Like most right-thinking people I fell for Soulwax and their 2 Many DJs brand, hard. In fact I rate their 2 Many DJ’s CD really, really highly – come on, Salt-n-Pepa and The Stooges! Genius! I loved the idea of the mash-up/bootleg, but hip as I may pretend to be sometimes, I first came across the idea through the medium of Sugababes Freak Like Me, another CD-only beauty, the mix of Tubeway Army and Adina Howard just knocked me for six. But anyway we’re not here to talk about the silver disks of Satan, this is all about the vinyl.
Go Home Productions Rock In Black 12″ was snapped up from Rough Trade records in January 2005 and what a buy it was. It opens with Snoop Dogg and the bell from ‘Hells Bells’, then answers the vexed question of what Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ would sound like set to AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ and then goes on to chuck snippets of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Crowded House and Beatles ‘Day in The Life’ into the mix. I know I overuse the phrase genius far too much, but this is just GENIUS !!!! But, if you haven’t heard it before, don’t just take my word for it:
I love this type of creativity, it reminds me of that fabulous flowering of crazy, totally unregulated, creativity that hip-hop went through around the time of Paul’s Boutique*. I mean let’s face it, this is a record of dubious legality for starters – The Beatles and AC/DC never allow their music to be used by anyone for anything (I’m discounting that recent Beatles one I really didn’t like) and that makes it even more exciting for me – possibly because I’m a nerdy record buyer, rather than an artist trying to make a living off my creations, but let us gloss over that bit because it shows me in a less than flattering moral light.
There are a million and one mash-ups like this out there, from various bedroom nerds to Dangermouse The Grey Album, but I can’t think of any that work this well as a song – or more importantly, have been made to work as well as a song. There is a lot of dross out there in this category, people trying to shoe-horn two tracks they really like together, regardless of whether there is any symmetry or sympathy between them at all. This really is my favourite party track and it always stops people mid-sentence. What a great 12″ – you have to love the attention to detail on the logo and the fake Atlantic records label.
Well Played Mr Go Home Productions, whoever you are.
159 Down.
*a record that only my brother and I liked at the time, but the rest of the world eventually came around to. Sometimes I’m so hip, it’s a wonder I can still walk.
Hahaha the Crowded House bit is my favourite.
You have to love that too.
On Half Inch records, which says it all really.
It’s creepy how well these songs fit together. For the artist, I approve of copyrights, but, as a listener, this is just an awesome collage. I still feel a little guilty listening though.
I agree – but this is a seriously great party track.
Like it