunes from No Doubt by listening to VSQ’s renditions of the band’s biggest hits.

The String Quartet Tribute to No Doubt: The Singles 1992 – 2003

Available at our Webstore, iTunes and Amazon

Available Now! Vitamin String Quartet Performs The Hits 2012 Vol. 1

VSQ Performs the Hits of 2012 Vol. 1 highlights some of the year’s most popular hits so far with stellar string arrangements that roar with a new energy. Hear songs from Fun., Of Monsters and Men, Young the Giant and more with a sophisticated new spin.

Tracks

1. We are Young  (String Quartet Tribute to Fun. feat. Janelle Monae)
2. Little Talks (String Quartet Tribute to Of Monsters and Men)
3. Drive By (String Quartet Tribute to Train)
4. Cough Syrup (String Quartet Tribute to Young the Giant)
5. Everybody Talks (String Quartet Tribute to Neon Trees)
6. Called Out in the Dark (String Quartet Tribute to Snow Patrol)
7. Shadow Days (String Quartet Tribute to John Mayer)

Available now at iTunes 

Harry Potter on eBook!

Muggles rejoice! The beloved Harry Potter book series has finally arrived in eBook format. All seven installments of the book can be purchased on author J.K. Rowling’s online Pottermore Shop. 

The wizarding world awaits, but don’t forget to enhance your reading experience with Vitamin String Quartet’s Tribute to Harry Potter. Check it out on iTunes now!

From the Vault Friday: White Stripes

After catching wind that Jack White of the White Stripes is set to release a solo album, headline Hangout Music Festival and perform at Sasquatch in Washington, we must say, the man has us all in a bit of a tizzy. So why the long faces? Mr. White was recently quoted in an interview with NME saying there is “absolutely no chance” of a White Stripes reunion… Unless both he and Meg concurrently end up bankrupt, which is unlikely. But fear not, fellow mourners. Apparently during his solo sets, Jack’s been peppering in a few White Stripes tunes in addition to his new songs. So between Jack, White Stripes past releases, and our string quartet renditions of the bands’ best hits, we’ll  never have to go without.

Listen to Vitamin String Quartet’s Tribute to White Stripes on Spotiy now!

VSQ Sheet Music Bundle Now Available!

Vitamin String Quartet has been spinning your favorite pop and rock tunes into classical gold for more than a decade. Now you can purchase all four exclusive string arrangements ($50.00 value each) for only $169.00. This special sheet music bundle includes Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life,” Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man,” and The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” all originally arranged only for Vitamin String Quartet. Each sheet music package comes with a complete score and four individual parts for Violin I, Volin II, Viola, and Cello.

Purchase your Vitamin String Quartet Sheet Music Bundle today!

Unusual Collaborations

With a vast variety of genres in the music world, it’s inevitable that unusual crossover collaborations will arise – for better or for worse. Pop legend Tony Bennett and modern soulstress Amy Winewine’s recent duet on “Body and Soul” was a collaboration in the “for better” category, winning the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 54th annual Grammy Awards last week. As Janis and Mitch Winehouse, parents of the late singer, took to the stage with Bennett to accept the award, Mitch expressed his daughter Amy’s reverence for the song: “I said ‘Do you know the words, darlin’?’ She said ‘You’ve been singing that song to me for 25 years, of course I know the words.” Bennett has also expressed his adoration for Winehouse, saying that he was honored to have the opportunity to sing with her. Mitch summed up this reverence with his parting words at the ceremony: “Long live Whitney Houston, long live Amy Winehouse, long live Etta James. There’s a beautiful girl band up in heaven.” Here are some other out-of-this-world collaborations:

Kanye West and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) – “Lost In the World”

It’s hard to imagine Kanye West and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver meeting in Hawaii, maybe sipping margaritas on the beach, and discussing over breakfast how “Lost in the World” would be West’s closing song at his Coachella performance, which Vernon joined him for (along with a giant backdrop depicting a battle between Greek gods and ballerina dancers prancing around in nude leotards). But Vernon did lend his 2009 “Woods” as a sample on West’s “Lost in the World,” changing his vocals from “I’m up in the woods” to “I’m lost in the world” towards the end of the song, which features his signature falsetto croon that serves as a complimentary contrast to West’s sharp rapping.

Alicia Keys and Jack White (The White Stripes) – “Another Way To Die” 

Movie soundtracks can be a hotbed for otherwise unrealized musical mashups. When Jack White said he would use the main riff in “Seven Nation Army” if he were ever asked to write a James Bond movie theme (an unlikely possibility to him at the time), little did he know he would later be asked to write another song for the famed film series, in “Quantum Solace.” White has also worked with Loretta Lynn, Wanda Jackson, Tom Jones and Insane Clown Posse (a collaboration equally as awkward as Ozzy Osbourne and Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show), some of which listeners might speculatively attribute to late-night rounds at the bar.

Eminem and Dido – “Stan” 

While the song is from the point of view of an obsessed Eminem fan (stalker + fan = Stan) who violently raps about driving off a bridge with his pregnant girlfriend tied up in the trunk of his car, the sample of Dido’s “Thank You” gently swaying in the background adds a softness to this otherwise abrasive cautionary tale. To add another performer to the mix, Eminem brought out Elton John to play piano and sing Dido’s part at the 2001 Grammy’s on the song.

Bob Dylan and Kurtis Blow – “Street Rock” 

Perhaps Bob Dylan’s rapping skills should’ve been contained to his 1965 spoken-word-infused “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” but he just couldn’t help himself in the 80s. He wrote and rapped on Kurtis Blow’s “Street Rock,” an energetic 1980s rap song calling people to “rock the streets” and revolutionize their thinking, though the only riots the song has inspired are ones against it. Nonetheless, sometimes it’s good for musicians to push themselves past their limits to discover just how far they can – and can’t – go.

Vitamin String Quartet Tributes to check out:

Bon Iver

The White Stripes

Eminem

Bob Dylan