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MASHED POPTATOES AND HIPSTER HYBRIDS

Mon, Mar 10, 2008, 3:31 PM

Mashup (v.) - The act of blending bits of one familiar tune into another familiar tune, typically by laying the vocal track of one piece atop the "bed," or key backing tracks, of another piece. 

Mashup (n.) - The resulting composition. Fun at parties and the workplace. 

EXAMPLE: Tired of the Killers? Add MIA’s fresher grime lyrics and you’re now dancing to “Mr. Brightside,” whilst shouting to “Galang.”

Forget the mixtape, it’s the mixed-up song that’s multitasking its way onto iPods and into nightclubs. Across the web, "MP3js" post a wide spectrum of mashups via podcasts and downloads as they compete to be the first to combine seemingly incongruous tracks.

The trend has even spawned the "hipster hybrid," including such improbably collabs as this two-fer that melds R. Kelly's chortle-inducing lyrics with Broken Social Scene's indie cred. Or there's this, which matches up college radio staples Modest Mouse with rapper Lil Wayne. 

The mashup trend really took flight with the 2004 under-the-radar release of DJ/Auteur Danger Mouse's The Grey Album: a combo of Jay-Z's Black Album with The Beatles' White Album. Four years later, mashups are ubiquitous at parties and raves in New York City and elsewhere. NYC's Bootie focuses entirely on mashups and other bootlegs for its soundtrack.

Of course, the idea of combining genres and specific songs goes much farther back than 2004. It doesn't take a music historian to recall this gem, which revived the careers of both willing participants:

 

 

What is the most unusual mashup you've heard recently -- or would like to hear. Let us know below! 

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