Music: Mash-ups—The more the merrier

A simple way to revive the popularity of overplayed songs

You know how you replay songs over and over again on your iPod, in your car, or on Youtube and get sick and tired of them within one month? Well, mash-ups are your solution to reviving those songs—they are compilations of songs, which gives them a new perspective. Not to mention, they are just cool to listen to because of the creativity that goes into blending the songs. The most popular mash up of 2009 was DJ Earworm’s “United States of Pop (Blame it on the Pop)”, but now, there are many other contenders for the 2010 title:Colin Munroe: “Bulletproof Monster”—Two words: total awesomeness.  Although this song only combines two songs, La Roux’s “Bulletproof” and Kanye West’s “Monster,” it proves that rap and pop can blend well from a musically talented mind DJ Earworm: “United States of Pop 2010 (Don’t Stop the Pop)”—Unlike the “Bulletproof Monster” mash-up,  this song shows that pop seems to be the only style that can survive in the music industry. Once again, DJ Earworm combines the top 25 songs posted on the end of the year Billboard chart. Although “Don’t Stop the Pop” wasn’t as great as DJ Earworm’s mash-up in 2009, the creativity, and the few moments of pure gold gives him another successful mash-up. Glee Cast featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Matthew Morrison: “Umbrella” and “Singin’ in the Rain”—Glee is filled with mashups, but this one is special. The creators effortlessly combined the two songs together to create a song that makes Glee-haters actually acknowledge the brilliance of the show.  It combines the classic “Singin’ in the Rain” song by Gene Kelly and modern Rihanna featuring Jay-Z’s song “Umbrella” to make a simple mash-up. Best of Bootie 2010—The mother lode of all mashups that goes for quantity and quality. This almost-80-minute mash-up includes almost every major song that came out in 2010 and reinvents old songs, combining Bob Marley and Lady Gaga in DJ BC’s mashup. More amazing is that it transitions between the individual mash-ups smoothly and feels like the longest, best song ever. Don’t have time? Well, at least listen to “Ice Ice Tik Tok” by The Face Melters.The idea of a mash-up has been around for a while, but was inducted into mainstream from the help of “Glee” and of course artists such as DJ Earworm. His mash-up of 2009 made its way into the school announcements in the form of a promo video. Who knows—maybe someday we might have a mash-up as a prom song.