All mashed up
Your guide to a new music genre
WHAT EXACTLY IS a mash-up, anyway? Many people can’t tell the difference between a mash-up and a remix, or a mash-up and a hole in the ground, but the mash-up is a distinct form of music treatment and an emerging new genre that’s worth paying attention to.
Technically speaking, mash-ups are anti-narrative creations that deconstruct pre-existing source material and transform them into a new work that is based on pure musical aesthetics. Essentially, they are mixed-up tracks composed of elements taken straight out of your favorite hits.
Mash-ups have their roots in a British sub-genre known as “bastard music,” but precursors can also be found in another French genre known as “musique concrete.” The idea of the mash-up isn’t unheard of, but the concept of the mash-up genre, with it’s own methods and defining characteristics, is something we haven’t really seen before. Unlike the genre’s predecessors, a good mash-up must follow certain criteria—it must be fluid, original, and most importantly must have repeated listening potential. With that in mind, sit back, pop open YouTube, and check out some mash-ups that will put the well-known DJ Earworm’s “United State of Pop” to shame.
5. Skeelo vs. Stevie Wonder “I Wish”
Stevie Wonder and ’90s tongue-in-cheek rap? Yes ,please. This is one of those songs that you hear and it just works; the flow is perfect for jamming and the track Stevie lays down gives it definite potential for an awesome summer song.
4. Metallica vs. Bryan Adams “Enter You”
Another mash-up so perfect it almost brings tears to your eyes. The lyrics of “Enter Sandman” blend perfectly with the smooth Bryan Adams sound. To put this into perspective: if the classic film Top Gun was made today, this ballad would fit right in with the soundtrack.
3. Tears For Fears vs. Dead Or Alive vs. Crookers vs. Michael Jackson “Spin Shout Right Round!”
This is a brilliantly complex mash-up. Often, more artists means more difficulty in blending them together just right, but this track pulls the genre-spanning sources together perfectly. Just a warning: attempts to change the song when this is playing will likely be met with fierce stink eye and an abundance of one-fingered gestures.
2. Papa Roach vs. Dizzee Rascal vs. RATM vs. Bob Marley (and then some) “Can You Hear The Sirens Coming”
Crank this while furiously finishing up that paper you’ve put off until the last minute. The combo of rocking guitars and gritty lyrics invokes the feeling that there might have been something to the Linkin Park/Jay-Z inspired meme.
1. DJ Mason vs. Daft Punk “Technologic”
There isn’t much to say about this one, except that it is, hands down, the best party track ever—and potentially one of the best examples of modern mash-ups you will ever hear. Daft Punk along with sexy house/electro beats is guaranteed to get anybody going on a frozen night.
