Movies aren't exactly known for caring a whole lot about how physics work, and some of the finest examples of this fact have come in the form of scenes where the power of rock coming from an electric guitar causes all kinds of crazy effects. So, CBC Music asked physicist Ben Tippett to shed some light on the real physics behind those power chords.

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Sci-fi scribe Mike Dougherty (X-Men 2) has another skill besides writing: Designing Alien onesies. (Fashionably Geek)

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Last time we heard from teenager Tina S. she was wowing the world (or, well, me and some readers at least) by turning out an a-m-a-z-i-n-g version of Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" guitar solo like it ain't no thing. This time she's gone classical with Patrick Rondat's "Vivaldi Tribute," a guitar adaptation of part of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. We're not worthy! We're not worthy! (via: The Laughing Squid) Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?

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You know when you've had a really long night, and maybe twelve or so cups of coffee, and that exhaustion takes the form of hysteria and bad decisions? Well, Roger Clark does. To celebrate Canada Day -- which for those of you playing along at home, was yesterday -- he played the air guitar to Rush's "Tom Sawyer" on live TV this morning like his life depended on it. And, of course, it's already up on Youtube for all the world to see.

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Here's a 14-year-old named Tina covering Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" guitar solo and killing it. If you're like me and the words "Eddie Van Halen's 'Eruption' guitar solo" have no meaning, let me just say: This girl is some sort of guitar wizard. (via: Death and Taxes) Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?

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I think it's safe to work from the assumption that any guy who has ever picked up a guitar did so for one reason and one reason only -- because he heard that chicks are into guys who play guitar. According to a French study, that piece of folk wisdom may have a kernel of truth to it, as a series of social experiments suggest that women find a man more attractive when he is holding a guitar. 

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What do you get when you cross the remains of a dismembered guitar with an Arduino powered robotic glockenspiel? In the interest of full disclosure, we've never had occasion to ask ourselves that question. We have an answer to it today, though, and the answer is glockentar, a musical chimera of bells, circuits, strings and light projections that...you know what? Just check out the video. It's one of those "you have to see it for yourself" things.

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Musician Jocelyn Pelichet has now gone about putting his mark on the internet by performing this rather outstanding selection of guitar riffs from the early 90's without so much as blinking between them. Though his choices can be quibbled, there are 50 of them after all, none can say he doesn't perform them with some serious aplomb. The man blazes through the 50 riffs while still making each easily recognizable. Perhaps the only complaint one can have is the drums in the background but he goes so far as to provide one without it. How considerate!

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What's cooler than the bass guitar? Literally nothing. Fact. Certain versions of the bass guitar can be cooler than other versions of the bass guitar, however, and this Commodore 64 bass guitar made by Jeri Ellsworth definitely deserves one of the upper rungs on the ladder of bass guitar awesomeness, right up there next to the classic Millennium Falcon bass.

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This is David Didonato as he looks at around 8 AM, EST. He's sweaty, disheveled, tired, and his fingers probably hurt a lot. That's because Didonato is attempting to beat the current world record for the longest guitar solo of 24 hours 18 minutes. Every once in a while there comes an event that unites a nation. This probably isn't that event, but you can watch it live. See the LiveStream, after the break.

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Despite how adorable these are, cupcake resistance is futile. There was no credited artist on these, so if someone comes forward with more information, we will edit and give credit where it's due. (via Geeks Are Sexy)

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If you're devoted to someday living an entirely steampunk life, there's good news to be had; you can still have a guitar. Tony Cochran has taken upon himself the selfless endevour of bringing steampunk guitars into the world, and they are beautiful. Naturally, you might be wondering if they still work, and the answer is a resounding yes. They make good art pieces, but can still rock out.

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Here is an eight-year-old girl playing serious guitar. Her name is Zoe Thomson, she's from the UK, and she plays in a band called The Mini Band. (You can follow them on Facebook. We thought you should know.) She has also been playing guitar since she was about six, unless there are videos of her that aren't YouTube. Imagine the sheer rockitude if she teamed up with Juliet, she of the badassest hardcore song we brought you last week. Is it blowing your mind? How about this: Imagine what an amazing guitar player Zoe is going to be when she grows up. Mind-boggling. (via Design You Trust) Previously in Awesome Little Girls

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You know the necessities of life, right? The simple bear bare necessities? Food, water, shelter, Dragonborn mandolin, and that's it, if I recall correctly. TTguitars on Etsy can help you with that last one if you haven't taken care of it yet. As pictured above, a Dragonborn mandolin is available and made to order for a mere $695. If that's not your style and you'd prefer the stereotypical choice of an electric guitar or the more awesome choice of an electric bass, those options are available as well.

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So if you've looked at a Guitar Hero game and thought to yourself "man, this isn't nearly simplified enough," I've got something for you. It's called the TabStrummer guitar and it will let you play entire chords with the press of a single button. That's right, you only need one finger to play guitar now. Okay, well, one finger on each hand. The TabStrummer is its own standalone device, so you can bring it camping and play crazy cyber-tunes around your electronic fire, or something.

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YouTube user justkylevids stuck his iPhone 4 inside an acoustic guitar and decided to record how playing guitar looked from inside the guitar. Due to the camera's rolling shutter, the resulting video is actually really neat, making the guitar strings look like wavy computer generated-strings. Justkylevids provides tips on how to recreate the effect:

• You must have the strings brightly backlit to get the camera to capture at such a high frame rate (pure conjecture). You can see how the effect fades when the buildings come into view. • Use a pencil [to position the phone inside the guitar] *This was used with the front facing camera, try the back camera, it may capture better!

So, give it a go and see if justkylevids was justkytrolling.

(via kottke)

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The folks over at Google are becoming ever more ambitious with their famous Google doodles. Today's honors the birthday of Les Paul, often credited as the father of the solid body electric guitar. Paul, who would have been 97 this year, has his birthday marked with a fully-strummable Google logo. Paul's belief that artists would want an instrument like an electric guitar proved remarkably prescient and helped kick-off a revolution in music. In addition to his prowess as an inventor and technical tinkerer, Paul pushed forward some of the styles of playing that would later become standards of rock 'n roll. Google's homage to Paul is not only playable, but recordable as well. Click the little button, play your kickin' jam, and Google will play it back and provide you with a sharable link. If you manage to pull off any face-melting solos, drop them off in our comments section.

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