Synecdoche

I’ve never said this before about previous editions of solipsistic NATION but today’s show is not safe for work. I figure we’re all adults so I don’t feel the need to give such a disclaimer but I decided just this one it would be be a good idea to cover my ass so you can cover yours.

That said, I don’t have a lot to talk about this week’s show other than listen to it because it rocks so I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about the gear I use to make solipsistic NATION. It’s a question that comes up now and again so I thought I’d address it.

First off, I rock the Sennheiser e 835 microphone. There are better microphones out there but Sennheiser e 835 is a solid, inexpensive microphone and it has served me well.

I run my Sennheiser e 835 through a Behringer Eurorack UB502 mixer which I then run through an Alesis NanoCompressor which is connected to my Mac Mini.

I use Skype to conduct the interview for the show and Wiretap Pro to record the interviews. Wiretap Pro has been updated and is now called Wiretap Studio but Wiretap Pro is perfect for my needs so I never felt the need to purchase the upgrade.

I use Sound Studio to record and edit my voice overs as well as my interviews and the IDs for which are then run through an application called Levelator to further smooth out the highs and lows in the audio.

I use GarageBand to sequence and mix solipsistic NATION. I suppose I could use GarageBand to record and edit the voice overs, interviews and IDs as well but I find that Sound Studio gives me the fine degree of control I require. Besides, as I mentioned, I’m using a Mac Mini and while it’s a great computer I think I would pushing the machine to it’s limits to simultaneously run Skype and GarageBand and I just don’t want to take that chance while recording interviews for the show.

Once the show is mixed it is exported to iTunes and I then encode the show as an MP3 at 128 kbps/44.100 kHz using an application called the iTunes-LAME Encoder. It usually takes 15 minutes to convert the show to MP3 using the iTunes-LAME Encoder and while I could use iTunes’ built-it MP3 encoder which is much faster (it takes just a few minutes to encode a show in iTunes) the iTunes-LAME Encoder delivers a MP3 with superior audio. If I’m going to compress the music to a MP3 I might as well give you the best sounding show I possible can.

In the past I’ve also been asked why I don’t encode the show at 192 or 320 kbps for higher audio fidelity. The answer is simple. I’d love to encode the show at 192 or 320 kbps but that would significantly increase the file size of the show which in turn would increase the time it would take to download the show to your computer. solipsistic NATION has a global audience and not everyone has a high speed internet connection and I want people to be able to download solipsistic NATION as quickly and easy as possible.

I’ve also been asked by some people why I don’t encode the show as an AAC. This is another dilemma I had to wrestle with. AAC is great because at 128 kbps an AAC file supposedly sounds better than a MP3 encoded at 128 kbps. Also, I could include album art, links and additional information in an AAC file but the problem is that AAC files can, for the most part, only be played on Apple hardware and software like iTunes or the iPod. I want solipsistic NATION to be as easily accessible to as many people as possible and encoding the show an an AAC would limit the size of my audience. Who in their right mind would want to do that?

So there you have it: that’s how I create each edition of solipsistic NATION. As you can see, it’s a pretty inexpensive operation. It’s pretty easy to produce a show but I have to admit that even though I’ve been doing this for a couple of years and have it down to a science it still takes a considerable amount of time to produce each show. But I find producing solipsistic NATION a fun and rewarding experience and I hope you enjoy each show.

See you next week!

Photo Credit: TReynolds08

1. hai! Robotto “Breathe” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
2. Lucidstatic “Aux8 (Copy Paste Repeat Remix)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
3. Bassnectar “Teleport Massive (feat. Zumbi)”
4. edIT “Artsy Remix (feat. The Grouch)”
5. Alice In Videoland “MF”
6. Thunderheist “Jerk It”
7. The Robot Disaster “Guitars Are Overated (Suxx Rmx)”
8. Mochipet “Anthem”
9. Tiga “What You Need”
10. Starkillers Vs Armand Van Heldan “Funk.Phenomena”
11. Kanye West “Robocop (MOTOR Club Remix)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
12. Larry Tee feat. Amanda Lepore “My Pussy (Jeff Doubleu Mix)”
13. Aaron LaCrate “Just Wanna Featuring Samir”

Today on solipsistic NATION I have got a sweet Exquisite Corpse mix for your ears!

This is actually the third Exquisite Corpse mix on solipsistic NATION but even so, I feel I need to tell you what an Exquisite Corpse mix is. You actually might have played a version of Exquisite Corpse as a child.

Here’s how it works: someone hands you a piece of paper and you have to draw the head of some person or creature, real or imagined. Let’s say you draw the head of an ostrich. You then hand the paper to the next person but the ostrich head would be covered so they couldn’t see what you had just drawn. That person would then draw a torso and they decide to draw the buxom figure of Marilyn Monroe. They then pass the sheet of paper to the next person but covering up what they had just drawn as well as the head of the ostrich. The next person decides to draw the legs of a gorilla. Yeah, let’s go with that. The legs of a gorilla. Once the drawing is done everyone gets to see the complete picture and have a good laugh. The Exquisite Corpse mix goes something like that.

For today’s show I have chosen a song to kick of the Exquisite Corpse mix and then sent it to a podcaster. And not just any podcaster but a podcaster who, like myself, plays electronic music.

Once they have the song they have to choose a song that would segue nicely after the track I have selected or go off into an entirely different direction.

The song they have selected is sent off to the next podcaster and so forth and so on until the Exquisite Corpse mix is complete. Each podcaster only hears the most recently selected song and must base their selection solely on the song they have just heard.

In fact, the mix you’ll hear today will be just as much as a surprise for them as it is for you.

At the end of today’s show we’ll hear from each podcasters and find out who they are, what song they chose for the mix and why. Enjoy!

Oh, if you dig today’s Exquisite Corpse mix then you’ll definitely want to listen to the first and second Exquisite Corpse mix.

Photo Credit: Sam Javanrouh

1. Think Tank “A Knife & A Fork” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
   Selected by Bazooka Joe, solipsistic NATION
2. Dynastic “Kabouter (Remix)”
   Selected by Gareth Noyce, RK2
3. Dan Berkson, James What “Mescaline Circus (Original Mix)”
   Selected by Ryan Scott
4. Voide “Space Sponge”
   Selected by Snowy, Electronicast
5. Aleksi Virta “Princess Melodiae” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
   Selected by Pete Cooper, Bleepshow
6. Zeropage “Void Sensor”
   Selected by Michael, Electronica Monthly
7. Slepcy “With Charles Bukowski On The Ride”
   Selected by Spartacus Roosevelt
8. Dementio13 “Your Link Does Not Work”
   Selected by Pixieguts, PixieCast
9. Beckett & Taylor “Smash”
   Selected by Anji Bee, The Chillcast

Today’s show posed an unusual problem.

solipsistic NATION is an hour long program, more or less. That’s usually not a problem but once a month on solipsistic NATION I feature a live set from an electronic musician and not all of their sets are an hour long. When that happens I’ll either play some of their studio tracks afterwards or if their live set is around 30 minutes I’ll pair them up with a live set by another artist. Problem solved.

But as I said, today’s show posed an unusual problem.

Our guest on today’s show is Jamie Watts, AKA KiloWatts and will listen to his performance at the Forward Festival in Washington D.C. recorded earlier this year.

I’ve always dug KiloWatts’ music because Jamie has a knack for crafting songs that have a kind of hopeful buoyancy to them. Go listen to The Headphone Experience or Native State Records editions of solipsistic NATION to see what I mean.

Jamie’s been a busy guy this year. In 2009 he released Six Silicates and Undercurrent and a third album, Focus & Flow, out later this month that is a collaboration with Vanek. I was lucky that I asked Jamie to be on the show months ago because otherwise I don’t know where he’d find the time to do it now. Jamie was kind enough to send me a recording of his live set at the Forward Festival and here we get to the problem: instead of just clocking in at an hour or less Jamie’s live set is an hour and 20 minutes long!

As a rule, I try to keep solipsistic NATION to an hour . I suppose I could of just chopped off 20 minutes but I really didn’t want to do that because I really like his live set and I know you will to. In the end I decided to play his entire set. This is a podcast, after all, so I don’t always have to adhere to a rigid length to the show. The only problem that remained is that for those of you who listen to solipsistic NATION on KYOURadio will only hear the abridged version of Jamie’s performance at the Forward Festival. Happily, you can always listen to the performance in it’s entirety at solipsisticnation.com.

Anyway, enjoy today’s show. Come back next and we’ll do it all over again. But completely different.

1. KiloWatts “Live at Forward Festival (Washington D.C., March 21, 2009)”
2. Interview with KiloWatts

Today’s show is great! I’ll be talking with Jim Moynihan from Omelette Records, Great Scott from glitch.fm, Steve Nalepa and Deru.

Jim Moynihan is Spoonbill and he is also the founder of Omelette Records, a wonderful collective record label with artists that include the likes of Spoonbill, Frank Riggio and Alpha Channel.

Great Scott was our guest back in May and joins us again to talk about glitch.fm, an internet radio station featuring the best of glitch hop he helped launch a few months back.

Nalepa is another regular on solipsistic NATION. The last time I spoke with him he had just completed Flatlands:Remixes and had just begun working on the DVD version of Flatlands:Remixes.

Deru’s live performance on solipsistic NATION began a tradition of featuring live electronic music on the show that continues to this day. I’ve anxiously been awaiting the release of Deru’s new album, Say Goodbye To Useless, since he mentioned it on Twitter about six months ago.

Oh, hey, be sure to check out the related videos below for your continued edification and enjoyment.

Photo Credit: Randy Mora

1. Spoonbill “Gumtree (Respoon)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
2. Spoonbill “Moth Adjust Stereo, Excerpt”
3. Interview with Jim Moynihan, founder of Omelette Records
4. Frank Riggio “Perplex People” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
5. HipGnosis “grainydontstop”
6. Ill-Esha “spook FL”
7. Interview with Great Scott, founder of glitch.fm
8. Ill-Esha “kitchen sync FH2”
9. Nalepa/David Last “Flatlands (David Last Remix)”
10. Nalepa/RND “4th of July (RND Remix)”
11. Interview with Steve Nalepa
12. Nalepa/Rena Jones “Rhodes Racer (Rena Jones Remix)”
13. Deru “I Want”
14. Deru “Hello”
15. Interview with Deru
16. Deru “What Happens When You Ask”

Today’s show is pretty cool. I’ll be spinning tracks that came entirely from musicians I’ve met on Twitter.

A couple of years ago my buddy Al told me that I had to get on Twitter. I was very cynical about social networks but Al had never steered me wrong in the past so I signed up.

I thought Twitter was pretty stupid and at that point there weren’t too many musicians and record labels from the electronic music scene to make it all that useful to me. I just posted notices about editions of solipsistic NATION that had been released.

I didn’t get it about Twitter. And then one day it just clicked.

Last December I was on a two week vacation from work. I was getting bored and so I just started spouting off whatever was on the top of my head, stuff related to electronic music and otherwise. I was pretty silly and pretty frank but what surprised me was the amount of conversations about some of the stuff I said generated. And that later led to other conversations.

At the same time Twitter was getting more and more mainstream attention and there were a lot of musicians and record labels joining Twitter. Suddenly Twitter became very useful.

Just for fun, I put the word out on Twitter that I wanted to do a mix of electronic music from artists on Twitter. Today’s show the result of sifting through three hours of music.

It was hard to pare down three hours of music into a one hour mix. I’ve done my best to give you a sample of the diversity of music that was sent my way.

Keeping with the Twitter theme, I asked all the people on today’s show to talk about their music in 140 characters or less, which you can read below.

I hope you enjoyed today’s show. If you did, let me know on Twitter at http://twitter.com/solipsistic If I get enough responses I’ll put out another Twitter mix in a few months.

1. Wildcafe Does House “You Know (Radio Cut)”
   @wildcafe I’m introducing my first release to you. It’s called Wildcafe Does House “You Know?” It’s an electro house smasher. Take a deep breath 😉
2. Charles Feelgood “Basshole (Charles Feelgood Remix)”
   @feelgood “Basshole” Charles Feelgood Remix(Original Jon Pegnato and Matty Schol)-Jackin beats, ripping bass, with a touch of Bmore, out now on Shush Music at Beatport!
3. Great Scott “Defcon”
   @djgreatscott “DefCon” pays homage to my favorite time of the year: the notorious hacking convention! Vox via Tim Leary’s “Tune In, Turn On, & Drop Out”
4. 3’OhTree “The Beast Inside”
   @3ohtree A dark, angry, Dubstep track that treats sub-woofers how they are meant to be treated. Written & produced with pure hardware, no mac or pc.
5. hot mess “contra in a laundromat”
   @neondoom “Contra” is basically taking the idea of Hemingway’s “Death in the Afternoon” and relating it to trying to hook up in a club.
6. Auditory Canvas “Let’s Go Stomp in the Mud”
   @auditorycanvas Inspired by a trip to Lightning in a Bottle Festival 2008, it poured down half of the weekend. still had loads of fun though.
7. James & Evander “Dro”
   @JamesAndEvander Dro was the first song we glitched guitar on. Its short for “Dntel Rip Off.” Lots of layers of the Moog. LAYERS! GLITCHHHH!
8. Phylum Sinter “Sedna_Demik”
   @phylum_sinter Sedna_Demik is a chimey, noise-percussion track, taken from my album ‘from unity to segmentation’ on enpeg digital (out now!)
9. alka “immolated”
   @_alka immolated: a condensed aural view of life. swirling tones escalate to 1:20 when pulsing rhythmatics surge + overtake until an eventual decay
10. bllix “In the Pines”
    @bllix The disappointment you feel that it isn’t a Nirvana remix helps me relive the time I stole baby Jesus from grandma’s yard over and over.
11. Mystical Sun “Blue Lotus”
    @mysticalsun flowers of blue dub for drifting and dreaming.
12. Dave Seidel “Nur”
    @DaveSeidel “Nur” means light. Just intonation, micro-rhythms & acoustical beating. From upcoming release “Elementals” on @stasisfield.

This week’s solipsistic NATION features select tracks from Sleevin Records mixed by the label’s founder, Simon Littlewood, AKA Simo.

I know Simon through Goldilox. I knew Goldilox from back in the day when she was part of Boston’s emerging electronic music scene in the mid 80s. She was a member of D.D.T. Last year I put together a show featuring D.D.T. (a few months later I would feature a live set from D.D.T. on solipsistic NATION recorded from the station that made me what I am as a DJ, WMFO.), Big Catholic Guilt, You Shriek and Think Tree. It was great to catch up Goldilox, Elaine Walker and Noel McKenna and it came up that Goldilox had sine moved to San Francisco and was helping run Sleevin Records with Simon. I made plans with Simon to have him on the show but as happens from to time, those plans never came together.

Last month I noticed that a number of albums from Sleevin Records were being promoted by IODA Promonet, a great service I use to find music to play on solipsistic NATION which reminded me of my plans to have Simon on the show. We got in touch and here you are: today’s show.

This may or may not be true but I believe San Francisco is a hot bed for electronic music. I know other cities like Los Angeles or New York have electronic music scenes but there seems to be something special about San Francisco that has countless great electronic music and a community that embraces that music. Sleevin Records is a perfect example of great electronic music coming out of San Francisco alongside the likes of OM Records, Cheb i Sabbah, Asphodel, etc… The list is long.

Enjoys today’s offering of tracks from Sleevin Records!

By the way, next week I’ll be giving aways free CDs on Twitter. Follow me at http://twitter.com/solipsistic for your chance to win some great music!

1. SIMO feat. Diana Luna, Borrina Mapaka, Renee Wilson “Dub City”
2. Moody Eva “Fuck Off”
3. Interview with Simon Littlewood, founder of Sleevin Records
4. SIMO & Drunken Monkey “Step Into”
5. Moody Eva “Grab Your Tits”
6. Techture “Rusted”
7. SIMO “Mindless Banta”
8. Interview with Simon Littlewood, founder of Sleevin Records
9. SIMO & B.Smiley “It’s A Nice”
10. SIMO & Drunken Monkey “Rennie’s Skank (JFlea RMX)”
11. B.Smiley & Native Intelligence “Whacktrack (B.Smiley’s Dub Mix)”
12. SIMO & Mancub “Punks Of Funk (Prato RMX)”
13. Interview with Simon Littlewood, founder of Sleevin Records
14. Moody Eva “A Little Taste”
15. Techture “Signal 1”
16. Techture “Cuts In Radar”
17. SIMO & Drunken Monkey “Controlled Manner”
18. Interview with Simon Littlewood, founder of Sleevin Records

Once a month on solipsistic NATION I feature a live performance from an electronic music. Recent shows have included live sets from Exillon, Rena Jones and Milieu. This week’s show features a concert by Guy Andrews of Iambic recorded at the 2008 Waveform Festival.

I first discovered the music of Iambic through Travis Nobles, who runs the hiddenplace music blog. Travis has been a guest DJ on Solipsistic Nation several times (here and here) and on each show he played some beautiful tracks by Iambic. Iambic seamlessly blends Jazz, Soundscape, IDM, Post-Rock and Break Beat. I was so impressed with Iambic’s music that I knew I had to have him on the show.

Speaking of which, today’s show was originally planned to be released in June but due to scheduling conflicts I had to push it back until August. I mention this because during my interview with Guy he mentions some concerts he’ll be performing at that have since passed.

I’ve listened to Iambic’s live set recorded at Waveform Festival many times and it’s a pleasure to be able to play if for you on today’s show!

Upcoming live sets on solipsistic NATION will feature performances from KiloWatts, Terminal 11, ill.gates and Eskmo.

1. Iambic “Live (2008 Waveform Festival)”
2. Interview with Guy Andrews of Iambic
3. Iambic “Break57”
4. Iambic “Terra Firma”
5. Iambic “Spirals”

This week’s show is inspired by the Headphone Commute blog. I’ve always liked that idea, the headphone commute. Take solipsistic NATION, for example. You might listen to this show at home, in your car, maybe even at work. But most likely you’re listening to this show on the ubiquitous white Apple earbuds. That kind of listening experience is more insular and intimate than just listening to solipsistic NATION in your car or over your speakers. It’s my job to make it a rewarding listening experience.I decided to run with theme of the headphone experience by kicking off this week’s solipsistic NATION with a mix of psychedelic tinged music.

We begin with “Intro” from the Strange Fruit Project‘s 2006 album, The Healing. The Healing is a great album and it was a shame to pick such a short track from the Strange Fruit Project but aside from really liking “Intro,” it also fits the theme of this week’s show and segued nicely into DJ Food‘s “Extract From Stolen Moments” from his album One Man’s Weird Is Another Man’s World. And that takes us to Ras G‘s “Return From the Great Unknown” from his album, Brotha From Anotha Planet. From there this week’s show goes into all sorts of different directions.

We’ll also hear a track from KiloWatts. That was a tough one to call because KiloWatts currently has two new album out (Undercurrent and Six Silicates) but I decided to play “Two Parts” from his Ground State album. KiloWatts we’ll be back on solipsistic NATION next month with a special live set. If you can’t wait until then you can listen to the February 15th, 2008 edition of solipsistic NATION featuring my interview with Evan Marc of Native State Records. We played select tracks from Native State Records and of course we had to play Kilowatts because he’s so great!

Speaking of Evan, up next is Evan Bluetech with “Another Bridge Burning” from his new EP, Call Of The Wild. Again, another tough one because Evan has recently been releasing a bunch of awesome music. You also might want to hear my interview with Evan about his new label, Somnia.

There are, of course, more great tunes on this week’s headphone experience. Again, I really like the idea of music heard over headphones as being very intimate. But it’s also like a soundtrack to your life. I remember a day, years ago, when I was waiting for the subway in downtown Boston. It was night, the middle of the summer, and the air was still and the humidity stifling. Yet the music I was hearing over my headphones transformed my environment to a the set of a sultry French New Wave movie. Let me know if you’ve had similar experiences.

Oh, hey, I wanted to mention that I was the guest of Joseph Matheny‘s GSpot podcast. We talked about the early days of podcasting, electronic music and the state of the recording industry. You can download the interview here but I suggest you check out previous episodes of GSpot and take a look around the Alterati blog.

Photo Credit: sevennine

1. Strange Fruit Project “Intro”
2. DJ Food “Extract From Stolen Moments”
3. Ras G “Return From the Great Unknown”
4. Prefuse 73 “Track 13”
5. KiloWatts “Two Parts”
6. Evan Bluetech “Another Bridge Burning” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
7. Nosaj Thing “Us”
8. Kingbastard “Data-Rape Function Creep”
9. Koen Park “I Am Not Aboard This Ship Anymore” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
10. Mochipet “Roll Credits”
11. Daedelus “Assembly Lines”
12. Moderat “Seamonkey”
13. SeventhSwami “Serpiente Cosmica”
14. Alka “Blueberry”
15. Gui Boratto “Besides”
16. general fuzz “eye heart knot” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
17. Masmöd “Orbit Around A Sphere”

Today’s show is a mix that would ideally be played on a sexy and sultry summer night with the object of your desire on one hand and a mojito in the other. With any luck you’re doing just that even while today’s show plays.

One group I’m excited to play on this week’s solipsistic NATION is Sidestepper. Sidestepper is a Colombian band with English DJ/producer Richard Blair and Colombian producer/songwriter Ivan Benavides at the core. Sidestepper combines popular Afro-Colombian music styles like salsa and cumbia with electronica.

Another gem is Quantic Soul Orchestra‘s “Tropidelico.” Will Holland (AKA Quantic), a DJ and musician, is the man behind the Quantic Soul Orchestra, which is a live band project with a changing lineup from album to album. Will has explored different genres of music in the past but the direction he’s taken his album, Tropidelico , is very exciting.

We also have a track from Paul Malmstrom, the one-man band that is Monkeybacon. Monkeybacon is a favorite here at solipsistic NATION and you can download his music here.

Another sonic treat comes from Novalima, a musical collective by four Peruvian musicians several cities around the world: Lima, Barcelona, London and Hong Kong. “Malato” comes from their 2006 release, Afro.

I’m also excited to play a track from Ghostly International‘s Bodycode. I’ve been sitting on Bodycode’s album Bodycode, for a couple of weeks, just waiting for the right show to play a track from the album. Today’s show seemed like the perfect show to play “Arigato.”

I’ll play just about anything from Evan Bluetech but I’m particularly pleased that Evan has delivered a track that slots perfectly with today’s show. You can download Evan’s new EP, Call Of The Wild, here.

DJ Food has resurfaced with a brand spanking new album called One Man’s Weird Is Another Man’s World that I’ve been grooving to for the last few week’s. I present the track “Tricky Little Ears (The Cheech Wizard Pays Respect To All Living Creatures Who Inhabit Dark Places)” to you as a gift.

Luxurious is another favorite and I’m pleased to play a track from their long awaited second album, Lost Vegas: Hip Hop Lounge Series Vol. 2.

Lokua makes another appearance on solipsistic NATION, this time with “Burning Money” from Lokua’s Trails net album, which you can download here. Be sure to also listen to Lokua’s live set on the April 3rd edition of solipsistic NATION.

Today’s show is chock full of other great songs and musicians so enjoy!

Photo Credit: Felipe Smides

1. Club Ultimate “Carnival 93 (The Mardi Gras Mix)”
2. Sidestepper “Hoy Tenemos”
3. Quantic Soul Orchestra “Tropidelico”
4. monkeybacon “Her Secret Masala” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
5. Novalima “Malato”
6. Bodycode “Arigato”
7. Evan Bluetech “Mysteriosa Flambeau” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
8. niteffect “never land”
9. DJ Food “Tricky Little Ears (The Cheech Wizard Pays Respect To All Living Creatures Who Inhabit Dark Places)”
10. Sixtoo “Duration, Pt. 15”
11. Luxurious “Dirty Royal”
12. Suhov “Exx Fuck” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
13. Lokua “Burning Money” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
14. DJ Signify “Interlude 1”

This is the 150^th edition of solipsistic NATION.

When I re-launched solipsistic NATION as a podcast I knew that I would easily release 100 shows. I had a lot of ideas that I wanted to accomplish on solipsistic NATION like having guest DJs on the show, spotlighting record labels and playing a recording of a live performance of an electronic music each month. I’ve done all that more in 100 editions of solipsistic NATION. I just never gave much thought what I’d do after those 100 shows. But here we are.

Turned out there was nothing to worry about because I’ve got a lot of upcoming shows on solipsistic NATION that I’m very excited about. More about those projects as they develop.

On to today’s show…

Yeah, I know I just said that I’ve accomplished a lot of goals on solipsistic NATION but one show I’ve wanted to do since solipsistic NATION launched is an all mashup show. I can’t believe it’s taken me nearly three years to do this show!

Mashups (or bootlegs) are, of course, songs composed of a blend of two or more songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song over the music track of another. The concept is straightforward enough but a mashup done poorly just sounds crass while a mashup done well stands up as a song in it’s own right. The secondary goal is to create a song that plays two or more tracks similar or incongruous with each other that simultaneously get excited about the original tracks and the novel way those tracks have been re-purposed and mashedup.

One person who has consistently released awesome mashups is Mark Vidler, AKA Go Home Productions. Mark just has a knack for combining tracks in his mash ups. I believe Mark’s “Wrapped Detective” draws from as least from The Police, Lionel Ritchie, Elvis Costello and Bob Marley. I know there’s more but I lost count. Yet Marks weaves all these disparate songs together in a cohesive whole that somehow makes sense. great stuff!

Soundhog‘s mashup of Black Sabbath and Pink in “Get This Supernaut Started” is pretty straightforward yet succeeds on it’s simplicity. I never paid Pink much attention but after hearing her on this mashup I found myself digging her own releases. Still, “Get This Supernaut Started” might be the best that Pink will ever sound because that track rocks! Of course it’s gonna rock, it’s got friggin’ Black Sabbath in it!

It was actually DJ Danger Mouse‘s mashup album of The Beatles and Jay-Z, The Grey Album, that propelled Danger Mouse to fame and notoriety. Danger Mouse originally released The Grey Album to vendors in limited quantities. EMI, copyright holder of The Beatles, told Danger Mouse to knock it off. Word got out and Danger Mouse found himself a sensation. Thing is, for once the hype was justified because Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album is slamming! yes, he’s sampling The Beatles but in ways you wouldn’t imagine. Jay-Z is relentless as ever but the addition of The Beatles puts a new cast to his lyrics.

These are some of my favorite mashups on today’s show but you’ll find lots of other gems. You can find more mashups at Mashup Town.

I still can’t believe it took me nearly three years to get around to doing this show!

Photo Credit: autophen

1. Go Home Productions “Crazy Little Fool” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
2. DJ Danger Mouse “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”
3. Soundhog “Get This Supernaut Started”
4. Go Home Productions “Ray Of Gob (Original Mix)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
5. d s i c o “Dirty Bottle”
6. Party Ben “Somebody Rock Me (The Clash vs. The Killers)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
7. Loo & Placido “Should I Stay Or Should I Boogie”
8. Go Home Productions “Wrapped Detective (Full Version)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
9. Phil RetroSpector “Step Together” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
10. d s i c o “2 Turntables are Ice”
11. Phil RetroSpector “Naturally Feeling Blue” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
12. Go Home Productions “Ain’t No Sunshine In My Closet” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
13. Pilchard “The Doors take a Walk Down Sesame Street and Learn to Spell the Macarena”
14. Alex C “Count It Out”
15. Go Home Productions “Sexual High” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
16. Mighty Mike “Massive Fear (Massive Attack vs. Lily Allen)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]