For some readers, their first exposure to mash-ups maybe have been listening to ‘Doctor Pressure’ in a club, while others may have been blown away by the seemingly incongruous but elegant collaboration between Linkin Park & Jay-Z on 2004’s Collision Course.
But whether in the club or in your Facebook news feed, we’ve all heard our fair share of mash-ups. Some of them are great, others not so much, but they all come from the same place – the desire to mix two existing things together in order to make something new.
However, while it’s almost child’s play to take a pop vocal and add it to a dance beat, it takes a certain kind of creativity to take two songs from seemingly incompatible genres and make them sing the same tune. Here are 12 of our favourite bizarre mash-ups that work surprisingly well.
Slipknot vs. Justin Bieber
No doubt many a metalhead has had vivid fantasies wherein delinquent pop superstar Justin Bieber is ritualistically eviscerated by the members of Slipknot. However, it may surprise them to learn that when you combine the Knot’s 2008 record All Hope Is Gone with Bieber’s breakthrough hit, magic happens.
Nine Inch Nails vs. Carly Rae Jepsen
Another case of two songs that couldn’t be more opposite in both genre and sentiment coming together to make something that just sounds right. In this case, the angst and aggression of Nine Inch Nails’ signature tune has been combined with the upbeat string trills and bouncy beat of Carly Rae Jepsen’s 2011 ear worm.
Kendrick Lamar vs. Seinfeld
Mash-ups are good when the two songs just seamlessly fit together, almost as though they were made for each other. However, they’re great when two pieces of music from completely opposite worlds collide to make something that’s just oddly perfect, like a vocal from a modern hip-hop vanguard and the theme tune to a ’90s sitcom.
Adele vs. Daft Punk
What do you get when you pair two very different Grammy Award winners together? Brilliance, of course.
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Producer Carlos Serrano pieced together Adele’s bellowing ‘Set Fire To The Rain’ with Daft Punk’s funk-laden beat ‘Something About Us’ to form the fresh track ‘Something About The Fire’ which may sound questionable in theory – however is absolutely banging.
Serrano’s rework with Adele’s vocals could fit perfectly on an earlier Air record – we’re sure you’ll dig this one.
MGMT vs. Echo & The Bunnymen
We’re not too sure if tree-huggin’ mother earth purists MGMT would be too stoked with the title of this mash-up, ‘Killing Kids’, however here we are.
The indie-electro track has been seamlessly partnered with the gothic song of the’ 80s, ‘The Killing Moon’, reshaping it as an upbeat anthem that would have went down a treat in 2007/8. Kudos to the wizard PhilRectroSpector.
AC/DC vs. Beastie Boys
Ryan Nellis, we salute you – this is fuckin’ killer. Mixing Australia’s greatest rock export, AC/DC with the New York City’s hip-hoppers Beastie Boys is something we’d never think could work – but far out, does it ever.
Entitled ‘Brooklyn Bells’, let us introduce you to Nellis’ musical creation that sees the trio spit the lyrics of ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ over the top of Acca Dacca’s electric ‘Hells Bells’.
The Beatles vs. The Chemical Brothers
The Beatles obviously had a penchant for psychedelica in their illustrious career, however being spliced together with a dance act like The Chemical Brothers still feels a little whack – that was until Pheugoo came along.
The burning ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ has been matched with the dance kings’ scorching beat ‘Setting Sun’ to create a track that transcends time itself.
Jane’s Addiction vs. Depeche Mode
Two titans in their own right, one the cultivators of alternative rock, the other a purveyor of electronic rock – two very sparse genres that shouldn’t work as one, but not in this case.
Meet ‘Only When I Lose Summertime’, the baby of the rumbling bass line of Janes’ ‘Summertime Rolls’ and Depeche’s ‘Only When I Lose Myself’. Easily one of our favourite mashes, and one that we’re certain you’ll be hitting the repeat button on too.
Britney Spears vs. Adele
England’s leading lady of jazz-pop Adele makes her second entrance to our crazy mashups that shouldn’t work but do, this time mixed with none other than sugar-sweet popster Britney Spears.
Pieced together Bumper, ‘Toxic In The Deep’, as the name blatantly suggests, is the coming together of Spears’ ‘Toxic’ and Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’. The sped-up tune gives a whole new dance floor sentiment to Adele’s booming, cathartic song.
Nirvana vs. Rick Astley
While some may view Rickrolling grunge icons Nirvana as pure sacrilege, we reckon Kurt Cobain would’ve appreciated the DIY spirit of mash-ups and the way Rick Astley’s vocals combine with the era-defining chords of his band… well, there’s just something very punk about the whole thing.
Pink Floyd vs. Bee Gees
Glad to see we weren’t the only ones that thought the famous clean tone guitar flurries in ‘Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2′ were kind of… disco-y. However, this Bee Gees/Pink Floyd mash-up goes one better by adding another dimension to both tunes, transmuting the Bee Gees’ iconic falsettos into something utterly haunting.
The Beatles vs. LCD Soundsystem vs. The Kinks
We just had to give props to this one for the sheer skill and ambition involved. It’s one thing to combine two tracks for a seamless mix, but in this case three tracks, from British Invasion leaders The Beatles and The Kinks and LCD Soundsystem respectively, have combined to make for something truly epic.
