By Andrew Good
They say the most flattering artistic compliment is appropriation (sometimes known as ripping off someone else's work). If that's true, then Jay-Z must be feeling anything but humble these days. He's already an imposing figure in hip-hop, but his appeal spread outside of hip-hop circles when DJ Dangermouse crafted The Grey Album, a mash-up work fusing Jay-Z's The Black Album with the Beatles' The White Album.
Now, fans are finding his music fused with another band—indie rock gods Radiohead. Jaydiohead, as the album is known, is the creation of Minty Fresh Beats, an electronic music artist who stirred up attention from a variety of music sites once word got around the blogosphere that he had merged hit songs from both Jay-Z and Radiohead. "99 Anthems," for example, fuses the vocals of "99 Problems" with "The National Anthem"; "Dirt Off Your Android" blends "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "Paranoid Android." The work has received mixed reviews, though to some degree this is predictable. Mash-ups are largely considered passé by some reviewers, while other artists, such as Girl Talk, seem to be earning plenty of praise for their continued work in the genre.
This is sure to work out well for Jay-Z—the rapper is still touring and Jay Z tickets at http://www.stubhub.com/jay-z-tickets are sure to sell even better with new listeners being exposed to his music. And it certainly represents an achievement for Minty Fresh Beats, who appears to have been "discovered" through this record. But for those unfamiliar with mash-ups, here's a definitive list of where to start if you're looking for specific albums to pick up and enjoy the genre.
Jaydiohead—Minty Fresh Beats: Available at http://Jaydiohead.com. Mash-ups can sometimes seem unnecessary. Two songs really have to mesh well for the song to work, and rap often works well, because you can layer vocal tracks down over a well-known rock song and have something that sounds entirely different. Minty Fresh Beats seems able to find just the right songs to be layered together. Definitely worth giving a listen if you're a Jay-Z fan or new to the music.
The Grey Album—DJ Dangermouse: A phenomenon when it was first released, The Grey Album remains a mash-up touchstone. Again, if you love Jay-Z, or don't mind hearing the Beatles re-contextualized, then you should definitely seek this out.
Feed the Animals—Girl Talk: A super hit in 2008, Girl Talk's fourth album continues to mix pop songs, country tunes, Top 40 club hits and indie rock. What he mashes up isn't quite as coherent as the Jay-Z remixes, or other mash-up works, for that matter. But it is a style of music that's totally distinct from anything else. If you don't have an aversion to pop music, definitely try this.
As Heard on Radio Soulwax—2 Many DJs: Two members of the band Soulwax had a lot of fun as 2 Many DJs, heading a radio show that mashed-up a wide, wide variety of music. Who else would have thought of mashing Dolly Parton with Royksopp? Or the "Peter Gunn Theme" with "Where's Your Head At?" Definitely required listening.
Since I Left You—The Avalanches: The Avalanches sole LP, released in 2000 before they seemed to disappear off the face of the earth, was a revolution in mixing and appropriation. It's rumored to contain literally thousands of vinyl samples. Most importantly of all, it's still a fantastic record, and probably the most seamless listen of all these selections. Make sure you pick this up.
This article was written by Andrew Good and sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells Jay-Z tickets as well as sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and more to just about any event in the world.
Source:www.isnare.com |
