Led Zeppelin, “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin III
 
Synesthesia is a fascinating condition experienced by 2% to 4% of the population, wherein a stimulus of one sense (taste, say) is processed and perceived within the framework of another sense (hearing, say). A person with the condition might say “That spaghetti tastes loud,” or “That song is purple.” Some minor crossing of wires that leads to a harmless yet stimulating state of affairs for those who have it. Notable synesthetes include Nikola Tesla, David Hockney, Vladimir Nabokov, Duke Ellington, and Wassily Kandinsky. Nabokov famously felt that each letter had a very specific color, which is a relatively common manifestation of synesthesia. 

Erin Kelly at All That Is Interesting has posted the, well, interesting “song portraits” of a Missouri artist named Melissa McCracken. As Kelly writes,
 

Each of McCracken’s paintings is based on a certain song, and incorporates the song’s notes, tempo, and chord progression through textures, hues and shapes. It is not imperative that one understands the condition’s neurological underpinnings to appreciate the work being done here, but those with a taste for abstract art will perhaps extract the most enjoyment from these pieces.

 
Check them out, they’re quite wonderful. I woulda said the Prince song would have a lot more purple to it, but I suppose McCracken knows best.

(Clicking on a song title will bring you to a YouTube version of that song. Highly recommended to refresh your memory! Hearing the music makes the pictures pop a lot more.)
 

Stevie Wonder, “Seems So Long,” Music of My Mind
 

Etta James, “At Last,” At Last!
 

Radiohead, “Karma Police,” OK Computer
 
More synesthesia after the jump…

Art from Alex Piamonte
 
Wait, science—have you thought this through?!? Actually, in terms of pure science fiction curb appeal, this MIT demonstration is without a doubt some one of the coolest displays of technology I’ve ever seen. Essentially, sound vibrates matter in what are increasingly measurable ways, and with incredibly advanced video equipment, we can now reproduce the sound that was played in the presence of an object using only the visual recording of the object. These vibrations are so small they can’t be seen with the naked eye, but the video shows scientists reproducing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” from a houseplant, and Queen and Bowie’s “Under Pressure” from a pair of earbuds (nice choice).

The whole thing is pretty unbelievable, but when you see an actual, intelligible conversation rendered from video of a potato chip bag you realize there is some seriously next-level shit going on. The implications for surveillance are obvious—I’m reminded of HAL 9000 reading lips in 2001: A Space Odyssey—but I’m optimistic that work like this has amazing potential.

Obviously it’s the sort of thing that requires insanely expensive instrumentation and (at least as of now), very specific conditions, but isn’t it just so James Bond? This is not to excuse the reckless actions of such irresponsible scientists, who may be leading the youth away from proper drug-related synesthesia, and subsequently gutting the marketplace for honest, hard-working drug dealers.

I can’t help thinking that if this technology had been around during the era of the Grateful Dead, only the rich kid Deadheads would have had one. Soon though, it’ll be an app, giving people, ahem, “something to do” at concerts besides merely videotaping a show they aren’t really paying attention to…
 

 
Via ANIMAL