The Return Of Mash Up Monday

After a brief hiatus (four weeks), I think it's about time that I start posting one of my favorite weekly blog posts.  Regrettably, there hasn't been much that has been released lately that is...how should I put it?...noteworthy.

Norwegian Recycling released a new mashup last week, but it isn't as good as the tracks that he normally produces.  Don't get me wrong.  It's still pretty good, but just not at the "genius" level that I have come to expect from him in recent months.

SpareElbowSkin has released a couple of new tracks within the last month, or so.  I really like his Katy Perry/Genesis mashup that he released on March 29th.  I would normally post a video of that today, but I feel like I am starting to play favorites, especially since my last two posts focused on his music.

Instead, I started to do a Youtube search for mashups that included my favorite artists.  Today, I found a couple of really impressive mixes that have Radiohead tunes as their base.  I was quite a bit apprehensive when I first saw the descriptions of the songs.  Conceptually, they sound like a nightmare, but they were pleasant surprises.  In fact, the first one has become one of my favorite tracks to listen to.

The first track is taken from a site called MaxMashups.com.  Unfortunately, since this was uploaded over two years ago, I can't find where the creator of the mashup was given credit.  It's a mix of Radiohead's 'No Surprises', with Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World'.  It's called 'What a Wonderful Surprise'.  Indeed it is.



The second mashup of the day comes from Go Home Productions.  It has, believe it or not, been floating around the channels of Youtube for more than three years now.  It combines Radiohead's 'Karma Police', with The Beatles' 'A Day In The Life'.  It's entitled 'Karma In The Life'.  It narrows the song down to a manageable three and a half minutes, and takes out McCartney's lyrics from the song, which, in my opinion, never really should have been in there to begin with.  It was if the two songs were made for each other.  Peanut butter and jelly.



I hope you enjoyed the tracks.  For one, I put the 'What a Wonderful Surprise' as a favorite on my Youtube list.  It's that good.

Mash Up Monday - Belated Tuesday Posting Edition ***MUST SEE***

I wasn't able to get around to posting this last night.  Under normal circumstances, I would have just waited until next week to post again.  These aren't normal circumstances.

Last week, I did a "Mashup Monday" post from a new artist named SpareElbowSkin.  He has only been on the scene for a few weeks, but his first mashup, a mix of Goldfrapp's 'A&E' and Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars', was quite impressive.  Last week, he released another mashup.

I have been chomping at the bit to post it.  It is easily...EASILY, one of the best mashups I have ever heard.  In my opinion, it is the best mashup since Norwegian Recycling's September track, 'Miracles'.  In many ways, though, it's better.

Mashups today have become a conglomeration of tracks that come together to a point that you almost have to pick them apart with a microscope and a pair of tweezers.  "I think I hear such and such's beat."  Or, "Wait.  Did you just hear Jay-Z?  I think I heard Jay-Z just then.  Rewind it."  When a DJ is mixing as many as 16 tracks together in a matter of three and a half minutes, it shows both the apex of talent and lunacy.

S.E.S. is different.  He sticks to two tracks.  He doesn't try to make his mashup "dance-able".  In fact, he sticks to tracks that you normally wouldn't think of mixing together.  This week's mix is a mashup of Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' with Snow Patrol's 'Set The Fire To The Third Bar'.

Since Adele released her latest album, '21', about a month ago, I have heard literally dozens of mashups involving 'Rolling In The Deep'.  Some good.  Some...well....um..yeah, no.  Some of the better ones have been mixed with The Rolling Stones, Britney Spears, and even Gnarls Barkley.  When I saw the song that S.E.S. had selected to pair up with Adele on this mix, my first thought was, "You've got to be kidding me.  There's no way in a million years that this will work.  For the beats to even match up he's going to have to slow her voice down considerably.  It's going to sound horrible."

Boy, was I wrong.  When Adele's voice comes in, it gave me goosebumps.  The mix is one of the most haunting songs I have ever heard.  And that is what I quickly learned about SpareElbowSkin.  He has an appreciation for the music that other DJs don't.  That's what sets him apart from other artists.  He creates his mashups while still keeping the emotion, the heart, of the music in tact.  That is something that has been lost over the years with everyone else.  Their goal is to make something that sounds cool, or to make something with a cool beat.  SpareElbowSkin does it for the love of the song.  He's a fan.  He's not putting these two songs together simply because he thinks they would sound good together, but because he's a fan of Snow Patrol and of Adele.  He's showing his respect for the artists and their music.

If you need further proof, he even re-edited the video so that it was in 2.39:1 format, just so it would look nicer on screen.  Enjoy 'Rolling In The Third Bar'.

Mash Up Monday

After a brief hiatus, we're back with a mashup from a new DJ that I, for one, am unfamiliar with.  This week's mix comes from SpareElbowSkin.  This guy, or girl,  from what I can tell, is relatively new to the scene.  Their Youtube channel has only been up and going for about 7 weeks.  And, at the time of this posting, has only had about 350 views.

This weeks mashup is so subtle, it can almost be classified as a remix.  It's a mix of Goldfrapp's 'A&E' with Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars'.  I really enjoyed it.  Not only did I appreciate the song selection, but I liked the way in which the lyrics are shuffled around on the track.  It's refreshing.

I also appreciate the fact that they included the "missing" line in 'Chasing Cars'.  It's my favorite line of the song.  In the U.S. version of the single, the bridge goes,

"Let's waste time/Chasing cars/Around our heads"

Then you hear the *bing*, and the chorus starts.  But in the U.K. and International versions, the bridge goes,

"Let's waste time/Chasing cars/Around our heads...

I need your grace/To remind me/To find my own"

Then the chorus.  In my opinion, they cut out the most touching moment of the song. But I digress.

Without further adieu, here is 'Chasing A&E Cars' (I didn't name it folks.  I'm just playing it.)