Set phasers to mash – it’s time for the combined March and April Best Of Bootie lists. A Plus D bring you their Top 20 for the two months. You can check them out (and download for free) here. And, as is tradition, here is the track-by-track NMTB breakdown.
- Levels That I Used To Know by A Plus D (Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye vs Levels by Avicii)
This track in itself started out a little too electronic for me but it quickly recovered. And while I prefer the Walk Off The Earth version of Somebody That I Used To Know over the Gotye original, this mashup simply is a keeper. A very worthy start to the Top 20. And once again no justification needed for the fact that A Plus D include themselves in their own list. The quality speaks for itself. And it speaks volumes.
- Uprising Bodies by Dan Mei (# by Taio Cruz vs Let The Bodies Hit The Floor by Drowning Pool vs Uprising by Muse vs Lift Me Up by Moby vs Alors On Danse by Stromae vs Gunshot by Infernal vs Loca People by Sak Noel)
Ladies and gentleman, we are 2 for 2. The second entry in the Top 20 is more than a mashup. It’s almost a force of nature. Not just a multitrack mash, it is a multi genre mash. Very well executed, doesn’t get boring, surprises you with different samples. The inclusion of the Moby sample towards the end just tops it off perfectly.
- Twist & Shout by DJs From Mars (Beatles Remix)
Is it a mashup? Is it? Is it though? It certainly hurts my brain. And not in a good way. To say it in the immortal words of Lauren Copper: I ain’t bovvered.
- We Found Every Teardrop by DJs From Mars (We Found Love by Rihanna vs Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall by Coldplay)
Talking about not being bovvered. Look, it’s Coldplay. Now look at my face. Still not bovvered.
- Smooth Gasolina by Elocnep (Gasolina by Pitbull vs Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson (Lazertag Remix))
I wonder how this one would sound of it was done with the original Smooth Criminal. There are moments in the remix that I really dig. Overall, in the mash with Pitbull’s Gasolina, not quite my style. Not sure if original vs Gasolina would work. But if it does, the clash would be bigger and the effect might be better.
- Dominos Feel So Close by DJ EM-Tee (Domino by Jessie J vs Feel So Close by Calvin Harris)
Dou yourself a favour and skip the first 40 seconds of this one. And roughly the last 40 seconds as well. Those are just mindless, run-off-the-mill electro beats. After that it gets better. Still not Best of 2012 material but entertaining and danceable enough to be an adequate filler at any bootie party.
- Young Hearts Wanna Beat On Their Own by The Jane Doze (Hummingbird Heartbeat by Katy Perry vs Young Blood by The Naked & Famous vs Dancing On My Own by Robyn vs I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston vs Your Love Is My Drug by Kesha vs Check It Out by will.i.am)
What’s this? An item that contains “Katy Perry“, “naked” and “beat their own” and yet it is not about masturbation? What’s even more surprising, though, is that this mash uses Katy Perry and it’s not one of the usual suspects. No Last Friday Night, no Kissed A Girl, no E.T., not even California Gurls. So, bonus points for utilising a less-used KP track. Overall nice multitrack. Nice and slow. Worth spinning more than once.
- Breakin’ The Doors by Kap Slap (Breakin’ A Sweat by Skrillex feat. The Doors (Zedd Remix) vs Slam The Door by Zedd vs You’ve Got The Love by Florence & The Machine vs No Beef by Afrojack & Aoki ft. Miss Palmer vs Lets Go by Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo vs Give Me Everything Tonight by Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo vs Last Friday Night by Katy Perry)
Fun fact, straight off the Bottie blog: Kap Slap is a senior in high school. Which makes him too young to spin his own track in a club. That’s the world of mashup for you.
But now I’m wondering if I really think this track is okay or if I just don’t want to slag a high schooler off. It’s okay-ish. A little too much for my taste. A little too electronic, too, but that is often my problem with mashups. Honestly, I probably won’t listen to it beyond this review, but I can see this working very well for parties. Unless the crowd is made entirely of people like me. But who would want to go to a party like that?
- Pumped Up Moonligh by King of Pants (Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People vs Dancing In The Moonlight by King Harvest)
I’ve been looking forward to this one as soon as I saw it on the list. The guys from Toploader were still a twinkle in their parents’ eyes when King Harvest was already dancing in the moonlight back in 1973. Mashing that original with Pumped Up Kicks creates a charming new track. Needless to say, the combination of the Dancing In The Moonlight lyrics with the theme of Pumped Up Kicks is a great mindfuck in and of itself.
- Sweet Judas by King of Pants (Judas by Lady Gaga vs Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics)
This one is pretty much the opposite of Dominos Feel So Close. I really liked the first 15 seconds. And the last 4 seconds. To be fair, in between I also liked the bits and pieces during which you don’t hear Lady Gaga.
It’s not like I wasN#t giving it a chance, especially after King of Pants just charmed me with Pumped Up Moonlight. But as soon as Gaga sets in it’s just over me.
- The One That Got A Hangover by DJ Magic Baron (Hangover by Taio Cruz vs The One That Got Away by Katy Perry)
As far as genre-clashs are concerned, this mashup is a fail. Both tracks are pure contemporary pop. But they work well together. If you play this mashup to someone who doesn’t know either of the originals, they might not even notice that it is a mashup. Which is why this track doesn’t win any Bastard Pop Spirit bonus points. But it is nice enough to listen to.
- Starships Dance Floor Porn by Mashup-Germany (Starships by Nicki Minaj vs Till The World Ends by Britney Spears vs Played a-live by Safri Duo vs Yeah 3x by Chris Brown vs Changed The Way You Kissed Me by Example vs Wonderful Life by Hurts vs Put Your Fucking Hands Up by Lil Jon vs One More Time by Daft Punk vs Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Children’s Choir)
In a month with surprisingly few multitracks, leave it to Mashup-Germany to wave that flag. And wave it proud. As usual I can perfectly see this work during a mashup/bootie party. Personally, I’d like to remix the ingredients to something that sounds a little like this: Britney spears that daft punk Chris Brown until it hurts, and then 3x more times so that he sees little stars till the world ends. But maybe that’s just me. And everyone else who doesn’t like guys who hit girls and afterwards get aggressive when people bring up the fact that they are a women-hitting douche bag.
- Set Fire To True Faith by Party Ben (Set Fore To the Rain by Adele vs True Faith by New Order)
Ever wondered what a humble brag is? Here is one, taken from Party Ben’s Soundcloud page: “(looks around at everybody making Set Fire to the Rain mashups) (feels left out) (throws together something that’s basically no different from the throwaway junk he made in 2003) (doesn’t care)“.
When Party Ben “throws something together“, it still turns out better than the majority of mashups out there. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t one of his best bastard pop tracks. Not by a long shot. But it is among the better mashs that use A”Never talk, only sing, you muppet”dele.
- Killing Kids by Phil RetroSpector (The Killing Moon by Echo & The Bunnymen vs Kids by MGMT)
Irony much that a mashup artist with the adopted name Phil RetroSpector brings you a mash called Killing Kids? Not that Lana Clarkson was a kid (well, compared to Spector’s age she kind of was). But still. Neglecting any morbid references, this is a solid, fun mashup.
- 4A by Ryan Nellis (Levels by Avicii (Skrillex Remix) vs Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO vs Bombs Over Baghdad by Outkast vs Whoomp! There It Is by Tag Team vs 3 by Brintey Spears vs E.T. by Katy Perry vs Technologic by Daft Punk vs Jump by Van Halen vs London Bridge by Fergie)
Reading the list of ingredients, I expected this one to suck. Turns out I was wrong. This dubstep heavy multitrack mash is surprisingly fun. And not just in a I-thought-it-would-be-completely-horrible-but-it-is-only-a-little-horrible kind of way. It’s good. Definitely the biggest positive surprise on the March/April Top 20.
- Born In The Deep (Rolling Slippy) by ShyBoy (Rolling In The Deep by Adele/ShyBoy vs Born Slippy by Underworld)
Why so shy, boy? This is a good one. What makes it even more better – or, more precisely, more unique – is that it’s not A”Oh just shut your trap”dele singing, but ShyBoy himself. Combine that with Born Slippy, one of my 90s guilty pleasures, and you got a winner.
- Her Breath Is The Wind (Rhiannon’s Breath) by TBC aka Instamatic (Breathe Me by Sia vs Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac)
Another slow one. And another one you might be able to trick the unknowing with. The two tracks fit so naturally that they could just be an original. Good choice of elements. Good execution. Not phenomenal but a thoroughly solid mashup, which is not a bad thing.
- We Are On Fire by DJ Tripp (Set Fire To The Rain by Adele vs We Are Young by Fun.)
Lately I’ve been obsessed with
- Hello Planes by ViC (Hello by Martin Solveig feat Dragonette vs Paper Planes by M.I.A.)
Is it unfair to have a designated favourite before you even start listening to a list of songs? If so, look at my face. Does it look bovvered?
The only thing I was wondering when I read that there is a Hello vs Paper Planes mash is which of the two was it will be. Hello vocals and Paper Planes instrumental or Hello instrumental track and Paper Planes vocals? They way it IS done is just insanely cool. One of my favourite bastard pop tracks in a while.
- Still California by Wick-it the Instigator (Moombathon Remix) (Still D.R.E. by Dr. Dre. vs California Love by Tupac vs Wick-it)
And that’s where I should have stopped. Moombathon, eh? Never heard of it before today. Still wish I hadn’t. I have to force myself to sit through this whole track. And afterwards I probably need to listen to Dr. Dre’s The Chronicle a few times to repair the damage done by this track. Wick-it? More like Don’t-do-it-again. Well, every list needs a loser. Here it is.
Liked this post? Then feel free to share it through the social media buttons below. And follow NeverMindTheBuzzkills on Twitter @NMTBuzzkills
(Listening to while finishing this blog entry: Hello Planes by ViC)
