Category Archives: mashup

All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom

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Girl Talk (Greg Gillis)

When discussing the best mash-up artists, Girl Talk is widely considered the King of Kings.  Girl Talk, also known as Greg Gillis, is the best there is. The album Feed The Animals is a big favorite of ours here at inALLcaps.com. It’s over 54 minutes of mash-up madness and got played hundreds of times on road trips, pre-party warm ups, and of course was on the playlist of countless trips to the gym.
My friend Jeremy and I had planned on seeing Girl Talk as soon as he was back on tour and within a 5 hour drive from our hometown. We checked for new albums and news of a U.S. tour often; it seemed like Greg was in hiding. I had worried that maybe those copyright lawyers had finally got their claws into our man. All the many uncleared samples he used in his work finally catching up with him. Then again, if that WAS the case, it would be all over the internet.
Then finally, spreading like wildfire, word of a new album called All Day. It wasn’t news of a release date…it was just released as a total surprise! 

I found out later that Gillis had begun working on All Day after wrapping up production on Feed the Animals. His need to create more new music while on tour was the biggest catalyst for the material on this new album.

I fly quickly to the Illegal Arts website, Girl Talk’s label site, to grab my copy. Previous albums were distributed using a “pay-what-you-want” model, but I notice this album is just simply FREE! (you can still get your copy for free by clicking here). For hours I attempted to download the album, only to be denied by the overwhelmed site. I did finally get a copy from…well…from that same friend I mentioned earlier. Jeremy was triumphant in his attempt at the download.
I got the tracks loaded up in iTunes and the first thing I noticed was that this album is long! Clocking in at over an hour and ten minutes, this ends up being the longest album Girl Talk has put out!
The album starts out strong! A mash-up of Black Sabbath, 2Pac, Jay-Z, and Ludacris all in the first 1:20 of the first track! Another highlight is the mash-up of J-Kwon, The Ramones, and Slick Rick! Amazing!
Let’s break down a song of this new album. Track 10 is called Steady Shock. Peep it out below.
Click to play Girl Talk – Steady Shock
The track illustrates how amazing Greg Gillis is at his artform. Look below to see the breakdown of all the samples in this one track. Keep in mind the track itself is under 5 and a half minutes long.

Click to play Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper

Click to play N.E.R.D – Everyone Nose


“I’m Not A DJ”

With over 370 samples that comprise the album All Day, there is plenty of samples you are sure to know well! There are some mysterious ones in the mix. They sound familiar but you are going crazy trying to figure out the original work the sample comes from. Never fear! The internet music geek community created a wiki page within hours of the new album release to identify all the samples used on the album. Check out the wiki article here. A less detailed, but considered more accurate version exists over here.
Now… many of our readers have asked me, is this album BETTER than Girl Talk’s previous album Feed The Animals. It isn’t better. In fact, Gillis’ albums Unstoppable and Night Ripper are better albums. All Day just doesn’t have the energy these previous albums have had. All Day is more like a “party-starter” than the full on party rager. The one thing that I like about All Day is that Gillis lets the samples breathe a bit more. Although this is what actually takes a bit of the excitement out of the album, it ends up making the album seem more mature to me.
Gillis talks about pacing himself in a recent interview with MTV:

 “I’m really interested in the rate of change but sticking with the same source material for a bit longer. It’s a little bit more patient, mostly because I’ve spent just about every day working on it, editing it, going over each segment. It’s been a full-time commitment.” 

If you still think this album might be better than Feed The Animals, please refresh yo self with this video that mashes up all the source videos that make up the song “Play Your Part (Part 1)”.





One last track for you!
In Steady Shock, there is the obvious sample of Bruce Springsteen’s hit “Dancing In The Dark”. Here is an amazing cover of “Dancing” by up-and-coming UK artist  Little Loud that I’d like to share with you. 
Click to play Little Loud – Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen Cover)

The Brits are playing at my house….fer realz.

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So last week, I bashed the crap out of what is essentially a rip-off of an old Boney M tune. Gotta be honest that I won’t back off that review. I have a ton of DJ buddies and producers here in Boston that I talked to about that track, and they were all in agreement. Not good. Well, I got a polite but contentious e-mail forwarded to me about the somewhat negative review about the “remix” of the tune. I won’t go into detail, but this week’s track is sort of a way to show how to be genuine about how you portray a song.

A remix? Is a unique interpretation of a song that you have. It’s not using the majority of the original – with minor tweaks that anyone with access to Logic, Ableton, etc. has – and slapping an acapella over it. I was just listening to a Derrick Carter set where he played a remix of an old Bjork tune, and thought to myself, “Now this is what a remix is.” I’m not bashing those tunes. There is a talent in making them. But what separates a proper remix from a bootleg or mash-up is pretty cut and dry, in my opinion.

The track today sort of exemplifies this. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and it’s presented as a mash-up. Now, I have to be clear that not all mash-ups are good. This one, however, is one I liked. A lot. The fact that there is a video accompaniment? Makes it that much more clear how seriously the kid took this project. So fans of The Beatles, The Kinks, and/or LCD Soundsystem? You should check this one out. It was done a couple of years back by a guy that goes by the name FAROFF. And hey, if you’re in the San Fran area? Go check him out Saturday, October 23rd. I bet you’d hear lots of goodies like this one.


Download FAROFF – The Brits Are Playing At My House

And you really need to check the video. It’s damned cool. A video mashup, of sorts.

mashups to the Max

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A good mashup can be a window into a new world. It can expose you to new music and new genres of music. For example, I’m no big Jay-Z fan, but hearing DJ Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album made me feel like one. Lately I’ve been enamored with Max Tannone and his brilliant mixes. I want you to be enamored too.
note: an interview with Mr. Tannone was posted on a really excellent blog not too long ago. I’m just compelled to add some more specific reviews here. Because you really need to listen to these cuts.
My first experience with Tannone’s work was his Jaydiohead project. This combines Jay-Z’s The Black Album with Radiohead’s music. It gives the lyrics a nice creepy feel and a ton of atmosphere. Sure, Danger Mouse kinda beat him to the punch (with the aforementioned Grey Album) but this takes it in a whole new direction.


Download Jaydiohead – Dirt Off Your Android

Doublecheck Your Head

After hearing this I needed to know if there was more. There is. So much more.
Doublecheck Your Head is a mashup of the Beastie Boys’ lyrical stylings over the music of…wait for it…the Beastie Boys. As it turns out, their sweet instrumental album, The In Sounds From Way Out, is the perfect backdrop for their raps. It seems so simple, but I never would have thought of it. I’m glad someone did.


Download Beastie Boys – 3’s What’cha Want

By the way, if you don’t own The In Sounds… already, go get it now. It has some of the most delicious grooves since the chocolate record was invented. Wait, do they really make chocolate records? Holy crap, they do! I may have just found material for my next review.
Finally, and at the top of my current list, is Mos Dub. Mos Def’s smooth raps work perfectly over Dub Reggae cuts; perfectly enough that I can overcome my mild dislike for reggae and enjoy the hell out of this album. Please don’t write to reprimand me for that reggae comment. I already know it makes me a bad person. Just listen to this track and enjoy it instead.


Download Mos Dub – Johnny Too Beef

These albums are all available for free download online. Click the links below to get them. While you’re at it, buy some of the original source material. It’s good stuff.

Jaydiohead
Mos Dub
Doublecheck Your Head

While I’m talking mashups, let me include one of my favorites. It’s a bit older but always worth another look:

Now get out there, buy some music, and party like it’s your birthday.

Will Not Lose. Ever.

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As many of you know, I’ve been preparing to release an exciting mixtape this summer called Southerngold. Basically, me mixing my favorite Southern rap vocals over remixed samples of my favorite Santigold influenced samples and tracks.

However, as I am about to release my mix on the internet tonight… literally, I am sitting at my desk in Brooklyn uploading the mix to YouSendIt.com, I get a cease and desist from lawyers at Santigold’s label, Downtown Records.

I’m not selling this, I’m not making a dime. I’m encouraging everyone to BUY Santigold’s album and I’m helping to expand her fan base to new markets. In addition, none of these songs are as they would appear on her actual album. EVERYTHING is remixed and redone so there is no competition with her actual in-stores album… It’s ironic that Downtown Records biggest group was signed due to a project with similar ambitions, Gnarls Barkley’s Danger Mouse with The Grey Album.

–Terry Urban

I love mixtapes. They tend to be fun and interesting, and are crowd pleasers if you throw one on at a house party or on a road trip. There is a creativity in this idea of creating a mixtape that is usually rendered illegal and never a viable product to the paying masses.

I am not just talking about the compilation of love songs you recorded to tape for your girlfriend, although, this is also illegal if you try to sell that compilation.

A “Mixtape” is usually an album mainly made up of Remixes that are mainly made by DJs, and are released to promote the DJ, and all the other artists that are featured on the Mixtape. These mixtapes normally use music sampled from other artists’ songs, which are not normally cleared for use, but are overlooked by most music authorities, including those who’s music is sampled.


Rarely found on tape anymore, most mixtapes come packaged up in a .rar or .zip file.

The first mixtape where I ever heard of this stifling attempt by a label was The Grey Album. The Grey Album was DJ Dangermouse’s attempt to create a mixtape compilation between the lyrics from Jay-Z’s Black Album and the Beatles’ White Album. The label who lost their shit was EMI, who owns the rights to the Beatles music. Inadvertently, EMI shined such a bright light on this mixtape that it endsed up becoming an internet phenom.

Back when this was all going down with The Grey Album, the RIAA was taking college students, kids (some as young as 12), and the parents of file sharing children to court. I was generally digusted with how the label approached people sharing music, and when I heard about Dangermouse and his mix tape, I took it upon myself to share The Grey Album with all my friends. I even made CD liners and CD labels, using my own money to make the mixtape I was going to give away look good.

That was my personal FUCK YOU to the record label.

Earlier this month, Terry Urban, the man we quoted at the beginning of this post, was preparing to unleash his latest mixtape Southerngold which basically takes Santigold’s debut album and mashes it up with some popular rappers from the Dirty South. Santigold’s record label, Downtown Records, issues a cease and desist order and officially shut the project down.

Music Bitch reported that “Santigold herself declared that she supported the mixtape culture and she would like it to be released.”

While sitting down to a delicious lunch of Jack in the Box with TLO I ask her what she thinks about this mixtape drama going on. She asks the perfect question: Who is Santigold’s label? I have no clue, so I google it up. Oh shit. She’s on Downtown. Downtown is the label that picked up Gnarls Barkely, which is the brainchild of Dangermouse. See how we came full fucking circle?

Then TLO continues to drop knowledge. As I begin to rant about how fucking hypocritical Downtown is, she explains the simple truth. Downtown knows all about hype and mixtapes. They are shining the spotlight on purpose. They know the end result is more sales for Santigold.

Tricky bastards, yet, at least it’s a record label that gets it. Right?

Download Southerngold
Tracklist
1. M.I.A. Artistes (Ft. Pitbull & Ying Yang Twins)
2. You’ll Find A Way Player (Ft. Andre 3000 & Bun B)
3. Still Tippin’ It (Ft. Slim Thug & Mike Jones)
4. Can’t Say It (Ft. T-Pain)
5. Creating Kryptonite (Ft. Purple Ribbon All-Stars)
6. Fire Superman (Ft. Lil’ Wayne) [Prod. By Mike Cash]
7. Hustlin’ With The Lights Out (Ft. Rick Ross)
8. Shawty Is Starstuck (Ft. The Dream)
9. Unfreakable Girl (Ft. Gucci Mane)
10. Nann Lady (Ft. Trick Daddy & Trina) [Prod. By JKhan]
11. Anne’s Plan (Ft. Chip Tha Ripper) [Prod. By Mike Cash]
12. You’ll Go Crazy (Ft. Young Jeezy) [Prod. By Mike Cash]

I will share TLO’s favorite track off the mixtape:

[Download Rick Ross- Hustlin’ (Santogold vs. Rick Ross)]

Also, there are some great mixtapes out there. Another one I like is another Terry Urban effort of mixing up Coldplay and Jay-Z called Viva La Hova.

Here is one track off that mixtape:

[Download Jay-Z – Know My Place (HOVA vs. Coldplay)]

Support Terry, Jay-Z, Santigold, Granrls Barkley, Dangermouse, Downtown, Coldplay by spending your money on their shows, albums, and merch.

Submissions Part 2

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Yes, I get the weird duty of doing the posts on both X-mas eve and New Year’s Eve. Right now it’s fucking snowing up here in Boston. We had two storms a couple weeks back that dumped 20 inches on us. Then it melted. I was like, “Yay! I can park my car without having to destroy my back by shoveling now!” And now more snow. Some New Year, eh?

Anyways, I have to say I hope yours is good. And to bring in the New Year? Here are some more submissions I have gotten over the last few months. A sort of “Look Out For These Guys in ’09” sort of post.

First up is a dude by the name of Dave Wrangler. Here’s his MySpace page. He’s from Houston, and the South does do things dirty! He’s sent me a couple of tracks, and I wanted to share these with you guys, also. He does remixes of hip-hop cuts as well as mash-ups. They’re pretty straight-forward club cuts, and if you’re into dudes like Jokers Of The Scene, you’ll dig this guy’s stuff.

Download Ol’ Dirty Bastard – Baby I Got Your Money (Dave Wrangler remix)

[Download Detroit Grand Pubahs – Sandwiches (Dave Wrangler remix)]

[Download Dave Wrangler – Stay Fly VS. Womanizer (Three 6 Mafia VS Britney Spears)]

Next up is the post-punk group the Homosexuals. Myspace page is here. Now, I got this e-mail December 5th, touting their first US tour ever. Only problem? All the shows had already passed! And one was near Boston! Fuckin’ hell. I would’ve gone to see these guys, too. They’re definitely known to folks who dig the old school punk. And they released their first music in about 25 years. Here’s one of their new cuts, “Slow Guns”. Good shit!

The Homosexuals – Slow Guns

And lastly is a band that you guys probably know already. Devotchka. Myspace page is here. Well, for the XBox 360 game Gears of War 2, the fun folks at Microsoft chose to use a song of theirs that many people reading this already probably know – “How It Ends”. If you don’t recognize it by name? It was used in Little Miss Sunshine, and brilliantly, at that. So below, I give you their hit “How It Ends”, and have posted the commercial used to promote Gears of War 2.

[Download Devotchka – How It Ends]

And now? My “This shit has been on my iPod all goddamned year!” list. Yes. I swear. a lot. It’s beautiful. So here’s my list. You’ll notice I left off MGMT, as well as a few other indie-hipster-bandwagon groups. Well, it’s not bad stuff. It’s just that I got sick of them after about three weeks. These guys? I obviously didn’t get sick of! So here you go!

1 – Mogwai – The Sun Smells Too Loud
2 – The Dirtbombs – La Fin Du Monde
3 – Radiohead – House of Cards
4 – Fuck Buttons – Sweet Love For Planet Earth
5 – Hercules and Love Affair – Blind
6 – Bon Iver – Skinny Love
7 – Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor
8 – Thieves Like Us – Drugs In My Body
9 – The Verbs – I’m Your Chocolate
10 – The Ting Tings – Great DJ

As usual, buy this shit! Do it! For the children! Or just imagine children are somehow involved.

What a catch!

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[Fall Out Boy – What a Catch, Donnie ft. Elvis Costello, Brendon Urie, Travis McCoy, Alex DeLeon, & William Beckett]

They keep getting better.

They’re Fall Out Boy. And they’re not just for emo kids and screaming girls. They speak loudly to a lot of post-punk thirtysomethings. Non-emo kids, despite being unwilling to admit it, love them too. And we all know it. Pete Wentz called it almost two years ago when he said “There’s the bands that you say you like to sound smart, and there’s the bands you say you like to get laid. And then there’s the bands you really listen to.”

the little one says:
was he referring to the emotards who won’t admit they are at zia to buy their record?
the little one’s buddy says:
yes…I am positive he was…
tlo’s b says:
all of them bought one …you saw that right? or did I make that up
tlo’s b says:
I just brought a hot chick to buy mine
tlo says:
nope… they all did… they all got that 7 inch
tlo’s b says:
yeah
tlo’s b says:
that was like the alarm goinhg off that they bought it…
tlo’s b says:
awesome
tlo says:
lol
tlo’s b says:
it was a great night for that moment in the store
tlo says:
they got caught stealing condoms

…And that was back when Infinity on High was released. Sure, we could have just bought it on iTunes. But there are still some bands worth a midnight trip to the record store. Music snobs will be aghast that Fall Out Boy is slotted into that category. But give Folie a Deux a listen and it’s easy to see just how talented this fourpiece from Chicago is. And how far they’ve come.

When I hear “She’s My Winona”, (and by the way, before we give emo a bad name, let’s take a moment here to give reverence to Johnny Depp) I feel like I am listening to one of my old favorites off Take This To Your Grave or Under The Cork Tree. The “quit burning bridges and drive off of ’em” dark lyrics that get delivered so beautifully by Patrick Stump it allows for both the dry humor and the pain to emanate.

[Fall Out Boy – She’s My Winona]

But what I hear all over Folie a Deux, besides all the cameo appearances,

Elvis Costello from ELVIS COSTELLO!
Brendon Urie from Panic at the Disco
Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes,
Alex DeLeon from The Cab,
and William Beckett from The Academy Is

is what I fell in love with years ago but enhanced. What I thought couldn’t get better before, BETTER. In ALL CAPS. And it still takes my breath away after all these years. It surprises me how much better it gets. Sure, the early days were unsure and awkward. It’s mildly embarrassing to think back to those days. But as it got good, and built more and more on what was good, and went in bold directions… wait, am I still talking about FOB?

If you are looking for something BETTER, don’t look for a Kanye West remix. You want a MASHUP. Check out FOB vs White Stripes. And don’t make Baby Jesus cry. Go buy some Fall Out Boy.