Apropos of nothing other than people doing those 'best of the year' things and me liking this stuff, here are some of my favourite mashups from 2012. Massive props to all the mashup producers involved, and of course to all the original artists whose music has been used.
[I had problems with the official.fm and soundcloud embeded players so I've included videos instead where possible (although I'm not a huge fan of mashup videos - I usually prefer to solely appreciate the musical inventiveness) - so I hope everything will play from this page, but have linked out to all the tracks anyway, in case you want to download them].
Not a complete list and in no particular order:
Lobsterdust - It's Fun to Be Young at the YMCA (Fun vs The Village People) . A bit of disco cheese fun, adding in a contemporary vocal with a hint of poignancy - brilliantly executed. Lovely.
Chocomang - Chocomangnam Style (The Hives vs PSY). Gangnam Style was ubiquitous this year and among many mashup variations that appeared, I think I like this one the best. It feels just slightly rough in places which really just adds to the energy of the Hives instrumental complementing the bonkers vocal nicely.
ToToM - Hell of a Feeling (Avril Lavigne vs Boston). Avril Lavigne, of all people, provides a quirky perky organ/handclapping vibe that gives the much-used Boston vocal a new lease of life.
Dan Mei - White Rasputin Wedding (Turisas vs Billy Idol vs Zedd). Much of the appeal of this one is down to the brilliant Turisas cover version of 'Ra Ra Rasputin' that forms the core of this - but I really like the fun vocal additions, the contrast between the soaring pop vocal and the mental folk-metal violins almost forces you to leap up and dance.
DJ Rozroz - I Feel Roads (James Brown vs Portishead). With any mashup that uses genuinely beloved music, there's a danger of sacrilege, and the idea of James Brown mashed up with Portishead's beautiful 'Roads' seemed likely to have overstepped the bounds of playfulness. Except - it works, really really well. Great downbeat mashup.
Mighty Mike - City Down Under (M83 vs Men At Work). Another fairly downbeat one, this time using perhaps less precious material, but giving Men At Work a space-y synthy makeover creates a wistfully atmospheric new track.
DJ Schmolli - Crush it (Michael Jackson vs Nero vs Knife Party). Jacko is pretty overused in mashups but combining 'Beat It' with bone-crunching dubstep/drum&bass/whatever-it's-called-that-kids-are-listening-to-these-days fits well, creating a floor-filler that's satisfyingly hard and frenetic whilst still amusingly recognisable. Also, great Lego video.
Have a good 2013.
