solipsistic NATION No. 150: All Mashed Up!

This is the 150th 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]