YouTube Mashups

So there I was one night, innocently searching You Tube for my favourite new release from Katy Perry when something very interesting caught my eye. Under the ‘Related Videos’ section, I found myself faced with a bunch of mysterious looking videos. The first video I clicked on was someone attempting to mix Katy Perry’s ‘Hot N Cold’ together with Bloc Party’s ‘Banquet’. A ridiculous mix of songs you say? Well I’m afraid, in a strange, mashed up way, it definitely worked. Mixing together two songs I love, it created for me a new super tune, opening up my ears to a whole new form of music; the You Tube Mash Up.

Catching my imagination, I began to hunt down more of these mash-ups and to my surprise I found some truly amazing songs in the process. The best ones certainly seemed to emerge from two songs of completely different genres. There are so many amazing mash-ups floating about on there that I could listen to them all day, and probably will. It’s so hard to choose a favourite but one which certainly impressed me was Jay Z vs. The Verve ‘Bittersweet off Your Shoulder’. The strong rap from Jay Z somehow seemed less aggressive when played with The Verve’s ‘Bittersweet Symphony’, adding an extra dimension of emotion to the song, which together created a new, catchy pop song. Genius!

This juxtaposition of two clashing worlds creates something innovative and new, breaking the boundaries of music snobbery and sticks two fingers up at those who believe genres must remain separate and rigid. The idea of overlapping lyrics and beats merging together into one totally dazzling tune is truly inspiring. Who would have thought that a few simply bored people sitting at their computers could create such pieces of musical brilliance, which could potentially change the face of music dramatically in a great way. If nothing else, mash-ups are totally fun to listen to, whether they are completely amazing or completely rubbish. Being able to listen to two songs in one also saves a bit of time, right?