best music

Recipe: mash up with down, left with right, off the wall with no way that’ll work and enjoy.

The proliferation and popularity of mashups has exploded over the past few years. The technology to meld songs together is accessible and the appetite for the style is voracious. Music in general has become more accessible, and as people become exposed to new sounds, artists, and songs, it only follows that they become more and more curious to hear what songs, disparate or otherwise, would sound like when thrown together in a blender. Luckily, for those who dig mashups, there are a tonne of musicians, knob fiddlers, and computer/audio wizards who are seeking to serve such sonic smoothies.

Yeah, there are a million and one mashups out there in the ether. Are they all good? Of course not. For me, the best mashups must: a) be technically proficient, (ideally, technically superb); and b) make the listener say, “Merlin’s beard, these songs fit perfectly together,” or “Son of a snitch, if I didn’t know this was a mashup, I’d have sworn that vocal was created with and for that music.” Does this happen? Not all the time, but when it does, it’s pure magic.

Lastly, as a music fan, I’m appreciative of the gamut mashups can run because there really are no rules when it comes to picking source materials. 1960’s music can be fused with stuff from the 2000’s. Heavy metal can meld with piano pop. Dance can mix with television theme songs. When the mashup is done right, it feels real (and it’s spectacular).

Here then, are my favourite 30 mashups of 2013:

30. The Beatles x Macklemore – Eleanor Rigby Can’t Hold Me Down (The Melker Project)

29. System Of A Down x. Daft Punk – Bring Your Own Luck (Lobsterdust)

It seems like 46,733 mashups involving Daft Punk were released in 2013. This is one of the better ones.

28. The Little Mermaid x Bubba Sparxxx – Under The Booty

From 2012 I think, this clever mashup made it big in 2013. Bubba’s getting royalties from this right?

27. Frank Ocean x Purity Ring – Pyramidspeak (The Hood Internet)

26. Green Day x Peter Gabriel – American Candy

25. Imagine Dragons x Kendrick Lamar – Radioactive Swimming Pools (Isosine)

24. Foo Fighters x David Guetta – Best of Titanium (The White Panda)

23. Kanye West x Kavinsky – Protolife (Carlos Serrano remix)

Kanye loves this mashup. Kanye wishes Kanye made this mashup. Therefore, Kanye hates this mashup. The circle of Kanye. Kanye.

22. Skeevie Tricks (possibly the best mashup name ever: Stevie Nicks + Trick Daddy) – Rhiannon & Rihanna (The Melker Project)

21. Wu Tang Project x Hall & Oates – Wu Tang’s Maneater (The Melker Project, from the awesomely named EP, Ballin’ Oates)

So, so good.

20. The Beatles x Santigold – Disparate People (Jimi Needles Blend)

19. B.o.B. x Chromeo x 2 Chainz – Over Your Head (The Hood Internet)

This sounds like it’s an original. Great mix, choice of source materials.

18. Notorious B.I.G. x Daft Punk – Notoriously Daft Punk (Rage Cannon Bootleg)

17. Metallica x Billy Joel – For Whom The Piano Man Tolls (DJ Rozroz)

By any measure, this should NOT work. By every measure, it does.

16. Brown Bells (Danny Brown x Sleigh Bells) – Grown Up Rivals

Another one that sounds like an original. Great mixing.