A couple of the best mashups I've ever heard

Posted on: May 31, 2007

Mashups are relatively facile to do, very easy to get wrong — and exceedingly hard to go beyond a mere "get right", transcending the apexes and hitting some sort of cross-fusional aspect… like mating a whale shark with a giraffe and having their babies look beautiful. From the rhythmic structure (often 4/4 time with 8-bar chunks) necessitating tempo-matching, to hoping the riff that comes in at one point of Track A accentuates the vocal in Track B, there's a lot to match, and yet… pick an ideal pairing, breed 'em, and you've got magic. It's even better when they have videos!

Here are 2 of my faves:
 

"Bruised Water" - Natasha Bedingfield vs. Chicane

Maire Brennan's ethereal vocals in the latter ideally complement Bedingfield's sassy street-smartness in the former. I admit I never heard the original "I Bruise Easily", but one of the true signs of a great mashup is when you hear it, and believe that to be the original work. Such is the case here, where classic trance arps play off swollen lyrics, and even the intro of the plucky chuffing @ 1:30 insistently declares, "THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER FROM HERE!" And that they do. You have to hear the breakdown section for yourself; it goes together as well as violet and indigo on the rainbow, only a lot more colorful. Bonus points for the video being well-edited between the two sources as well! :)

 
"My Suffering Love (CjR Mix)" - Justin Timberlake vs. David West

I think David West (go there and download some free mixes!) is such a great electronic musician, and while I'm not as familiar with the repertoire of Timberlake, I find him to be a great singer. Since the David track doesn't have a vid, this video is all Justin, but his vocals laid over the gatey prog arpeggios will have you both tapping your feet and headbangin'… peacefully. Again, a triumphant breakdown section, and the slow-mo violins flying forth @ 3:16 along with the triangle wavesque repeated riff are a beautiful way to make an impression on your psyche. Whoooosh. Indelibly catchy — in a better alternate universe, this is what radio stations are playing.

13 Responses to “A couple of the best mashups I've ever heard”

  1. Kei Mars / Miss K Says:
    June 1st, 2007 at 12:14 AM PDT

    One of my favourite podcasts is the Radio Clash podcast. Some real mashup treats unearthed weekly by the very amusing Tim, from my very own London Town.

    http://www.mutantpop.net/radioclash/subscribe-to-radio-clash/

  2. Simondo Nebestanka Says:
    June 1st, 2007 at 3:06 AM PDT

    Wow that Timberlake-v-West track is exceptional. /me is so very glad to have nice subwoofer for that one!!

    I wouldn't normally admit to liking it :) but so much of Mr Timberlake's output is pretty remarkable. I guess I still have a soft spot for Michael Jackson .. oops let me re-phrase .. up-to-mid-1980s-non-weird Michael Jackson.. and I think Timberlake takes up the mantle once held by Jackson rather well.

    I usually cringe when I hear mashups but thanks for pointing to that track, very very cool.

    Cheers

  3. Iris Ophelia Says:
    June 1st, 2007 at 4:24 PM PDT

    La-la-LOVE the Natasha Bedingfield one. I would have liked the JT one if I didn't get in a huge fight with a roommate over the song… becauseIwasplayingitonrepeatforanhourat3am…

  4. Torley Says:
    June 4th, 2007 at 7:44 PM PDT

    @Kei: I'm checkin' it out!

    @Simondo: David West is one of the masters of tight, filling bass! I also recommend Sub Focus in the drum 'n' bass arena… the two of them should get together. You make a really good parallel between Jackson and Timberlake; I feel the same way.

    @Iris: Funny how songs get tied to times in your life.

  5. bloke de france Says:
    June 5th, 2007 at 1:58 AM PDT

    re: radio clash - tim is very much alive and well and broadcasts in SL as DJNoNo Ulysses.

    the dreaded 'm' word (they were called bootlegs back in my day) are rather easy to do providing you can count, aren't tone-deaf and have a sense of humour.

    some basic knowledge is a must ie: 8t does not equal 4/4 and pitching up vocals until they're chipmunks aren't anyone's idea of a good time, unless you have a thing for chipmunks. oh, and rap+rock=bad (well, not so much bad, more tired and lazy)

    there's a worrying amount of 'm' word producers in SL at present. I have tried forming a lynch mob armed with pointy sticks, sadly to no avail.

  6. Torley Says:
    June 11th, 2007 at 6:57 PM PDT

    @bloke de france: I was very much surprised to listen to a Radio Clash installment and hear "Second Life" mentioned! I'm amazed at all the tools we presently have (with more to come!) that allow us to do easy matching of beats and key.

    I find it very funny when vocals are pitched way DOWN, as in screwed 'n' chopped-type urban music.

    One of my fave producers of all time is BT (Brian Transeau), here with an amazing mashup of an Earth, Wind, & Fire song + an Elite Force track and some snare rolls and fancy FX of his own devising:

    » http://youtube.com/watch?v=PxYHuZrg1ms

  7. bloke de france Says:
    June 13th, 2007 at 6:30 AM PDT

    well, if you ever have use of a download manager and have an short eternity to listen to things then my take on ye olde bootleg mixes at http://www.musicremixed.org/frenchbloke/

    a pile of throwaway items ranging from the Euromasters to Craig David,
    from J-lo to Alien Sex Fiend and so on an apologies to music lovers everywhere

  8. Torley Says:
    June 18th, 2007 at 3:44 PM PDT

    bloke: You're a bootleg maker yourself! Thx for the pointer, I do like how you took that retro cover and retooled it for your rather hybrid purposes. :)

  9. CjR Says:
    September 5th, 2007 at 9:35 AM PDT

    Thanks for liking my "JT mashup"..

    I KIND of disagree with what `Bloke` said about how easy it is to do..

    If this WAS the case, then half the "Mashups" I have ever heard wouldn't sound shit…out of pitch…tempo'd all wrong etc..

  10. CjR Says:
    September 6th, 2007 at 1:36 AM PDT

    just listened to some of your mashups bloke de france.. I like em mate..

    nice one..

  11. Torley Says:
    September 9th, 2007 at 10:12 AM PDT

    @CjR: Awesome to see ya here! "My Suffering Love (CjR Mix)" is definitely amongst my top fave mashups I've ever listened to yet. So delicious and catchy.

  12. CjR Says:
    September 9th, 2007 at 4:13 PM PDT

    @Torley - Well thankyou!

    I have just finished my new JT mashup - so please feel free to leech it from here -

    http://www.speedyshare.com/851483986.html

    'LoveStoned' overlayed with this new tune doing the rounds - 'The Creeps' cheesy anthemic blaster.

    Regards,

    Christian

    P.S - BT is my all time favourite producer also, so check out some older mashups I did - http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=BL1TZEN

    ('CjR' had been taken in Youtube so I resorted to my old 'Quake' alias!)

    ..and email me at Blitzen72@hotmail.co.uk and tell me what you think.

    cheers! =)

  13. Torley Says:
    September 15th, 2007 at 7:06 AM PDT

    @CjR: Rockin', thanx for supplying me with this info because I ADORE YOUR MASHUPS! *saves links for visiting soon*

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