[Rumori] mash smarter not harder

[Steev Hise]

On May 1, 2008, at 7:13 AM, stAllio!the original wanksta wrote:

> i don't know if this list is still alive or if anyone still reads  
> it, but here goes...

hah. everyone seems to say that once a month or so whenever they post  
something, lately.

> if you're like me, you got really into the whole mashup thing  
> around 2000-2001, back when it seemed mashups or bootlegs were  
> going to take over the world.  mashups were everywhere, and they  
> were exciting.  but as the months went by, the music never seemed  
> to progress anywhere.  it was like the mashup scene had one big  
> idea -- putting one song's vocals on top of another's instrumental  
> -- and that was it.  what had seemed like a movement deteriorated  
> into a trite formula.  so if you're like me, you eventually lost  
> interest in "mashups" and moved on to other things.

I'm just glad people stopped calling them "bootlegs"!

But yeah, it was just another musical fad, although it's interesting  
how the idea got incorporated into culture in various ways, often  
mutating as it went.  i just saw on the Dilbert.com site how you can  
"mashup" dilbert strips - but all that means for them, apparently, is  
dropping in your own punchline instead of the original (and you have  
to be logged into to Dice.com, the very corporate and square tech job  
search site, to participate - if anyone had any doubts about the  
critiques of Dilbert and Scott Adams that Normon Solomon's book "The  
Trouble with Dilbert" brought up years ago, this should put those to  
rest).

> one of the things i wanted to do with my new EP, mash smarter not  
> harder, was to tap into that excitement again.  i wanted something  
> with a lot of energy, something infectious and catchy that could  
> inspire others to want to pick up a laptop and make music like  
> that.  it had to be familiar and yet fresh and different.  and most  
> important, it had to be club-friendly, something that would make  
> people want to tear up the dance floor.
>
> so here you have it: my new EP, mash smarter not harder.  it's a  
> free download.  it's a bit reminiscent of Girl Talk or Jason  
> Forrest, but a new and different take based on sample editing  
> rather than overlapping.  it's four tracks of new post-mashup music  
> by me, with a remix by drbmd.  i think it's some of my best and  
> most accessible work.  i hope you'll download it, check it out, and  
> tell your friends.

It's an interesting project and experiment.  I would love it if I  
walked into a club and witnessed people dancing to it, but I fear  
that would have to be in an alternate universe.

What it got me thinking is that you're basically redefining what  
mashup means.  To me the definition of "mashup", at least in the  
beginning (if we mark the beginning as the start of the stylistic  
craze, leaving out early proto-mashers like the ECC's Alpert/PE  
track), was "playing 2 or more records (or, slightly later, songs)  
that have the same tempo at the same time."  Later it expanded  
slightly to include more complex manipulations, but it was always  
about *concurrency* of disparate material.  Now you're expanding it  
to include *concatenation* as well.  Is a mashup just any multi- 
sourced sample-based composition with a consistent (and danceable?)  
tempo (or that includes only gradual tempo shifts)?  I'd never  
thought of the category as being so broad.  Maybe we need a new term  
for this new thing you're doing.  maybe "mashon?" but given the even  
broader use of the term mashup like I mentioned above (in  
advertising, film/video, and more), this is sort of all moot...

> ...and let's get some discussions going on this mailing list!   
> what's up, people?


Yes things have been quiet.  I do encourage people to continue using  
this list for relevant announcements, questions, discussion, etc,  
despite the fact that I simply have not had the time or focus to keep  
"seeding the garden."
thanx, Stallio.

best,

steev


Steev Hise | steev at detritus.net | http://detritus.net/steev
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"I think music is an instrument.  It can create the initial thought
  patterns that can change the thinking of people."
            -John Coltrane