Mashed?

One of my sons is in love with the song "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. If ever there was a time where my kids see me as old, "past it" and outdated, it is now. I hate the bloody song! And the fact that it gets played around the house a million times a day doesn't help matters.

On a side-(yet somehow related) note, about this time each year since 2006, I eagerly await the new Best Of Bootie Compilation CD from Bootie Mashup. This year's comp had a song on it that has divided the music lovers of our house down the middle. It's a mashup of the aforementioned "Dynamite" and "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie. It's planted a wedge between the music fans because my 8-year old and I love Queen, but not Taio Cruz, and my 5 year old loves Dynamite, and hasn't heard Queen yet.

But "Dynamite Pressure" has become one of my favourite mashups of the moment.

WTF??? I hear you thinking. You'd be right in thinking that.

Mash-ups have been described by a good friend of mine as "Jive Bunny music". To be fair, he's not far wrong with that description.



Jive Bunny took existing songs and mixed them together in a huge medley. This is different to Hip-Hop and rap, which samples a short passage of an existing song, and sometimes reworks it so that it sounds new and different, giving it a different identity in the context of a new rap song.

Jive Bunny and the mashup guys don't want to change the identity of the original songs - they use easily recognisable pieces, and juxtapose them against each other, retaining each songs identity and familiarity, while creating a new song all the same.

"Dynamite Pressure" does exactly that - it takes two songs I already know and blends their identities together to create something new and interesting.

Technically, taking a crappy pop song and superimposing it over a classic song should be considered sacriligious, but I believe there is actually a purpose to this style of music.

Firstly, I think this type of music is great for breaking down the snobbery that is endemic among music fans. While the old adage "one man's trash is another man's treasure" rings true with music, music fans take this concept to ridiculous extremes. The beauty of a mashup is that it takes music or vocals from a song that is a classic, and is instantly recognisable, and places something over the top that is different. This broadens the music's appeal. Because here you have something that the listener does know really well, and adds something to it that they don't know, thus recontextualising already familiar music with something else that is unknown. And when it's done well, it is truly awesome.

The crew who contribute to BootieMashup.com are some of the best in the business when it comes to mashups. At worst, these tracks are merely interesting. At best, they blow your mind - because when you hear something that you know, your brain thinks expects to hear a vocal line, but then something else happens. In the playlist below, take "Passenger Fever" as an example. You know Iggy's "The Passenger" by heart by now (what's the bet it's playing in your head now as you read this!). Well, you'll expect to hear Iggy start singing "I am the passenger...", but he never does. Instead, you hear the familiar, soft dulcet tones of Miss Peggy Lee: "...never know how much I love you...". You would never think to blend those two songs together, but someone has and it's awesome.

Some of these tracks include some music that I wouldn't normally listen to. I've never listened to a Jay-Z track (by choice) in my life, and chances are I wouldn't listen to his work otherwise. But here, blended with the rhythm section of his track "Pimpin'" is the vocals from Billy Joel's "Big Shot", thus exposing me to something I've never heard of, along with something I know quite well. And it works wonderfully.

Check out the tunes below and let me know what you reckon in the comments.

Cheers - until next time!

Note: there is language warning on some of these tracks.

I'm back

Hi all,

Apologies for being lax with my posts on the blog. I've taken a while to think about the direction I should take with it, and I've decided that it should contain more information and less downloads for the authorities to complain at.

Anyhoo, stay tuned for some interesting and cool stuff to come.

Cheers

News

Hi all,

Sorry about the lack of updates lately. It's been a mix of apathy and fear after the DMCA notice I received a while ago.

I've decided to start up again but in a slightly different format. Instead of a program that can be downloaded and listened to in one 20+MB file, I've decided that using a widget in Grooveshark would be easier. In other words, it'll be more like an online mixtape. This makes the music available to all with a net connection. You can listen to heaps more songs, without the need for illegal downloads. You can also listen to any of the songs, in any order you like and you can skip them easily if you decide you don't like them. So we all win!

I've already got a mixtape in the works, so stay tuned. It won't be long before it's ready!

Cheers

Transition

Hi All,

The Sound and The Fury is in transition at the moment due to a number of reasons.

Firstly, due to the easter break, I haven't done a new episode yet.

Secondly, my cage has been rattled thanks to a DCMA notice from Blogger regarding Episode 6, the 80s covers. Blogger/Google inform me that the letter they recieved complaining about my post will be posted on
Thoughts? Love to hear 'em. Drop me a line below.

In order to change the name, the URLs, RSS addresses and twitter details need to change (not that I use Twitter much anyway). The fact is that I feel it needs to happen, and it will take some time to organise.

I will discuss my thoughts on the matter of the DCMA request later. I feel it is laughable, but those who are complaining are in a better position to prosecute than I am, so they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I myself am in exactly the opposite position.

Anyway, stay tuned and there will be more in the works as the weeks go forth.

Cheers

Episode 11

Hi All,

Footy season started again this weekend past, to the joy of some, to the chagrin of others. This weeks show has a few footy tunes to warm the cockles for the upcoming winter season south of the equator. For those north of it, welcome to Spring!!!

This week's music:

Footy - Spiderbait
Shut Up...The Footy's On The Radio - TISM
Monday's Experts - Weddings, Parties, Anything
What's My Scene - Hoodoo Gurus
That's The Thing About Football - Greg Champion

Here's the direct link to the download for the file.

Check it out via RSS and iTunes

Until next week...Enjoy!

Episode 10

Hi All,

Bit of a sad and memorial one this week as the news hits of the loss of Alex Chilton, of Box Tops and Big Star fame. We also remember Mark Linkhaus from Sparklehorse and Doug Fieger of The Sky and The Knack.

Tuneage:

Thank You Friends - Big Star
September Gurls - Big Star
Someday I will Treat You Good - Sparklehorse
Feels Like 1000 Years - The Sky
Let me Out - The Knack

The direct link to the show is here

...and if you're into iTunes and RSS feeds, here is the updated link to that.

See you next week

Cheers

Episode 9 - Covers!!!

Hi All,

This week we look at some notable covers - tracks that have been redone and given a new lease on life by some creative individuals.

This weeks tuneage:

Pictures of matchstick Men (orig by Status Quo) - Camper Van Beethoven
Eleanor Rigby (Orig by The Beatles) - Zoot
The Dead Heart (orig by Midnight Oil) - Frenzal Rhomb
Ordinary World (orig by Duran Duran) - Something For Kate

Here is the direct link to the podcast. Download and enjoy!!!

Cheers and see you all next week.