Gaining popularity from the club scene to the hit television show, Glee, mashups are being created and played left and right. Described as being songs “comprised of elements of two or more pre-existing pieces of music,” mashups are exciting and intriguing (www.urbandictionary.com). What is typical of a mashup is to use pre-existing pieces of music that are completely different from each other and to mix them together making a single song. A lot of times mashups are heard in night clubs or bars where DJs are spinning. This is because mashups find their stylistic origin in electronic, pop, and rock music making them perfect dancing and partying music. It is easy for DJs to create mashups with use of their turntable and laptop software on the scene of the place they are spinning. Mashup tracks have surfaced all over the internet, mainly through YouTube. There are even groups such as Girl Talk and The Super Mash Bros. who are considered to be mashup artists. Producers and DJs release mashup singles and EPs to the internet, radio, iTunes. Mashups are distinctive because they provide a twist onto pieces of music familiar to listeners’ ears allowing for an outlet of energetic and electronic dance beats.
Mashups typically consist of heavy bass and electronic beats as well as manipulated techniques of the vocals of the pre-existing songs being mashed together. For instance, mashup artist, Girl Talk, is one of the best known mashup producers in the music industry. Gregg Michael Gillis, whose stage name is “Girl Talk,” focuses on mashup-remixes. Here, Gillis uses a dozen or more pre-existing music samples from different songs to create a song all his own. In his songs you can find quite the variety of genres, ranging from the gangsta rapper with Lil’ Jon to punky-pop sounding Avril Lavigne. With mashups, creativity has no limits. Unlike other genres where you have to produce certain songs to fit the style of that genre, mashups mix genres together creating something entirely different. That is the beauty of being a mashup artist; you do not have to answer to a producer nor do you have fit the constraints of a genre.
As mentioned before, within a mashup the vocals of a pre-existing song are usually manipulated to blend with the beat. For example, going back to Girl Talk, in his song “Shut the Club Down,” Gillis blends the rap styles of Dolla and the pop singing of Avril Lavigne. Because of techniques like these that are incorporated in mashups, it is very difficult to sing along with a mashup song. This is because mashups are focused on the energetic beats and unique blending of sounds, not the vocals. Often times, the new mashup song will go back and forth and completely blend the vocals of the pre-existing songs to where the listener can hardly catch on to what is being sung. The quick pace of the beat and energetic vibe of the song is what matters with mashups. This brings us back to why mashups is good night club music. The electronic beats and heavy bass associated with mashups are related to dance music. You might not be able to sing along, but you can move your body to the rhythm of the song.
Because mashups have become and are still being popularized, many recording artists have even entertained the concept of creating mashups of their own. For instance, hip-hop artist Jay-Z and rock band Linkin Park created an album of mashups entitled “Collision Course.” The album featured pre-existing hit songs from both Jay-Z and Linkin Park. Together, they mashed their songs together creating all new sounds and elements. The album went on to be extremely successful and most likely provided more popularity and interest for mashups in general.
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