All You Need Is Mashups

from the it's-fine-when-they-do-it dept

Mon, Nov 13th 2006 11:08am — Carlo Longino

Following the revelation last week from EMI, the Beatles' record label, that the Grey Album mash-up of the White Album with Jay-Z's Black Album didn't do any harm (though they still cracked down on it because it was a "question of rights"), comes word that EMI might have actually learned something from the Grey Album. EMI will soon release "Love", a mashup-style album that's the soundtrack for a Cirque du Soleil show based on the story of the band and its music. It features remixes and mashups crafted by famous Beatles producer George Martin (who hasn't always been a big fan of technology and music) and his son, and is already getting rave reviews -- illustrating the value that such products can bring to musicians and their record labels by injecting new life, and exposure to new audiences, to their work. While it's interesting to see EMI and Apple Corps take this step, everbody's still waiting for them to sell the Beatles catalog as digital downloads.

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5 Comments

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moe, 13 Nov 2006 @ 12:03pm

Not the same
In all honesty, the only thing in common between the two cases is that their both remixes of Beatles tunes. The important fact is that George Martin has the rights to do it, the Grey Album didn't. I know it's not the popular thing to say around here, but in my opinion it was the right decision in this case. While there was no damage done, true, if you're going to do more than sampling then the original artist(s) should be involved.
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ehrichweiss, 13 Nov 2006 @ 12:10pm

Beatallica
Best mashup I've heard is the Beatles vs Metallica in the band Beatallica. http://www.beatallica.org.

With such songs as "I wanna choke your band" and "Hey Dude" it doesn't get much funnier than the 2 albums these guys produced.

If anyone is hip you will remember that Sony tried to come down heavy on Beatallica since they still owned rights to the Beatles tunes in question and the unlikeliest of supporters came out of the wood, err, metal-work, Lars Ulrich. Yeah, though I hate him for his "let's sue our fans for doing what made us rich in the first place" attitude, he actually helped these guys get Sony to lay off and recognize them as a legitimate art. If you haven't heard them, I highly recommend it.
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Monza, 13 Nov 2006 @ 12:59pm

mashups galore
found plenty at this new site for mashups http://www.seekpod.com/music
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Nov 2006 @ 1:31pm

In Martin's defese, I heard some tracks off a sampler, and they are really well put together. This is no Grey-Album stuff, this is top notch, excellent studio editing that makes for a really fresh approach to classic Beatles material. Martin played by the book and followed the rules and the results are great.
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foofdawg, 13 Nov 2006 @ 3:42pm

Ummm
I'm not trying to blow something minor out of proportion, but why didn't you mention his son's name in the post? If he made the disc with his son, the son should at least get his name mentioned, if you are going to mention him.

It's apparently Giles Martin.
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