Mashups with older source material
Nemozob's little collection of mashups has some real gold -- especially The Immigrant Check (the Beasties vs the Stones Led Zeppelin) -- that use older material for raw fodder.
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Immigrant Check is great, but you seem to be a little "Dazed and Confused"--that's Led Zeppelin, baby!
"The Immigrant Check" is Beastie Boys and Led Zeppelin.
And who would've guessed that Zep's "Immigrant Song" would've garnered such left-field play...as it was used to great effect in that classic VIKING KITTYS internet Flash video.
What makes Zeppelin a favorite mash-up target is John Bonham's unusual time signatures and flourishes.
Unfortunately, these NEMOZOB mash-ups suffer from the same disease that most mash-ups suffer from..."repetitis"
With mash-ups, it's always interesting to see which artists have been paired (hmmm...Nick Drake and Marvin Gaye...wow!) - but after hearing the first "mash" between one song and the other it's usually all down hill.
There never seems to be any lyrical connection between the two (or more) songs used in your typical mash-up...
Also a lot of mash-up creators simply don't know when to stop repeating a sample and falsely believe that a mash-up is worthy SOLELY because it's conjoined two unlikely (or differently-genred) songs.
In my opinion, the only mash-up album that's even come close to being interesting is Dangermouse's "Grey Album" - and even that one was only 40% successful.
Every other mash-up project I've heard (from Clayton Counts' atrocious and unlistenable "Beachles" album to countless others) is not worth a second spin.
BTW - I've always wondered why mash-up experts like these don't simply work on their own music (?) The mash-up phenomenon has been losing steam for 2-3 years now and no valid masterpiece has ever been produced...has there?
thank you - great post!
This is hardly the first place to use older music in mashups; I think there was one that mashed up Eminem's "Without Me" with Lawrence Welk.
@ Father Brown: While I agree that the base formula of a mashup (Vocals A + Music B = GOLD) has become a bit tired, there are people who are doing new and interesting things with the concept. Exhibit A would be Greg Gillis aka Girl Talk on the Illegal Art label, whose tracks are like a "Where's Waldo" of bits and pieces of new and old music, constantly changing, speeding up, slowing down, going from the backing track of one section to the vocals of the next. From what I understand, though I've not yet had a chance to experience in person, his live shows turn normally button-down posing hipsters into exultant, sweaty wrecks.
There are also many other DJs, famous for their mashups, who indeed have parlayed their fame into opportunities for original work, such as Freelance Hellraiser, who created one of the first prominant mashups, "A Stroke of Genie-Us" (The Strokes vs. Christina Aguiliera). So don't write off the entire concept just yet.
There's also soulwax/2 many djs. The Peter Gunn Theme mashed with Fuck the Pain Away?
Brilliant
Before being called "mash-ups" (edited with multi-track software or lego-style music making machines like Ableton Live from mp3's) it was just plain, old, hands-on, beat-matching vinyls on the wheels of steel..or making mix-tapes..It now seems like a lost art. I must be getting old.
like blondie + queens in GrandMasterflash's classic circa 1982.
maybe this has been posted here before, but here goes:
http://tnieuwewerck.blogspot.com/
many old+new & old+old & new+new sound mash-ups.
great site with tons of mash-ups.
like dj D-Rok's break-up mixtape,
- Bobby Caldwell - Open Your Eyes
- Common - The Light
- James Brown - Blind Man Can See It
- Das Efx - They Want Efx
- Kool and the gang - N.T (Edit)
- Q-Tip - Breathe And Stop
- NWA - Express Yourself
- Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Express Yourself
and it goes on and on....
The cc mashups of the Beatles with just about everything are my faves of the genre: Revolved and Cracked Pepper are tops: http://www.myspace.com/cccmashups
And this is my bands take of Stereolab meets the Byrds meets Hair:
http://www.thejennifers.com/The_Jennifers_-_Starshine.mp3
Not really a mashup because we recorded everything anew. It's amazing how many songs use the same structure, chords, tricks...
I swear I read "Beatles," not "Beasties," and when I listened to the track I was really confused.
Why do I get the feeling I'm being baited here? Father Brown, it's no surprise that you would parrot the sentiments of so many DJs who hated the Beachles. If you're not a fan of breakcore, serial composition, or noise, it makes perfect sense. The fact that "The Grey Album" is the only mash-up you've enjoyed speaks volumes, and I have no problem admitting that my collection wasn't for everyone.
It is important to realize, however, that not everyone found the Beachles so "atrocious." After all, I made it with an audience in mind. There were many glowing (or neutral) reviews, both online and in print, and while it may fall haphazardly into the category, it is by no means a traditional mash-up. There have been many that were unintentionally far worse, and given the fact that it took me a single work week to make it I can't say that I wasn't elated.
Another thing to realize is that I've been a relatively successful DJ, and I've been composing original music for at least a decade longer than I've been dabbling in mash-ups. Also, I have made dozens of remixes that were more "listenable" or "mainstream," but they don't really hold much interest for me as an artist. And, since you asked, I think the main reason mash-up artists work with extant material is simple: recontextualizing others' work has been going on for centuries, and it's loads of fun.
Oh, and also...
Before anyone starts thinking I was being a d*ck for no reason, I thought I should point out that Father Brown is really a troll named Kurt Allen Benbenek, best known for e-stalking, impersonating, and vandalizing countless Wikipedia pages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/FatherMichaels
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?limit=50&title=Special%3AContributions&contribs=user&target=April+Winchell&namespace=&year=&month=-1
http://kurtbenbenek.com
I'm surprised nobody mentioned Mike Relm's Immigrant Song:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2998088060843684013