This is one of the most awesome things I’ve seen in a long time. A team of brilliantly imaginative Japanese “organic engineers” have built a Rube Goldber machine entirely out of wood, that plays like a Xylophone. Originally conceived and carried out to be a promotion for their NTT Docomo Touchwood SH-08C cell phone, I think these guys deserve far more credit than just being marketing geniuses. I can’t even fathom the kind of time and effort that must have gone into creating a fully functional, entirely wooden xylophone that doesn’t just hammer random notes, but plays a faithful wooden ball and plank reproduction of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

For all you non-classical fans out there, German composer Bach comprised this piece in the early 1700s, and it was first performed for an audience in the early 1720s as part of a cantata (choral composition,) by Bach entitled “Herz und Mund Tat und Leben.” Which translates pretty much to “Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life.” The underlying choral melody was composed by fellow musician and violinist Johan Schop, though he doesn’t really ever get any credit for it. Yeah, I’m kind of a classical music nerd. Sue me.

Anyway, the point is, you should watch this video, whether you enjoy classical music or not, for the sheer ingenuity and massive amounts of calculations, time, and effort that must have gone into making something of this magnitude. And out in the middle of the friggin’ woods, no less. So enjoy, audiophiles and those appreciative of creative engineering, as I give you Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” as performed by a bunch of brillaint, crazy Japanese guys who get paid(!!) to come up with shit like this. Mindbendingly awesome on all accounts. You fucking rock on, crazy-brilliant Japanese dudes.

[r.b.]