M Is FOR MASHUP - April 22nd, 2008
Mashups To Rock Out To (Neighbors Beware)
By DJ Useo
Yes, it's another article by me on the mashup phenomena. I was going to write about the CRANCE music scene, but it died! lol! I'm not sure why, but today when I went around to different dj's websites, many seemed to've gotten the idea to go with mashups that included rock artists. Possibly it was just a fluke in timing, or maybe something in the water, but I prefer the theory that there's a trace chemical implanted in vinyl by the record labels that makes you want to hear soaring guitar leads & power chords. It was very easy for me to find lots of new bootleg mixes that employed rock as the instrumental basis, & not a small number that put rock vocals like Black Sabbath & Metallica to pop artist's tunes. I saw Aekon had a new one with Metallica singing over Britney Spears, & Faroff had a track that had Britney singing over Metallica. Who'da thunkit?
First off, the inimitable VOICEDUDE ( voicedude.podomatic.com/ ) has resurrected one of his finest audio concoctions with the timely 2009 re-do of his classic 'Four Twenty' (Tom Petty vs Luniz). The master of mashups has spiced up the previously-wonderful mashup by adding a new arrangement that updates it splendidly with some fantastic early Black Sabbath vocals & just the dashiest dash of Cheech & Chong. Released on April 20th, the updated version takes advantage of the keen interest in songs about Tetrahydrocannabinol that many of the musical audience today find so enthralling. Just imagine the resulting satisfaction when mashup meets head in this finestkind mixture. I found it so fine as a solo bootleg, I liked it even sober as I often am, & the timing of release was a brilliant bit of promotion. Voicedude has a rich catalogue of past releases to sink your teeth (or ears) into. This is only the latest icing on the cake. Find your 4/20 joy at the AudioPornCentral exclusive post here - ( audioporncentral.com/2009/04/world-premiere-voicedude-four-twenty-09.html ).
Next up, MadMixMustang ( www.madmixmustang.nl ) continues his reign of hits with 'Viva Les Boys' (Coldplay vs Thin Lizzy). Yeah, buddy, you heard that right! An actual Thin Lizzy mashup, & wonder of wonders, it features the singing of 'The Boys Are Back In Town' with Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida' as the instrumental. In a stunning turnaround, MMM has announced in advance the reverse version with Coldplay singing over Thin Lizzy's music will appear on "SOUNDS FROM A NEW WORLD...", a highly-anticipated mashup compilation set for a April 25th release. (Sounds like my cue to write about it for next week's column.)
MadMixMustang is another bootlegger with a rich tapestry of former releases, & he's no stranger to rock-based mashes, with tracks like 'Get It On In The 80's' (T.Rex vs Calvin Harris) & 'Metal Venus Rock' (Metallica vs Bananarama vs Afrika Bambattaa). You'll savor his new track & more than likely dip into his past posts as well.
Overdub ( overdub.fr ) is a new name to me, but he's been around a while with tracks such as 'Bastard Rock' (Nirvana vs Apollo 440) & 'Walking After Your Soul' (Adam Freeland vs Foo Fighters) to keep interest high. His newest work is 'Mixed Farm' (Beck vs Rage Against The Machine) & is one fine track indeed. Perhaps it is rock on rock, but it's rock on rock of the highest order (well, right below Voicedude's 'Four Twenty'). Coming onto the scene back in 2007, Overdub may find it a crowded field to post mashups in, yet, he'll fare well I predict. His tracks are inventive with damn strong production sound. As the ever-eloquent DJ Zebra had to say about this new Beck/RATM track "Well Done".
Billy Idol goes dancing with more than himself when Hahnstudios ( hahnstudios.blogspot.com/ ) pairs him up with the motion-inducing tune of Magic Affair in 'Wedding Omen' (Billy Idol vs Magic Affair). You'll be pumping your fist in the air & sneering as you hear the satisfying beats Hahnstudios places under Idol's classic throat-bellowing. I've been acquainted with Hahnstudio's expressive talent for quite a while now & he maintains a spot among my fave mashers through tracks like 'Van Diemons La Isla Bonita (Madonna vs U2) & 'Falco Meets Freddie' (Falco vs Queen). I would praise him more, but it's best to keep him hungry for more. Who knows? He may drop more tracks in response. :)
DJ Morgoth ( djmorgoth.blogspot.com ) is a bootlegger nearly everyone knows through the widely-disseminated series 'Mash-up Your Bootz' a series now updated with the brand-spankin' new volume 4! Following up that release DJ Morgoth (Melkor as I know him) has a big hit on his hands with 'You´ve Got Another Firestarter Comin´' (Judas Priest vs The Prodigy). When two superb tracks like these come together under the tender mixing hand of a pro like Morgoth it can only serve to elevate the material to a new stature. DJ Morgoth runs a monthly Mash-Up Party in Berlin, called 'MASH-UP YOUR BOOTZ!' ( mashupyourbootz.com/ ), so be sure & attend one soon. Can you just imagine the massive crowd jamming to this bastard pop sensation? I can, & it blows my mind!
Just a quick mention now of a new track from yours truly, that was featured in a recent edition of RAMDOM THOUGHTS ( ramdomthoughts.co.uk ) the super popular mashup podcast from Scott Johnson. 'Shine Times Two' (Collective Soul vs Booty Luv) began it's bootleg life as a Collective Soul 'Shine' remix from my past released album
'FAST VERSIONS, vol. 1'
( djuseo.multiply.com/journal/item/97/Fast_Versions_vol.1 ), but I was not content to leave well-enough alone. I noticed a similar syncopation with Booty Luv's 'Shine' & slammed them together to make 'Shine Times Two'. Never heard a word agin it since. Check it out for yourself at my blog ( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2009/04/shine-times-two-collective-soul-vs.html ) & if you like it, please leave me a comment. Sometimes I stand at that blog for days all alone (boo-hoo-hoo).
Thanks for your attention. I hope you find sound satisfaction of a 'high' order. (Especially with
Voicedude's 'Four Twenty')
Mix Of The Week - DJ MXR ( djmxr.multiply.com ) pulls out all stops & rocks the house with his 'DIRE STRAITS Megamix' (ti1ca.com/lkkpwfmt-DJ-MXR-Dire-Straits-Megamix-DJ_MXR-Dire-Straits-Megamix.mp3.html ).
It's not a real long mix, but it's a keeper!
Mashup Tip : Don't mash in the subway, darling, don't mash in the pouring rain.
P.S. .If you read last week's column on the new
RADIOSTIX Mashup Countdown radio show (
mashstix.com ) &
( sound-unsound.com ) you will want to go to
this new page ( mashstix.com/RadioStix.php ) & savor the past episodes.
Please drop in for the new shows every Sunday. :)
DJ Useo's Podcast
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Ad
Brie Cadman: Want To Be Thin? Eat More Fat (Divine Caroline; Posted on alternet.org)
It's come to light that fat, the much maligned macromolecule, doesn't deserve the reputation it's been dealt.
JESS BRAVIN: Justice Stevens Renders an Opinion on Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays (wsj.com)
It Wasn't the Bard of Avon, He Says; 'Evidence Is Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'
"Structure and Randomness: Pages from Year One of a Mathematical Blog" by Terence Tao: A review by Cosma Shalizi
Terence Tao is an almost ridiculously distinguished young mathematician, perhaps best known for his work in combinatorics and number theory, especially the theory of arithmetic progressions of prime numbers. In early 2007, he turned the "what's new" section of his home page into a blog, and his new book, Structure and Randomness, collects some of the writings that first appeared there ...
20 QUESTIONS: Augusten Burroughs (popmatters.com)
What do you get when you mix Lolita, Dexter and Ignatious? Something like Augusten Burroughs.
Douglas Wolk: Flukes of the Universe (slate.com)
A brief history of the spoken-word pop hit.
Chuck Myers: 'Red Letter Year' marks a turning point for Ani DiFranco (McClatchy-Tribune News Service)
Provocative and thoughtful go hand in hand when it comes to music by folk songstress Ani DiFranco.
Interview by Emma Sibbles: Mica Levi, musician (guardian.co.uk)
Q: Tell me about your style.
A: It's pretty relaxed and tomboyish. I don't have a regular job so I don't spend much on clothes. My top is our band T-shirt.
Aaron Barnhart: Bill Maher, still politically incorrect (McClatchy Newspapers)
If you watch "Real Time With Bill Maher" on HBO these days, you may have noticed something odd: the audience booing the host.
Lesley White: Michael Caine plays the pensioner (timesonline.co.uk)
Star of films "Alfie," "Get Carter" and "The Italian Job" reflects on his career as he takes on role as pensioner with dementia.
Rick Bentley: Liberal TV host Rachel Maddow works for civility (McClatchy Newspapers)
Rachel Maddow had never read a teleprompter before she filled in for Keith Olbermann on his MSNBC talk show last summer.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Free Speech (athensnews.com)
The record album cover for Nirvana's "Nevermind" features a 4-month-old baby named Spencer Eldon swimming underwater. The baby's penis is clearly visible, a fact that made the record company uncomfortable enough to want this particular piece of anatomy airbrushed out. Nirvana composer/singer Kurt Cobain suggested instead that the record company let the photograph remain untouched and instead put this warning label on the cover: "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile." The record company let the photograph remain untouched. By the way, Spencer's father joked about his son: "He did what David Bowie and the Rolling Stones could never do: full frontal nudity."
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Fantasy Island' Edition
Time out! I'm callin' a 'time out' from reality this week... No politics. No Economics. No wing-nuts. No war... Let's engage in a little reverie, shall we? C'mon! It'll be fun!
Given that you had the time and wherewithal to go anywhere you'd wish for a dream vacation, where would go to and what would you do once there?
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to
answered:
Vic in AK
they call it lucy
This one's for the ladies .They call
this star Lucy, as in Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
This one's for the guys a BOOZE NEBULA!!! 
Vic in AK
Thanks, Vic!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Not quite as hot, but another record was broken. Ack.
Darfur Fast
Mia Farrow
Actress Mia Farrow, a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, announced on Tuesday that she will begin a hunger strike next week to show solidarity with the people of Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region.
"On April 27 I will begin a fast of water only in solidarity with the people of Darfur and as a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease," Farrow said in a statement.
A spokesman for Farrow said she would stick with the hunger strike as long as possible, which her doctors estimate is a maximum of around three weeks given Farrow's slim build.
Farrow, who was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. children's foundation UNICEF in 2000, has been actively campaigning for years to raise funds and awareness for children in conflict zones like Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Chad and Nigeria.
Mia Farrow
Testifies In New Hampshire
Jon 'Bowzer' Bauman
There's only one "Bowzer," and the former Sha Na Na greaser came to New Hampshire as part of a national campaign supporting legislation to prevent imposters from advertising or performing under another group's name.
Bowzer, whose real name is Jon Bauman, said Tuesday that fans of groups like the Platters, the Coasters and the Drifters are being deceived by unscrupulous promoters who market other groups under the famous names. It also hurts the original performers.
A Senate measure known as the "Truth in Music" bill would protect bands and other performing groups whose names are trademarked. An exemption exists when a performance is clearly advertised as a tribute or salute.
Jon 'Bowzer' Bauman
Launches Planetarium Show
Elmo
Elmo the "Elmonaut" donned a space suit Tuesday as the Muppet star of a planetarium show that will take children on an imaginary ride into space. And Big Bird even gets a chance to fly, joining cuddly Elmo and a Chinese Muppet named Hu Hu Zhu on the voyage.
"Hi, Elmo!" a crowd of four-year-old tots chorused as the Muppet reported for duty at Washington's famed National Air and Space Museum.
The popular "Sesame Street" character introduced a show that helps children ages four to six learn about astronomy. And children from the U.S. to China are taking part; there's even a Chinese Mandarin version of the show that opened last year at the Beijing Planetarium.
"This is one small step for a monster and one giant leap for monsterkind," Elmo declared, eliciting smiles and stares from the children visiting the museum on Tuesday.
Elmo
Marking Woodstock Anniversary
Richie Havens
Veteran singer-songwriter Richie Havens, who was the first act on stage at the original Woodstock Music & Art Fair in 1969, will perform at noon on August 14 at the Bethel Woods Centre for the Arts on the original festival site in Bethel, N.Y.
A big part of Haven's Woodstock legend, of course, is that he was scheduled to be the festival's fifth performer, not its first, but he was drafted into service when traffic impeded those due onstage before him.
"It was 5 o'clock and nothing was happening yet," Havens remembers. "I had the least instruments and the least people (in his band). But they had to catch me first. I felt like, 'They're gonna kill me if I go up on stage first. Give me break. I need those four people in front of me to warm up the crowd.'
"But the people were great. I was supposed to sing 40 minutes, which I did, and from the side of the stage they go, 'Richie, four more songs?' I went back and did that, then it was, 'Four more songs ...' and that kept happening 'til two hours and 45 minutes later I had sung every song I know," including an epic version of "Freedom," which is featured in the 1970 Academy Award-winning documentary about the festival.
Richie Havens
Another Free Concert
Leno
Jay Leno is planning another free "Comedy Stimulus" show for people hurt by layoffs - this time in an Ohio community losing thousands of DHL shipping jobs.
The NBC "Tonight" show host says he'll perform May 10 in Wilmington, about 30 miles southeast of Dayton. Leno described the community of 12,000 as devastated and said the "good folks" there are having a hard time.
DHL Express announced last year that it planned to pull out of Wilmington Air Park, meaning a loss of 8,000 jobs. The company said Friday the new home for its international shipping hub in the U.S. would be Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, more than 50 miles away.
Leno
How Rupert Gooses Profits
'Slumdog Millionaire'
Indian police are investigating claims and counterclaims by the parents of a child star in "Slumdog Millionaire" after a British tabloid alleged the father tried to sell the 9-year-old girl to an undercover reporter.
The accusations further complicated the lives of the families of the slum-dwelling child stars, who have come under intense scrutiny since the movie skyrocketed to Oscar-winning fame and grossed more than $300 million worldwide.
Khurshid Begum, the estranged mother of "Slumdog Millionaire" star Rubina Ali, filed a complaint with Mumbai police on Sunday after News of the World reported that the father planned to put her up for adoption. The British newspaper said the deal was allegedly offered to one of its reporters posing as a sheik from the Mideast.
The newspaper - owned by News International Ltd., the main British subsidiary of News Corp., which also owns "Slumdog" distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures - said the father was demanding millions of rupees, worth the equivalent of $400,000.
'Slumdog Millionaire'
What Geneva Conventions?
Torture
Interrogators have centuries of experience extracting information from the unwilling. Medieval inquisitors hanged heretics from ceilings. Salem magistrates used fire to elicit witchcraft confessions. And CIA officers waterboarded terrorism suspects in clandestine prisons. Yet it has not settled a debate as old as interrogation itself: Does torture work?
Secret Justice Department memos, released last week revealing the CIA's harshest interrogation methods, do little to resolve the question. The memos credit waterboarding, face slapping, sleep deprivation and other techniques for producing the country's best intelligence following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. They also note that nonviolent tactics more often were successful than violence.
In 2006, a group of scientists and retired intelligence officers set out to settle the matter. They sought to find the most effective interrogation tactics and advise the U.S. government on their use. Their conclusions, laid out in a 372-page report for the director of national intelligence, argued against harsh interrogation.
Former Vice President and unindicted war criminal Dick Cheney (R-Draft Dodger) has long maintained that the CIA's harshest interrogation tactics, which the U.S. now considers torture, prevented terrorist attacks and saved lives on unindicted war criminal George W. Bush's watch after Sept. 11. He called on the Obama administration to release documents showing that success.
Torture
Named In Lawsuit
Bob Seger
Detroit rocker Bob Seger and a bandmate are named in a negligence lawsuit filed by a man who says he suffered injuries in a crash involving a car registered to Seger.
Scott Martin of Oxford, Mich., claims in the lawsuit that he was injured Aug. 8 in Independence Township when his motorcycle was struck by the Seger-registered 2004 Lexus driven by Christopher Campbell. Campbell is Seger's bass player.
Authorities say Campbell was ticketed for failure to stop after the accident, which happened about 30 miles northwest of Detroit.
Bob Seger
Pink Slips
Screen Actors Guild
One day after its national board approved a new contract for television and film, the Screen Actors Guild said it plans to lay off about 35 employees, or about 8 percent of the staff.
On Saturday, the national board approved a $60 million annual budget even as it contends with a $6.5 million operating deficit for fiscal 2009.
The pink slips come at a tumultuous time for the union, which has suffered from a year of destructive internal political struggles, declining revenue from dues and investments, a slowdown in film work for actors as guild leadership negotiated the contract with Hollywood studios and a flood of TV pilots that moved to rival performers' union the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Screen Actors Guild
Estate Shorts Dogs
Leona Helmsley
Trustees of real estate baroness Leona Helmsley's estate say they're giving $136 million to charity - with just $1 million going to the dogs.
Helmsley's estate announced its first round of charitable grants on Tuesday. The largest, $40 million, goes to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The majority goes to New York City hospitals and other health care systems across the country.
Helmsley's estate distributed $1 million to 10 animal rights groups, including $100,000 to the ASPCA.
Animal rights groups rejoiced last year at reports that Helmsley - who died in 2007 at age 87 - wanted her multibillion-dollar fortune to go exclusively to dog-related charities. A court ruled in February that the trustees had sole authority to decide which charities could benefit from her estate.
Leona Helmsley
TV Dream Dashed
Blago
A federal judge dashed indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's reality TV dream Tuesday, refusing to give the ousted Democrat permission to travel to Costa Rica to tape a show in the jungle. U.S. District Judge James Zagel refused to modify terms of Blagojevich's bail to allow him to leave the United States, saying he needs to remain in the country to help his attorneys formulate a strategy for his defense.
The judge said that would give Blagojevich a better sense of the gravity of the legal problems he faces - including allegations he tried to auction off President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.
Blagojevich had sought permission to appear on NBC's "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" - a program similar to "Survivor." Contestants will be plopped down in the Costa Rican jungle to perform sweaty physical tasks and scheme to avoid elimination.
Blagojevich attorney Sheldon Sorosky told Zagel the TV program would pay for security to make sure the former governor didn't flee if he were allowed to go to Costa Rica. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar said there was no way to predict whether Blagojevich would stay in Costa Rica or try to flee. Schar said Blagojevich may be facing 25 to 30 years behind bars if convicted, a strong incentive to run.
Blago
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-Time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for April 13-19. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (2) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 24.38 million viewers.
2. (1) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 24.11 million viewers.
3. (3) "Dancing with the Stars," ABC, 19.46 million viewers.
4. (4) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 15.72 million viewers.
5. (7) "Dancing with the Stars Results," ABC, 15.24 million viewers.
6. (11) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 15.03 million viewers.
7. (9) "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 13.85 million viewers.
8. (5) "NCIS," CBS, 13.56 million viewers.
9. (13) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 13.38 million viewers.
10. (18) "Without a Trace," CBS, 13.23 million viewers.
11. (18) "House," Fox, 12.19 million viewers.
12. (7) "The Mentalist," CBS, 12.18 million viewers.
13. (15) "CSI: NY," CBS, 12.14 million viewers.
14. (9) "60 Minutes," CBS, 12.04 million viewers.
15. (17) "Survivor: Tocantins," CBS, 11.64 million viewers.
16. (27) "Rules of Engagement," CBS, 11.6 million viewers.
17. (X) "Bones," Fox, 11.01 million viewers.
18. (20) "24," Fox, 10.86 million viewers.
19. (12) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 10.58 million viewers.
20. (28) "Amazing Race 14," CBS, 10.3 million viewers.
Ratings
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