Here's an unusual and amazing feat of memorization by OneManSho! At first, it simply sounds like he's singing an opera in Latin or Italian. Even if you're not into opera, keep watching it! About the middle, you'll realize how familiar the song is, and how impressive a memorization feat this truly is!

OneManSho also performed this same feat with another song, but there are stronger visual clues in this video as to which song he's singing.



This idea has been done before, such as in Weird Al's Amish Paradise video (watch from 2:51 to 3:09), as well as the classic Swedish bookstore scene from Top Secret! (here it is the original way, if you're curious). However, OneManSho is doing it while making sense and without lip-synching!

Video Format:
YouTube

This is the complete classic 1970 movie, The Phantom Tollbooth, in 2 parts. As you might guess from the Grey Matters site, the original book and this movie were a big influence on me.

It's simultaneously fun and makes a number of excellent points. Watch the entire movie while it is still available.

Video Format:
Vimeo

Animaniacs fans will definitely remember Yakko Sings the Nations of the World. It's one thing to do it in a recording studio with the words in front of you. However, the voice behind Yakko, Rob Paulsen, can sing the entire song from memory, as well!

Video Format:
YouTube

“iiSwanSongii” has memorized the McDonald's Menu Song that was released in 1989, and recites it with her baby. Hmmm...you don't suppose Richard Troop is the father, do you?

Video Format:
YouTube

There have been numerous versions of the song American Pie, rewritten to be about Pi instead. The one I've seen go the furthest in terms of Pi digits, though, is Alex C. Thompson's version. A few viewings, and you'll know Pi to 30 digits!

If you're more ambitious, you can try this page which will help you sing it up to 191 digits! The music from this page comes from Hard n Phirm's Pi video, which is also available on Google Video and MySpace.

Video Formats:
Google Video
MySpace
YouTube

Back in the late 80s and the early 90s, McDonald's ran one ad in which every item on the menu at the time was sung. Richard Troop remembers and can sing this jingle almost two entire decades later!

Video Format:
YouTube

If you're thinking it's been too long since I've last posted a music video on Grey Matters Videos, you're about to get your wish.

“Weird Al” Yankovic has just released a new video, entitled “White and Nerdy”, which fits well with much of this site. The song is from his new album “Straight Outta Lynwood”. If you're having any trouble figuring out the lyrics, they're available online, courtesy of Lyric Wiki.

You can also find “White and Nerdy” on Google Video, too.

For those who may not be familiar with it, this is a parody of Cham's Ridin' Dirty.

Video Formats:
Google Video
YouTube

This is the first time I've ever posted a music video on this site, but this is something special. Klein Four is a musical group, consisting entirely of mathematics students from Northwestern University. The video above is the song for which they are most noted, “Finite Simple Group (of Order Two)”. You have to give it a listen!

This isn't their only music video, either. On their site, you can watch them perform Three-Body Problem, Just the Four of Us (Klein's Theme, version 1 and version 2), Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and The Twelve Days of Christmas, as well. Their Flash site offers access to even more of their videos!

Earlier this month, they also released Musical Fruitcake, their first CD, which is available through the Klein Four Store. The store and their site are both definitely worth a look!

Video Formats:
Flash
Windows Media
YouTube