I present, as mind candy for the weekend: adorable animals with synthesizers.

Cute kitty + Moog Theremin: Who doesn’t love that? From a local meeting of cartoonists comes this bundle of lovability, plus two music samples, ostensibly from 1936:

Dance of the Saucer Maidens
Dance of the Saucer Maidens

Penguin Lust
Penguin Lust

Sakie and Synthesizer: I think Synthesizer is the dog? There’s a pup we can take into our hearts. I’d say Synthesizer could be co-mascot for CDM with Hatebeak, but that might cause fur and feathers alike to fly. This shot comes from Suki Dhanda’s Year of the Dog series for the London underground; dog lovers won’t want to miss the full series at Platform for art.

Pound the Dog with Custom Gabriel Synthesizer: Gabriel Sound‘s history of custom sound equipment and synths goes back to the 70s. This time, Pound is the dog, and Gabriel is the synthesizer. If you whistle for Gabriel, I don’t think this modular synth will move. Just a guess.

Kitten, the Synthesizer: How better to round out this synth/animal confusion than a synth that actually is a Kitten? The Octave Kitten was Octave’s low-end competitor to pricey classics from Moog and ARP. Steve Baker has a comprehensive site filled with the obsessive collection of sounds and images you normally associate with better-known synth hardware. So, give the Kitten its due.

Here’s where things start to get surreal. I told my Create Digital Motion co-editor and Web wonderworker Jaymis about this idea yesterday, and started assembling links. I was going to round this synth love out by saying a very happy one year birthday to the Matrixsynth blog. Oddly enough, Matrix has gotten the adorable animal fever too: witness Arak and Legion, complete with racks of synths and cat videos, and cats, synths, and music tracks. (Cat from the latter pictured below.)

We all know the World Wide Web is here just to talk about our pets, so I invite you to help CDM follow up its cute kids series with shots of your cat clawing into your Korg and iBook. Don’t be a stranger.

One controversy I’m sure we won’t avert: cats vs. dogs. I’m a dog person, so keep that in mind. This is an equal-opportunity animals-with-synths feature, but I may have to maintain puppy quotas.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Music thing, you’ve got us beat on this one. Our friend Tom Whitwell has gone completely crazy for miniature synthesizer toys. I’m almost scared to look at your site for fear of what freakishly detailed toy synth setup will appear next, Tom. I’ve got nothing on this, so let’s just look at CDM’s toy moments of yesteryear:

Bob Moog as action figure

Chicken Little Toy as a Laptop + Vinyl DJ

Jemgirl Covers Tunes from 80s Jem Cartoon

Now, will someone get on the digital toy scene? There’s a decidedly analog tilt to the toys on Music thing. Where’s my toy OASYS?

Hell, let’s bring up another photo of the chicken DJ. He’s cute.

I use Lego metaphors all the time here on CDM, but why not make music with Legos? Aside from the cool Lego-created DJ shown at right, there are various DIY projects involving Legos. (Thanks for the pic, Elle!) Most impressive is the Lego-based CD changer, constructed from Mindworks kits to shuffle CDs. Sure, it’s basically just a jukebox on shuffle mode, but once you start with robotic arms, why not keep going?

Got some other Lego-based projects? I know you do. Give us a holler.

One thing you probably didn't see last weekend at Miami's WMC: this DJ. (via audioserve) Call it world's cutest scratching. Netherlands-based Lejo
specializes in this unique hand + props marionette theater. And the
show tours — if you happen to be passing through, say, Segovia or
Mechelen.

What, you say? You don't think DJs are real musicians? Fine. Check this rockin' accordion duet.