People seem generally glum/cranky today for some reason, so I offer this (non-digital music) image: a Carnaval parade of guys in wooden, mustachioed masks ringing cowbells. More cowbell, indeed.

Wearing wooden masks and cow bells strapped around their waists, Germans defied the freezing temperatures to participate in the traditional cow bell-ringing procession in Mittenwald, in southern Germany. The century-old custom is celebrated around carnival.

New York Times Pictures of the Day, 2/19

Just remember, folks: musical instruments are a wonderful thing.

Ah, the cowbell skit / Behind the Music: Blue Oyster Cult parody from Saturday Night Live. (see also text transcript) Like other viral Internet phenomena (see also: All Your Base Are Belong to Us), it’s funny and it spread. If you’ve had your head in a hole since the year 2000 (that’s where I keep my head), now’s the chance to catch up: watch the video, and witness Wired’s 5 year history of the cowbell skit’s spread through the Web. “More cowbell” is a phrase now? I can’t keep up with these kids today.

CDM humbly offers its own cowbell links:

Cowbell Project, a searchable cowbell song database

Digitally Modeled Cowbell: Hardware with the power of onboard DSP. Covered this parody in February, but the site is back up, and now you can buy a t-shirt. Perfect for showing up at the CDM party, should I, uh, ever hold one.

Of course, we know the real place this phrase is now ubiquitous is in software presets, as in Digital Performer 4.6.

Updated: Missed this entirely; everyone has cowbell on the brain. See Music Thing on reader tracks inspired by cowbell.

Linked from the comments of that story: this has got to be the best ‘cowbell remix’ track I’ve heard, from none other than Derek Sajbel aka Absurdity.biz, maker of a fine documentary on circuit bending. Gotta have more Sajbel.

What’s your favorite software cowbell: Is it Native Instruments’ Kowbel instrument? Logic Pro’s CWB 24L-X? Cakewalk’s infamous Magnacowbell Professional Producer Edition SE III? Hit comments or contact me and let me know.

Need proof that digital modeling has arrived? Look no further than Rad Monkey's
Digital Cowbells. No, not the electric cowbells with electric pickups.
The upcoming VLC800 digital-modeled cowbell with onboard DSP and models
of classic cowbells like "Black Beauty, Oregon Trail Model 75, Alma
Cogan Model V," and my personal favorite "Chicken Nugget." (via Gina
Robair's eMusician Extra)

I'm sure the mention of classic names like that is bringing tears to
the eyes of nostalgic cowbell players. (You know who you are, as the
site says, "You dream about tone. You practice relentlessly.")

Ah, I remember the first time I heard an Alma Cogan Model V.