M Is FOR MASHUP - July 29th, 2009
THERE IS NO OTHER-THE ONE AND ONLY DJ TOPCAT
By DJ Useo
Let's talk about mashups again, shall we? Okay. :) One of the toughest things about mashups apart from learning the software is devising successful combinations of music samples. It may seem like a good idea to have Dolly Parton singing over the Foo Fighters, but if they don't have similar musical melodies, or rhythms, all you get are OOTS & OOKS.(OOT=out of tune,OOK=out of key) Some mixers out there firmly believe (aside from new releases) there are only so many combinations & they will be mostly exhausted soon, or have been already. Others have the notion that there will always be wonderful combinations, as long as the desire to create thrives. If the mashup ideas ever do run out, I think we can point to THE ONE AND ONLY DJ TOPCAT as the rascal who used up the most ideas. lol
DJ TOPCAT has been mashing since the earliest parts of this decade. I don't have numbers on how many tracks he's released, but he's more prolific than me & I've released over 225 since 2004. On his site you can find mashups using 1950's music right up to tracks using the latest artists. He's got tracks posted in styles from ROCK to NEW WAVE to HIP HOP to OFF-THE-WALL. His tracks have appeared all over the web from MASHUPTOWN to AUDIOPORNCENTRAL TO BOOTIE. I've heard his work in many long mixes, & in online & offline radio shows. I've played his stuff lots myself in my weekly radio shows. Seriously, it almost boggles the mind to contemplate a creative mashup output like that. Let's just for a moment take a look at the most recent pairings of TC.
Here're just a few of the most recent artist pair-ups from the mind & hand of DJ TOPCAT.
LL Cool J vs Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flo Rida vs RATT
The Pharcyde vs Amy Winehouse
Biggie vs Allen Touissant
Lady Gaga vs Wayne Fontana
Ying Yang Twins vs The Who
Outkast vs Coldplay
Some fine combos occurring there, eh? I bet you're tempted to hear how these came out. Well, I for one give them a big 'thumbs'-up'. I've become accustomed to regular monthly posts of his new tracks, usually over 10 tracks all at once! This last batch of his numbers at 26 (!) tracks. It must take a lot of inspiration & drive to release that number & keep them at such high quality. Surely much of his vast output results from his being a live dj. It's massively inspirational to have so many people digging tunes with you at once.
DJ TOPCAT is based around Seattle & does live bookings & one other thing that may intrigue you. DJ TOPCAT offers a special service wherein he does custom remixes & mashups for hire. If you respond to his tunes like I think you will, you'll deffo want to install his iMEEM player on your site. Then you can select & play tons of his mixes at will.
Let's recoup for a sec. DJ TOPCAT regularly posts great mashups, he does excellent live shows & is one of the best artist pairers in the biz. Oh,yeah, I forgot to say that you can find vids of many of his tracks over at www.youtube.com & www.video4viet.com I'd write more, but I'm way distracted from listening to his Kiss Vs. Missy Elliot track. Find out more about DJ TOPCAT at any of these sites -
djtopcat.googlepages.com/
theonlydjtopcat.multiply.com/
www.myspace.com/theonlydjtopcat
www.last.fm/music/DJTopCat
Mix Of The Week - Believe me, I wasn't going to pick this mix (altho I love it) but as I sit here writing this,people are urging me to. Sooooooo...The mix of the week is my own 'Infant Terrible' (80's new wave mix). It's over an hour of remixed,remastered, 80's new wave tracks, all from vinyl & laden with samples. I went for tracks that show the diversity & range of the period, so be prepared for one wild ride.find it here -
( groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2009/07/dj-useo-infant-terrible-80s-new-wave.html ).
Mashup Curse : As for anyone who shall lay a finger on this label release and this pella which belong to me and my ka, he will have laid his finger on the mashup of Useo in the firmament, he will have offended the Lady of the instrumental ... his affair will be judged by the GYBO and he will be nowhere and his track will be nowhere; he will be one remixed, one who extracts himself.
DJ Useo's Podcast
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Constant: On Gerald Goddamned Ford (thestranger.com)
"Not long after he became president, Gerald Goddamned Ford took a vacation to Vail, Colorado, for some skiing. According to the book Presidential Anecdotes, while the Ford family ate dinner, one of their dogs took a shit in the lodge"
My worst ever onstage moment (guardian.co.uk)
From being heckled by a six-year-old to causing a near-riot, some top comedians remember the performances they'd rather forget.
My all-time favourite sketch (guardian.co.uk)
The best routines live forever in comedy folklore - but which ones do comedians remember most fondly?
Stephanie Pappas: Interview with Tim Meadows (thecelebritycafe.com)
Comedian Tim Meadows, who made a name for himself through his hilarious impersonations and unique characters on Saturday Night Live, proves he is just as equally a family man.
Jevon Phillips: The Emmy-nominated 'Family Guy' and the abortion episode you won't see (latimes.com)
Creator/voice wizard Seth MacFarlane led a panel that included actors Mila Kunis, Seth Green and Alex Borstein, who, after receiving an 'I love you' from some in the crowd said "I'll love you when you shut the hell up!"
Alisha Prakash: Interview with Kevin Farley (thecelebritycafe.com)
Kevin Farley, the younger brother of the late comic, Chris Farley, is one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood.
STEPHANIE SCHROEDER: Come To My Window (curvemag.com)
A new lesbian film is in the works from the director of 'When Kiran met Karen.'
Kimberly Helk: INTERVIEW WITH Brooke Hogan (thecelebritycafe.com)
Brooke Hogan, daughter of the ever-popular wrestler, Hulk Hogan, has become a star in her own right. Fans watched her grow up from "Hogan Knows Best" to her own show on Vh1, "Brooke Knows Best," and her first album, "Undiscovered."
John Anderson: Judd Apatow turns serious, and that's no laughing matter (Newsday)
Imagine Mel Brooks directing Strindberg. Or Groucho, Chico and Harpo playing the Brothers Karamazov. Or Kevin Smith announcing an all-slacker version of "Gotterdammerung," replete with spear-carrying convenience store clerks and bong-sucking Valkyries.
Christine Le: Interview with Drew Sidora (thecelebritycafe.com)
You may recognize her as Chantel from Disney Channel's "That's So Raven," or from the hit dance film, "Step Up." But what you don't know about Drew Sidora is that she'll be playing a break-dancer in what is likely to be another phenomenal dance movie. You'll also get a chance to hear about her personal life in her debut album due out early 2010.
Rosanna Greenstreet: "Q&A: Matthew Bourne" (guardian.co.uk)
'I once went through the dustbin outside David Bowie's house.'
David Bruce: Wise Up! Baseball/Softball
* As a major-league pitcher, Virgil "Fire" Trucks threw two no-hitters, but his career started inauspiciously. In 1942, in his first start as a major-leaguer, Mr. Trucks threw his first pitch against Johnny Pesky, who singled. He threw his second pitch against Bobby Doer, who doubled, and he threw his third pitch against Ted Williams, who also doubled. At this point, the Detroit Tigers manager came out to ask the catcher, "Doesn't Virgil have it today?" "How do I know?" the catcher replied, "I haven't catch a pitch yet."
Julie Benz: So Bad (youtube.com)
Photos of Julie Benz set to the song "So Bad" by Darren Hayes.
D a r e l a n d
Careers to Pursue When Yours Disappear
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Resistance is Futile' Edition
Sunday, on Meet the Press, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said of Iran..."We believe as a matter of policy it is unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons... So we are united in our continuing commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons... First, we're going to do everything we can to prevent you from ever getting a nuclear weapon. But your pursuit is futile, because we will never let Iran--nuclear-armed"...
Do you think Obama would use the military option to prevent a nuclear armed Iran?
Send your response to
Chumley the Walrus was the sidekick of what cartoon character?
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
formerly 'Dick Eats Bush'
Steve McFarland
Hi,
Just wanted to share an article and a few recent videos:
I like this one, it's pretty insightful.
Is Earth an ill fated Planet?
Some recent video's I've put out. Hope you can watch Yahoo video's.
Instrumental, various movies/music
Indestructible - Theme song from the album of the same name by disturbed
Salutes!
Steve
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Back to near seasonal.
Kid had a dentist appointment - not to brag (cough, cough), but he's never had a cavity.
Running For Charity
Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard is making a bid to run more than 1,000 miles in seven weeks to raise cash for charity.
The comedian, 47, who has only been training for around a month, set off on his adventure from London yesterday.
He is planning to run around 30 miles a day - longer than the length of a marathon.
Izzard's publicist, Karon Maskill, who has described him as "not a runner", says he went into training just four weeks ago.
Eddie Izzard
Journalists Should Be Nosey As Elephants
Dalai Lama
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Tuesday urged journalists to be as nosey as elephants in seeking out information for the good of society.
"I am always telling when I meet the press, media people, they should have long noses like elephants and that it should smell in front and also behind," he told a predominantly student audience at Warsaw University.
The Dalai Lama, 74, arrived in the Polish capital on Monday for a three-day visit during which he is to receive the honorary citizenship of the city.
On Tuesday he also visited a museum dedicated to the World War II Warsaw Uprising, a doomed 1944 insurrection by the Polish resistance against occupying Nazi German troops.
Dalai Lama
Photo License Problem
Hutterites
Up to 10 colonies of the strict Christian Hutterite sect say they face religious persecution from the Canadian province of Alberta's plan to force them to have their photos on driver's licenses and may leave Alberta rather than comply.
Canada's Supreme Court ruled Friday in favour of the Alberta government, which had appealed an exception the Hutterite colonies had won through the courts to a provincial law that requires photos on driver's licenses. The Alberta colonies take literally the Bible's Second Commandment against making images, although other colonies do not.
The Alberta government has promised to meet with colony representatives to discuss the matter. If it doesn't agree to leave the colonies exempt, they will consider leaving Alberta or ignoring the law, Samuel Wurz, manager of the Three Hills, said.
Hutterites are a pacifist Christian movement dating back to the Reformation of the 1500s that fled Europe due to religious persecution. The Three Hills and Wilson colonies, which have led Hutterite opposition to the photo requirement, moved to Alberta in 1918 from South Dakota after the American government tried to force Hutterites to fight in World War One.
Before they moved north, the Canadian government promised it would allow Hutterites to freely practice their religion, Wurz said.
Hutterites
Declares Birth Certificate Real
Hawaii
State officials in Hawaii on Monday said they have once again checked and confirmed that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president.
"I ... have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen," Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a brief statement. "I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago."
So-called "birthers" - who claim Obama is ineligible to be president because, they argue, he was actually born outside the United States - have grown more vocal recently on blogs and television news shows.
Fukino issued a similar press release Oct. 31, but was prompted to speak out again because of the renewed attention on Obama's beginnings. Hawaii's Health Department has been flooded in recent weeks with questions from individuals and several national TV news networks asking for proof that Obama was indeed born in Hawaii.
Hawaii
Estate Based On Fraudulent Will
Jack Kerouac
There are new questions about the estate of Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac after a Florida judge ruled that his mother's will was fraudulent.
Gabrielle Kerouac left all of her son's assets to his third wife, Stella Sampas Kerouac, when she died in 1973. Ever since, the Sampas family has had control of Jack Kerouac's manuscripts, letters and personal belongings.
Jack Kerouac's daughter challenged the will in 1994, after seeing a copy and deciding the signature was fake. She died two years later, but Paul Blake Jr., the writer's nephew, continued the litigation.
In an order filed Friday in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court, Judge George W. Greer ruled the will was a forgery. The ruling does not make any decision on who allegedly forged the document.
Jack Kerouac
Museum Takes On Elementary School
Georgia O'Keeffe
The guardians of Georgia O'Keeffe's legacy have a bone to pick with an Albuquerque elementary school named after the artist. It's not a pretty picture.
Officials of The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe complained recently about a "GOK" logo proposed for the school's new facade, and about T-shirts that said "Georgia O'Keeffe Kindergarten." E-mails from the museum warned of possible trademark infringement and suggested that fees may be required for some uses of the name.
"Everyone's shocked," said Yvonne Dion, president of the school's PTA. "This has never, ever, ever been an issue."
The school has borne O'Keeffe's name since it opened in 1988. While no one asked for permission, O'Keeffe's estate and the foundation that was formed to perpetuate her legacy didn't object at the time.
Georgia O'Keeffe
Studios Sue
Pirate Bay
A dozen Hollywood production companies have filed a new lawsuit against file-sharing Web site The Pirate Bay.
Columbia Pictures, Disney Enterprises, Universal Studios and 10 others are demanding the site's operators be fined and prevented from distributing TV-series including "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" and films such as "Batman."
The Pirate Bay has remained in operation despite guilty verdicts in a copyright trial in Sweden earlier this year against the site's operators, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij. Carl Lundstrom, who financed the site, was also convicted in that case.
All were sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay a combined 30 million kronor ($4.1 million) in damages.
Pirate Bay
Phone Number To Auction
867-5309
It may be the most famous telephone number in popular culture, and it's for sale. The number from the Tommy Tutone hit song "Jenny" - 867-5309, with the Philadelphia area code 267 - is being auctioned off on eBay.
Many so-called "Jenny" numbers were taken out of service in the early 80s, after the 1982 song prompted a national wave of phony phone calls to the number in various area codes.
The eBay seller is listed as a Jason Kaplan from Southampton, Pa.
After two days, bidding for this one was up to about $700. The auction ends August 4.
867-5309
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for July 20-26. 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. (17) "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 13.75 million viewers.
2. (23) "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 11.26 million viewers.
3. (6) "NCIS," CBS, 9.72 million viewers.
4. (8) "The Mentalist," CBS, 9.61 million viewers.
5. (9) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 9.31 million viewers.
6. (38) "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 8.8 million viewers.
7. (13) "CSI: Miami," CBS, 8.52 million viewers.
8. (49) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Thursday), Fox, 8.42 million viewers.
9. (64) "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 8.27 million viewers.
10. (64) "The Bachelorette," ABC, 8.04 million viewers.
11. (7) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 7.81 million viewers.
12. (37) "Law & Order: SVU," NBC, 7.49 million viewers.
13. (52) "So You Think You Can Dance" (Wednesday), Fox, 7.36 million viewers.
14. (13) "60 Minutes," CBS, 7.34 million viewers.
15. (19) "CSI: NY," CBS, 7.29 million viewers.
16. (X) "Hell's Kitchen," Fox, 6.95 million viewers.
17. (12) "Criminal Minds," CBS, 6.54 million viewers.
18. (52) "Wipeout," ABC, 6.43 million viewers.
19. (88) "Big Brother 11" (Thursday), CBS, 6.39 million viewers.
20. (93) "Dating in the Dark," ABC, 6.15 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
George Russell
Jazz composer George Russell, a MacArthur fellow whose theories influenced the modal music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, has died.
His publicist says Russell, who taught at the New England Conservatory, died Monday in Boston at age 86 of complications from Alzheimer's.
Russell was born in Cincinnati in 1923 and attended Wilberforce University. He played drums in Benny Carter's band and later wrote "Cubano Be/Cubano Bop" for Dizzy Gillespie's orchestra. It premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1947 and was the first fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz.
Russell developed the Lydian concept in 1953. It's credited as the first theoretical contribution from jazz.
Russell is survived by his wife, his son and three grandchildren. A release says a memorial service will be planned.
George Russell
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
