BSR Staff: Song mashups you should check out

Musical mashups are the creative combination of two or more songs (or other media) to create either inspired or horrifying new tracks. Finding the right music to mix can be an art, or, in some cases, a science experiment gone terribly wrong. In an effort to take out some of the guesswork, the Black Squirrel Radio Web Staff collaborated to bring you some of the best, most unusual and most underrated musical mashups.

Taylor Swift vs. Nine Inch Nails – “Shake it Off (The Perfect Drug)”

Miles Purdy:
This is it; the creation by Isonine that made this list come to be. It takes creepy and darker lyrics of Trent Reznor, yet somehow melds perfectly over the happy beat off “Shake it Off”. If the popularity of the Taylor Swift track killed this song for you last year, give this version a shot.

Smash Grips – “Neutral Slam Hotel”

Evan Harms:
A most foul and unholy orgy of Smash Mouth, Neutral Milk Hotel, Death Grips and Space Jam. A bona fide musical atrocity. While the Space Jam beat provides a skeleton for the whole dumpster fire, iconic moments from Neutral Milk Hotel’s fuzz-folk gem “King of Carrot Flowers,” Smash Mouth’s meme hit “All Star” and Death Grips’ “Guillotine” interchange and blend in a disgusting yet harmonious fashion. This is primary evidence in the horseshoe theory of the internet; the best and worst things are actually the very same. Recommended for fans of any of the included bands and those who love to watch the world burn.

Ariana Grande and Aaliyah – “Into You In A Million”

Akii Butler:
Pop’s newest Princess and the Princess of R&B come together on a mashup between two songs you would’ve never thought to put together. By taking one of 2016’s best pop releases and combining it with one of the greatest R&B songs of the 90s, it gives both songs an entire new feel. In the mashup you not only hear Ariana’s potential for R&B music but you can also hear the timelessness of the Aaliyah’s music.

Kanye West vs. The Black Keys “Black Gold Skinhead”

Dylan Reynolds:
Neither of the songs in this mashup has a shortage of raw energy, and the combination of the two only multiplies that effect. The Keys’ guitars behind Kanye’s aggressive verses propel the song forward, and Kanye’s breathing during the “Gold On The Ceiling” chorus increases the sense of urgency.

Miles Davis & LCD Soundsystem – “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down”

Conor Battles:
James Murphy’s smokey barroom ode to the City that Never Sleeps is supplemented almost supernaturally well by Miles Davis’ isolated trumpet track from his soundtrack work for French noir film Elevator to the Gallows. The song takes on a timeless feeling, embodying the storybook aura of New York while Murphy tears that mystique to shreds. This is the track that must play over the final episode of Saturday Night Live, or the day Manhattan sinks into the sea.

Disturbed & Of Monsters and Men – “Little Sickness”

Miles Purdy:
I’m going to be honest with everyone – this song is an abomination that should have never come into being. The disparity between the two source materials is massive. Yet, somehow it works. Wonderfully. I’ve listened to this accursed track for a week straight. Someone send help.

Vampire Weekend vs. Biggie Smalls – “Notorious Vampire”

Jenna Langan:
Can’t decide on listening to either Vampire Weekend or Biggie? Problem solved. Dive into this beautiful creation and see what you’re missing out on. With the combination of Vampire Weekend’s hit tune “Oxford Comma” and Biggie Smalls’ “Can I Get Witcha?” the two songs seamlessly flow together to create some kind of indie rock hip hop magic.

Stevie Wonder vs. Metallica – “Sad But Superstitious”

Reid Smith:
Who in God’s name sat down and said, “I wonder what would happen if I mashed up Metallica and Stevie Wonder?” I don’t know, but I want to give them a firm handshake because this is one of the best mashups I’ve ever heard.

Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino, Mash-Up Album: good boy, d.E.E.p Web “Stumble”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFArc-tTZrs&index=2&list=PLpO9V19ERMr0P2Ev9bpgu3Ag542MIJT_z

Tyler Thompson:
Three months ago, a dream collaboration between Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino was born and released into the wild. Soundcloud user NajvyexiPro, combined the combustible bars of Kendrick Lamar and the savvy productions of Gambino’s 2013 LP Because The Internet to make a collaboration that seamlessly blends together. “Stumble,” stands out as the banger on the mash-up. Lamar immediately fires verses from his feature on Tech N9ne’s “Fragile,” coupled by the intensity of “Crawl’s” beat — a spark of fire and brimstone blooms. Feel free to check out the entire project, alongside my second favorite track, the swoon-tastic, “Hol Urn.”

Brand New vs. Kanye West “Jesus Christ Walks”

Alex Couts:
An absolutely wonderful mix of two things that should not have been mixed together.

The Bee Gees and AC/DC – “Stayin’ in Black”

Brooke Forrest:
Mashups are magic. Somehow the unlikely combo of disco heroes -The Bee Gees – and rock icons – AC/DC – works alarmingly well. This mix of “Staying Alive” and “Back in Black” introduces us to the alternate reality where Barry Gibb is a badass rock front man. That shouldn’t be so surprising with the history of fantastic falsetto and high-pitched singing in rock including Rush, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin and of course AC/DC themselves. But this ‘bizarro’ Barry feels so odd and so right and one can only hope that in this other world of mashups there’s a version of Saturday Night Fever where John Travolta just wants to dance the night away to some AC/DC.