Happy Thanksgiving to every one of you Campus Socialites! This week’s festivities are all about having heaps of fun (and food) while you kick back with your brood. From crafting culinary masterpieces out of leftovers to humoring Uncle Vinny’s sordid stories of his service in Vietnam, the coming days are ripe with opportunities to give new meaning to the holiday features that are fondest and most familiar to you. In keeping with this vein of rediscovery, I plucked five of the freshest mash-up and cover jams off the music blogosphere like they were the feathers on your turkey’s tail.
Remixing is akin to brewing a fine wine; put the right ingredients in the right hands and your senses will rejoice. Unfortunately, there are scores of DJs serving Sutter Home sounds that leave a bad taste in listeners’ mouths. Tip-top tracks seamlessly juxtapose melodies & verses and lend artistic insight into the original scores while bringing you a badass banger unlike anything you’ve heard before. As a master of mash-ups and connoisseur of covers, it is my duty and delight to educate you on the five most marvelous mixes on the music market.
#5 – “Bad Romance” (Lissie ft. Lady Gaga)
Lissie’s raw vocals and folksy guitar flow do justice to Gaga’s surprisingly heartfelt lyrics. Plus, she manages to work that ridiculous Gaga baby blabber from the original version into an elegant emotional accent that really defines the track.
#4 – “Whatever You Like” (Anya Maria ft. T.I.)
The soprano sweetness of Anya Maria’s voice is so convincing that upon first listen, this track appears to be another smitten indie girl snooze-fest. Upon closer listening, T.I.’s down and dirty lyrics border on hilarious when sung in Anya Maria’s coquettish tone. Her slyly seductive rendition is a total slam-dunk.
#3 – “Mean Planes And Taylor Gangs” (Brenton Duvall ft. Wiz Khalifa / Taylor Swift)
Duvall provides common ground for this diverse duo to stand on with a fascinating electro-banjo beat loop. His eye for lyrical sampling makes this mash-up into an ultimate “forget the haters” anthem.
#2 – “Dip It Joe” (Pheugoo ft. Jimi Hendrix / Christina Milian)
Though some may scream “sacrilege!” at the mere mention of a union between this guitar god and ghetto pop tart, rest assured that Pheugoo did justice to Jimi’s riffs with a massive overhaul of Christina’s vocals. Adjustments to her tone and timing transform Christina into a soulful crooner and an unexpected admiration for her lyrics is (almost) found.
#1 – “Jolene Is Mine” (KMT ft. Jay-Z / Dolly Parton)
A looped guitar riff ties together Dolly and Jigga’s respective vocal styles, taking them from opposite ends of the musical spectrum to a meticulous marriage in the middle. The rhythm and lyrics come together so seamlessly that it is easy to forget the stark contrast between the two songs in their original form. This would have been a hit if Parton and Mr. Carter had purposefully collaborated for it themselves, but the fact that it is a mash-up makes it that much more impressive. KMT gets mad props, and the glory of reigning over this collabo countdown.
