TrulyObscure - article - sounds - web bits - Mashed '05: 2005's Best Mash-up Music

Yes, mash-ups hit the big time last year with DJ Danger Mouse’s Grey Album, but this year there were more than a few great mash-ups! Let’s start by taking at look at what Wikipedia calls bastard pop- a mix of two or more songs, usually unauthorized, often a complete album. They are released on the internet, and removed fairly quickly once the RIAA gets wind of where they are being hosted. Keep this in mind please, the links in this article are subject to removal and change at any time!

This year, there wasn’t anything quite as high profile as The Grey Album or the Kleptones’ Night at the Hip-Hopera, but there was at least one “protest”. Yesterday, December 13th, the album AmericanEdit (a mix of Green Day with Oasis, Aerosmith, and a few other samples) was being hosted on several sites in hopes of encouraging mash-ups. It’s a pretty good mix, with the obvious standout track being “Boulevard of Broken Songs”. According to the site, even Billie Joe, the lead singer of Green Day, thought it was “pretty cool”.

There were plenty of other successful releases this year- some great music is out there, free, if you know where to look (hint: Google to start, and your favorite P2P client like Kazaa for more).

Let’s start with the Beatles. One of the most recent releases at djbc is the Beastles, a very listenable mix of the British with the Beastie Boys. It works better than you might expect, check out the lead track: WhatchaWantLady.

And if it’s Beatles you want, how about a decent single, a mash-up of some 40 Beatles songs, aptly called the Beatles Mash-up Medley.

Another standout album this year was Glassbreaks, a stunning combination of the composer Phillip Glass with some old school hip-hop. Unfortunately, the album has been removed from most sites, but a little looking is worth tracks like “Evening High”, where Glass’ tempo gets a little shaken up by Kanye West.

The last mash-up album which we find rotating on our playlists is a Radiohead remix, with cuts from De La Soul, MF Doom, and a few other notables. This one is only available as a BitTorrent, at this site. Not every track works, but if you are a Radiohead fan, you’ll like what Panzah Zandahz has done.

Finally, a great single by DJ Riko that just barely qualifies- but since it’s release earlier this year it’s probably the single we’ve listened to most often from this list. Whistler’s Delight is, simply, a ton of fun. The site appears to be having bandwidth issues, but a torrent is available here.