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The strict definition of a "mash-up" -- take elements of two or more pre-existing pieces of music and combine them to create a new song -- doesn't quite do justice to the concept.
Although artists have been experimenting with cut-and-paste music-making since the '50s, the current trend of widely available, legally iffy creations exploded in the early '00s with the rise of Napster. As technology progressed and the equipment to splice songs became affordable, mash-ups were a rite of passage for major acts. One of the hipper wellsprings of mash-up material is Jay-Z, a rapper turned mogul who, in the late '90s, was just coming into his own, thanks to now-classic records like 1998's Vol. 2 ... Hard Knock Life and 2001's The Blueprint. It wasn't until 2003's The Black Album, when Jay-Z first offered an a cappella version specifically designed for mash-up use, when the floodgates opened. A slew of spinoffs, from The Purple Album (smushing together Jay-Z and Prince) to Black Chronic (blending Jay-Z and Dr. Dre), materialized online and even received off-line consideration from the music press.
Jay-Z has come a long way since then (the man born Shawn Carter even dabbled in legitimate mash-ups himself in the intervening years), but hasn't stopped inspiring bedroom DJs to toss his tracks into programs like GarageBand and see what comes out the other end. His latest, last year's The Blueprint 3, is no exception; an enterprising DJ named CR the Beast spliced Michael Jackson tunes into cuts from Blueprint 3 -- just Google " The Blueprint 3+Michael Jackson" to find out more.
In anticipation of Jay-Z's performance Tuesday at Dallas' American Airlines Center, here are five left-of-center appetizers, each a work of art unto itself. (And, yes, we should mention that only one mash-up -- 2004's Collision Course with Linkin Park -- is commercially, legally available. The rest, while easily found online, will require a little digital detective work.)
DJ Danger Mouse, The Grey Album (2004): One of the seminal mash-ups from any artist, DJ Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) courted considerable controversy by stitching together the Beatles and Jay-Z. EMI, the Beatles' label home, threatened a lawsuit and the album even inspired a day of civil electronic disobedience dubbed "Grey Tuesday." Despite all the drama, The Grey Album is an elegant, immersive experience, the benchmark for any mash-up worth its bits and bytes.
Mike G., The Black and Blue Album (2004): With a moniker that is as much fun to say -- Jay-Zeezer! -- as it is to listen to, Mike G.'s freewheeling mash-up of Weezer's self-titled debut (commonly referred to as "The Blue Album") and The Black Album isn't nearly as technical as some efforts. Instead, Mike G., who on his site doesn't profess to be a DJ, simply lets Jay's flow, whether it's sped up or slowed down, ride atop Weezer's infectious pop-rock.
DJ N-Wee, The Slack Album (2004): DJ N-Wee gave himself some guidelines that, unfortunately, show the mash-up's limitations. Taking Stephen Malkmus' idiosyncratic guitar work from Pavement's iconic Slanted & Enchanted and going, track by track, in sequential order with Jay-Z's Black Album (both albums have 14 songs), DJ N-Wee only fitfully achieves his ambitious goal. Cuts like Zurich Your Shoulder or Two States' Public Service Announcements sparkle, but too often, The Slack Album feels like barely contained chaos.
Max Tannone, Jaydiohead (2009): New York-based DJ Tannone laid vocals from Jay-Z's American Gangster, The Blueprint and The Black Album over atmospheric instrumentals from all phases of British art-rockers Radiohead's catalog. The effect is occasionally disorienting -- No Karma is an austere epic, while Dirt Off Your Android is weirdly funky -- but Tannone never loses his grip on this riveting experiment. In July 2009, he offered up even more mixes on Jaydiohead: The Encore, a five-song EP.
DJ Moondance, The Crash Album (2009): Few would think to mash up Dave Matthews Band and Jay-Z, but that's exactly what Matthew Maillet did. Far from a mismatched train wreck, the gritty rhymes and light, acoustic-based instrumentals mesh nicely. Using live and studio DMB recordings and Black Album a cappella tracks, Maillet takes hard-edged cuts like 99 Problems and sensitive ballads like Crash Into Me to create some fascinating juxtapositions.
Preston Jones is the Star-Telegram pop music critic, 817-390-7713