I swear I listen to music outside of mash-ups

I just happen to be digging them really hard atm. And who can blame me (...), today's mash-up artists spin together some incredible hybrids - take for instance Taylor Swift's super charming country-tinged voice treated slightly to suit U2's soaring, uber-emotional 'With or Without You.' Indeed, some mash-uppers use their powers for good, not evil.

I'm constantly impressed by the quality of music that's released each year - that artists can maintain a creative flow over the course of years, and even decades (as the Flaming Lips show us, entering their 4th) and continue to please fans along the way. What also impresses me is the imagination of mash-up artists who capitalize on complementary qualities between completely unrelated songs, that, when you first hear them together, make you say "Wow, hand - meet glove." They just fit. That's a talent in my book.

Enough of that - highlights of this end-of-year mixtape, courtesy of team9 (www.team9.net), check it out:

- An Animal Collective song actually meshing with another (hint: Missy Elliot, Phoenix :D)

- A nigh-unrecognizable mash-up with my old favorite, the Pixies' "Monkey Gone to Heaven"

- Chromeo's newest sex-jam "Night By Night" teaming up with Lily Allen for an added bit of sex (we're talking Chromeo here, no matter what you do to a Chromeo song, that shits gonna make you wanna bone to the bpm)

Anyways, follow the link if you dig what you hear, dl that shit, and hop on over to www.team9.net for more goodness. Remember: always sample it before you buy it - I purchased WarioLand: Shake It completely under the influence of the cool commercials. Long story short: I hate that game, but wasted my time beating it anyways. That's a completely different story though. Just don't buy that fucking game.

Oh yeah, Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Hoods up!

New Hood Internet Mixtape released today! That's number 4, and if you guys haven't got the rest you gotta check them out. Follow the link for free, dl-able mixtapes courtesy of the Chicago DJs.

http://drop.io/hoodinternetmixtapes

If you're unfamiliar with The Hood, they're pretty prolific DJs releasing weekly mash-ups containing 2-3 songs, normally complementing a rap song with the instrumentals from an indy/rock/electronic song - often producing killer combos and other times coming out pretty flat (see Major Lazer vs. Dirty Projectors - Hold the Stillness). Accompanying each song are 2 other takes on the mash-up art form:

1) A sometimes hilariously awkward song title splicing the two songs' names, and
2) A sometimes hilariously awkward photshopped picture of the 2 artists.

Who doesn't belong here?... hmmm

They've been active since March 2007, so that means 300+ mashups and at least one song out there for everyone.

Their site underwent some changes earlier this year making it much easier to find songs, and you can even just plug in an artist's name to see if they've done any work on them. You can get individual songs and full mixtapes (listed on the left margin of the page).