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Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) is an American musical group from Los Angeles known for its series of tribute albums to rock and pop acts.
VSQ is a series of string quartet projects developed and produced by CMH Records, an independent record company based in Los Angeles. The CMH team works with an evolving cast of arrangers, producers, string players, and other creatives on each project. Their albums are released through Vitamin Records and are primarily performed by a string quartet, although other instruments have been used. "Vitamin String Quartet is about applying rock n' roll attitude to classical technique," said Tom Tally,[1] a violist and arranger who has performed on and produced over 50 Vitamin String Quartet albums.
Their albums feature various genres, including pop and rock, metal, emo, punk, techno, country, and hip-hop, and a wide variety of groups, such as the Beach Boys, Gorillaz, Oasis, 311, Depeche Mode, Simple Plan, Queen, Led Zeppelin, the Offspring, Rush, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Senses Fail, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Bruce Springsteen, Crossfade, Jimi Hendrix, the Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Modest Mouse, System of a Down, the Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Muse, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Slayer, Kanye West, Adele, Lady Gaga, and Lana Del Rey, among others. Their discography includes over 400 albums.
The group began in 1999 "as an experiment in transforming rock and pop songs with classical instruments."[2] It later expanded to include a variety of popular music.[2]
From 2012 until 2014, their music was played 24 hours a day on the FM broadcast station WWHK in Concord, New Hampshire.[3]
In popular culture
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In 2008, VSQ contributed a recording of "Jack and Sally Montage" to Nightmare Revisited, on which the original score for the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas was reinterpreted by bands like Tiger Army, the All-American Rejects, Plain White T's, Rise Against, and DeVotchKa.
Songs by Vitamin String Quartet were featured on the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance[4] twice in 2008. "Control" from Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Janet Jackson appeared on an episode that aired on July 30, 2008, and "Hallelujah" from Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Paramore appeared on an episode that aired the day after. Songs appeared again on the show in Season 6 in 2009. Legacy Perez used "Flashing Lights" by Kanye West as a track for a solo elimination dance that aired December 9, 2009. "Yellow", originally by Coldplay, featured on the show with guest dancers on the Top 10 elimination show, The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. This episode aired on December 2, 2009.
In June 2009, they branched out by including a few original songs on their album Perversions, which also included covers of bands such as Broken Social Scene, No Age, and Sigur Rós.[5]
Two songs from Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Coldplay, "Yellow" and "Clocks", were used in an episode of the TV show The Vampire Diaries on April 22, 2010.[6]
In 2011, Vitamin String Quartet backed Thirty Seconds to Mars for their MTV Unplugged performance and appeared on the EP recording of the concert.
Vitamin String Quartet covered INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" and Pat Benatar's "We Belong" in the 100th episode of Gossip Girl.[7][8][9]
Vitamin String Quartet's cover of "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros was featured in the finale of the fifth season of Modern Family on May 21, 2014.
Vitamin String Quartet's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Something I Can Never Have" was featured in the fifth episode of the first season of the HBO series Westworld, "Contrapasso", and their cover of Radiohead's "Motion Picture Soundtrack" was featured in episode six, "The Adversary".
Vitamin String Quartet's cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers "Scar Tissue" was featured on the soundtrack of King of Staten Island in 2020.
Vitamin String Quartet has many covers featured in the Netflix series Bridgerton, such as Nirvana's "Stay Away" and Robyn's "Dancing on My Own".[10] Covers of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" and Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" were used in the 2024 Doctor Who episode "Rogue," serving as an homage to Bridgerton.
Strings For The Deaf: The String Quartet Tribute to Queens of the Stone Age
String Quartet Tribute to Queens of the Stone Age Vol.2
R
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Enigmatic: The String Quartet Tribute to Radiohead
Strung Out on Kid A: The String Quartet Tribute to Radiohead
Strung Out on In Rainbows: Vitamin String Quartet Performs Radiohead's In Rainbows
Strung Out on OK Computer: The String Quartet Tribute to Radiohead
Freedom: Tribute to Rage Against the Machine
String Quartet Tribute to Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
String Quartet Tribute to R.E.M.
String Quartet Tribute to R.E.M. Vol. 2
String Quartet Tribute to The Red Hot Chili Peppers
String Quartet Tribute to Regina Spektor
String Quartet Tribute to Relient K
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Rise Against
String Quartet Tribute to The Rolling Stones
Exit... Stage Right: The String Quartet Tribute to Rush
String Quartet Tribute to Rush’s 2112
Through the Prism: The Classical Tribute to Rush
S
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Shake it Out- String Quartet Tribute to Florence + The Machine
String Quartet Tribute to Santana
String Quartet Tribute to Senses Fail
Strung Out on Seether - The String Quartet Tribute
String Quartet Tribute to Shinedown
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Simple Plan
VSQ Performs Sigur Ros
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Skrillex
The String Quartet Tribute to Slayer: The Death Angel Remains
Evil You Dread: The String Quartet Tribute to Slayer
String Quartet Tribute to Elliott Smith
String Quartet Tribute to The Smiths
String Quartet Tribute to Snow Patrol
String Quartet Tribute to Sonic Youth
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Soundgarden
Hometown: The String Quartet Tribute to Bruce Springsteen
In The Chamber with Staind: The String Quartet Tribute
String Quartet Tribute to Gwen Stefani
String Quartet Tribute to Switchfoot
String Quartet Tribute to System of a Down
The String Quartet Tribute to System of a Down's Mezmerize
The String Quartet Tribute to System of a Down's Hypnotize
String Quartet Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins
String Quartet Tribute to The Strokes
String Quartet Tribute to Sum 41
Sweater Weather - String Quartet Tribute to The Neighbourhood
Stitches: Vitamin String Quartet Rendition to Shawn Mendes
T
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The Magnificent Seven Series: The String Quartet Tribute to Thrice [EP]
Strung Out on Thrice: A String Quartet Tribute
The String Quartet Tribute to Tool's Ænima
Third Eye Open: The String Quartet Tribute to Tool
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Tool's Lateralus
Anatomical: The String Quartet Tribute to Tool
Strung Out on Three Days Grace: A String Quartet Tribute
Strung Out on Taking Back Sunday: A String Quartet Tribute
The Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Third Eye Blind
The String Quartet Tribute to Thirty Seconds to Mars
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Taylor Swift's Safe & Sound
String Quartet Tribute to Train
String Quartet Tribute to Tupac
U
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Strung Out on U2: The String Quartet Tribute
Still Strung Out on U2: The String Quartet Vol. 2
String Quartet Tribute to U2's The Joshua Tree
The Vitamin String Quartet Plays U2's No Line on the Horizon
Painted Red: Strung Out on Underoath
Strung Out on The Used: The String Quartet Tribute
V
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String Quartet Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Vance Joy
W
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Dad, Get Me Out of This!: The String Quartet Tribute to Warren Zevon
Vitamin String Quartet Performs We Belong
Come on and Kick Me!: The String Quartet Tribute to Weezer
Pull This String: String Quartet Tribute to Weezer (re-release)
String Quartet Tribute to The White Stripes
The String Quartet Tribute to The Who's Tommy
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Amy Winehouse
Y
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Olympus: The String Quartet Tribute to Yanni
String Quartet Tribute to Yellowcard
Rusted Moon: The String Quartet Tribute to Neil Young
Miscellaneous and compilations
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Blood Curdling Strings: VSQ Pays Tribute to Horror Classics (2011)
The Gay Wedding Collection (2008)
The Geek Wedding Collection (2015)
Geek Wedding 2: The Sequel (2016)
Geek Wedding Forever Vol. 3 (2019)
The Gothic Wedding Collection (2008)
Modern Wedding Collection
Modern Wedding Collection, Vol. 2
My Metal Valentine (2008)
The Rock 'n' Roll Wedding Collection (2008)
The Rock 'n' Roll Valentine's Day Collection (2008)
Songbirds: A VSQ Tribute to the Women of Modern Rock
The String Quartet Tribute to Valentine's Day (2008)
Strung Out Volume 1: The String Quartet Tribute to Modern Rock Hits
Strung Out Volume 2: The String Quartet Tribute to Modern Rock Hits
Strung Out Volume 3: The String Quartet Tribute to Alternative Rock Hits
Strung Out Volume 4: The String Quartet Tribute to Hard Rock Hits
Strung Out Volume 5: The String Quartet Tribute to 2007's Best Songs
Strung Out Volume 6: The String Quartet Tribute to Music's Biggest Hits
Strung Out Volume 7: The String Quartet Tribute
Vitamin String Quartet Presents Strung Out Volume 8
Vitamin String Quartet Presents Strung Out Volume 9
Strung Out Vol. 10
Strung Out Vol. 11: VSQ Tribute to Modern Rock Hits
Strung Out on Indie Rock Vol. 1: The String Quartet Tribute (2008)
The Tribute to Guitar Hero: Killer Tracks! (2008)
Valentine's Day Massacre: The Emo Anti-Valentine's Day Collection (2008)
The Vitamin String Quartet: The Tribute to Guitar Hero (2008)
Vitamin String Quartet Performs the Hits of 2012, Vol. 1
Vitamin String Quartet Performs The Hunger Games
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Music from the Films of John Hughes
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Music from the Films of Wes Anderson
Vitamin String Quartet Performs the Songs from Glee (2009)
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Music from Twilight (2008)
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Music from Twilight Vol. 2 (2009)
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Twilight: New Moon (2009)
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Twilight: Eclipse (2010)
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Power Ballads
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Harry Potter (2010)
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to The Nightmare Before Christmas
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Star Wars (2010)
Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to the Ladies of 90s Alt Rock
VSQ Tribute: 90s Rock Hits
VSQ Tribute to Alternative Hits of the 90s
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Modern Rock Hits 2011, Vol. 1
Vitamin String Quartet Performs Modern Rock Hits 2011, Vol. 2
VSQ Performs Modern Rock Hits 2012, Vol. 1
VSQ Performs Modern Rock Hits 2012, Vol. 2
References
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^Vitamin String Quartet (2009). "VSQ Biography". Vitamin String Quartet. Archived from the original on February 20, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
^ abVitamin String Quartet (2013). "VSQ: A Brief History". Vitamin String Quartet. Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
^The first run of the album was printed with incorrect album art, as well as listing in the wrong order the tracks— which were hand picked by Mike Portnoy and covered the band's history from When Dream And Day Unite to Train Of Thought. This was corrected in later prints of the album. People with the incorrect art could contact Vitamin Records for a replacement copy. James Curtiss, the Project Coordinator of Vitamin Records, said that the incorrect packaging should be called "a collector's item and leave it at that", as well as stating that "sonically we nailed the sucker, but on the manufacturing side of things, we dropped the ball." (see the official Dream Theater site hereArchived October 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine and here .)