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Let’s say goodbye to 2016 with Super Mario Run’s theme on a laser harp

Because why not?

Look folks, I will be flat honest. The deadest news cycle of any subject in the western world is Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, and this year I have the good fortune of supervising its end on a weekend. So we are scraping the bowl, hard, for any kind of resin to give us a flicker of a buzz. Forthwith, I offer the Super Mario Run theme on a laser harp.

You may be surprised to learn the laser harp is nearly 35 years old. It's been a feature of performances since the early 1980s. As seen in the video above, blocking a light beam plays a note. Pluck the beams like you would a harp, and you can put together a song.

Theremin Hero (whom I gave airtime to on Kotaku SEVEN years ago around this time of year) is the artist. He has a rather substantial backing track but the main melody is still all harp. And it's another reason to call back to this awesome piece of electronic music, Rush Coil (aka Shane Barber) rocking the goddamn out of Green Hill Zone on a keytar.

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