A long time ago, in a town far away from the
mainstream, I was conversing with a few friends at a late night diner about the
movie “Star Wars.” Earlier that
afternoon, I had stage-managed a ballet and the music from the show was still
spinning though my head. Somewhere in
the conversation with my Sci-fi friends, I mixed Tchaikovsky’s “Sugar
Plum Fairy,” from “The Nutcracker,” with John William’s “The
Imperil March (Darth Vader’s Theme)”, in my head and the chaos went on from
there. Though the tempos are a little
off, they have an interesting contrast that I find entertaining. Years later, and many mashups discovered, I
was exposed to this guy who mixes up a myriad of songs under the moniker of Girl
Talk. He is not the first one to do
this, but he takes it up a level, by blending dozens (and sometimes, a hell of
a lot more) of songs into a mix. Yes,
appropriating someone else’s hard work takes from their financial stability,
but the genus of these mashups makes you appreciate the original song so much
more—in my opinion. Mixes like these
will never make it to the mainstream due to the intrusion of Record Labels and
Artist Managers, but I think that creativity is organic, and we need to push the
envelope in order to find a new crop of artists. There are literary thousands of these videos on youtube, some
come across as bad remixes, but some are brilliant in their combination of
artists. Here is a sampling of some
that I found interesting.
Playlist for Classic MashupTunes
Youtube Channel for Mashups
1. Kylie Minogue (Stuart Crichton) – “Can't Get
Blue Monday Out of My Head”(2005)
Stuart Crichton made this remix of the song and it is
available as a b-side to “Love at First Sight” on several formats and as
the first track on the remix of Kylie’s album “Boombox.” “Can't Get
You Out of My Head”(2001) and “Blue Monday”(1983) are both songs
that took nightclubs by storm and both have fond memories that I just can’t get
out of my head. This song is technically
a remix, which seems to be the all the rage these days, but I feel that it is
respectful to both songs and brings something new into the arena—it’s a great
mashup. There is not much innovation
here, but genus of this mix is that two similar songs blend nostalgia and
innovation seamlessly.
2. Mash Up Of Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani (DJ
Surge-N) – “Tick-Toxic”(2005)
This is a video adaptation of a mash up for “What
You Waiting For?”(2004) and “Toxic”(2004) by DJ Surge-N produced in 2004
and released on the Internet January of 2005. I like the contrast and find that
this mashup made me revisit the originals and in turn, developed a new
appreciation for these pop songs. This
music isn’t going to save the world, but I like the writer’s block aspect of Gwen
and the secret agent storyline of Britney. This is a mashup made at 50,000 feet and rising.
3. Amy Winehouse vs. Queen (DJ Magnet) – “Crazy
Little Thing Called Rehab”(2008)
This is a mashup of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”
and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” with Ray Charles
thrown into the mix. It’s sad that Amy,
Freddie Mercury and Ray Charles are all deceased, but
their music lives on. This mashup is a
celebration and has a cheery kind of feel in the midst of it all. A friend of mine dared me to find a song
that sounds positive but has a negative connotation in the lyrics. I submit this mashup for his
consideration. Enjoy your “Seasons In
The Sun,” but that is another playlist.
4. The Ting Tings vs. The Knack vs Toni Basil – “That's
Not My Name Mashup”(2008)
Okay, this is the point when I stop listing the songs,
because there is hidden samples thougout the mix. This plucky mashup pulls from several decades of pop music and
blends quite well. It shows how music
can be influential and commentary on what has come before, even if it is not
overt or conscious. This is republican
blend of songs in a democratic setting where all voices are heard.
5. The Beatles vs. Joan Jett vs. Cypress Hill vs.
House of Pain vs. RATM (FAROFF) – “Mash Together”(2010)
There is so much that is wrong about this mashup (in
an ironic sense), but it sounds so right.
Talk about old school—this pulls from dozens of decades of music. It is what I hope for the future, to be able
to listen to all of my favorite songs all at the same time, because I don’t
have time to listen to all of what I want at any particular point in
time.
6. Girl Talk – “Triple Double”(2010)
I just love this artist! Gregg Michael Gillis’s (A.K.A. Girl Talk) music requires
multiple listens and it’s always great when you discover the multi-layers in
the music. With festival concert season
coming, I am going to spend some time in the DJ tent and get my rave on. These
shows are very intense and full of delight.
7. DJ McFLY – “2011: The Aftermash - (Earworm
style mashup of 30 pop songs from 2011)”(2012)
I couldn’t pass this mix up, because I think it sums
up the year very well. DIY y’all! Go
out and take up your instruments, whatever they may be, and make new
music.
Bonus Video:
EBN – “Get Down”
Emergency Broadcast Network (EBN), is the one of the
old school artists, along with Negativeland, that enabled me to
appreciate modern day Mashups. You
know, I should have a separate list for these artists. J
No comments:
Post a Comment