Boom-boxed and mixtaped: The age of the mash-up

You won't notice it immediately, but eventually you'll find yourself dancing to a new sound. This sound, the new "mash-up", has started to make the floorboards of Thursday and Saturday nights bend on college campuses. A new genre has finally been realized, folks, so let's be the first to greet it in stride.

The modern mash-up is not a remix, nor is it Girl Talk or the Super Mash Bros., and frankly, it's hardly even hip-hop. The emerging mash-up scene is composed of two contrasting songs that are paired under a similar cadence and beat. Normally, the mash-up crosses genres and ends up sounding like a completely new animal. Many DJ's are using uncommon "indie" hits to match some serious hip-hop heavyweights. Think Matt and Kim vs. the Beastie Boys; Passion Pit vs. Juvenile; Wu-Tang vs. Twin Sister - things are getting weird in the best ways possible.

One pivotal reason for the mash-up scene's explosion is also why record executives are reaching for an extra cigarette - these are ALL free. Producers can't buy the licensing from the labels and therefore they can't legally sell the mixes they make. As a result, the only thing keeping these songs coming is the artist's passion for being heard and the ad revenue generated by listeners accessing their websites.

The first genuine mash-up originated in 2004 with Danger Mouse's "The Grey Album," where he mixed The Beatles "White Album" with Jay-Z's "Black Album". Unfortunately, the Beatles copyright holder, EMI, took legal action to halt album sales. Despite the response, the album was highly lauded from the likes of The New Yorker and received the album of the year honors by Entertainment Weekly. Since Danger Mouse there haven't been many DJ's mixing mash-up's, until recently.

In 2010, things changed. The Internet has fostered some excellent names that include Glitch Jockey (I suggest you Google "Bleed Thru the Speakers" if you like Third Eye Blind), The MashMaticians (Find "Much About Dre,") and Black Glove. Besides the singles that appear across the Internet, no artist has made as much of a splash as TheHoodInternet.com.

Currently, The Hood Internet dominates the mash-up scene. They produce a track nearly every five days, and while not all of them are hits, the majority of the music is entirely worthwhile. They encapsulate why the movement has taken flight by utilizing the Internet's ability to easily host free downloadable content while providing audiences with catchy tracks. They've created a system that successfully integrates two audiences - the ‘hipster' and the music that they have tried to "separate" themselves from. Try as you will, whether you hate hip-hop or ‘hipster' music, The Hood Internet has created a medium for everyone to get drunk and dance together. I've compiled my top-five Hood Internet songs that can be downloaded at Thehoodinternet.com if you search one of the artists in the title.

So, sick of the same ol' songs? Want to dance to something new? Well, Plymouth State, welcome to the age of the mash-up.

WWW.THEHOODINTERNET.COM