Where Renewal is Away From Life

I Believe in Bleeding Love Video

2009-11-30T09:27:00.001-07:00

My first attempt at doing a video of a mashup I've done:

Ne-Yo vs Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - If This Girl Were Mine

2009-09-02T07:56:00.007-06:00

Ne-Yo's "Go On Girl" meets Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "If This World Were Mine". I have a soft spot for the sound of old school classics meets today R&B. My favorite track on my ipod.

Journey vs Taylor Swift - Any Way You Want Love

2009-06-25T06:02:00.003-06:00

Repetitive, admittedly.

RemoteTreeChildren vs Taylor Swift - Love Pressurize

2009-06-07T00:04:00.007-06:00

RemoteTreeChildren is a collaboration of Glen Phillips and John Askew. Preview (and then purchase) their trippy album Veteran of the Loudness Wars here. It's a favorite of mine.

Blood Pressurize is a standout track on the album, and the multi-tracks were graciously made available by Glen and John. This mashup country-fies it and I don't like country. But if I had to listen to country, this would be it.

one year of unproductivity

2009-04-19T21:11:00.004-06:00

Today, this site has been up for exactly one year. Over 2,000 visits in less than a year. Folks checking this site out from Iran, China, and Grenada, among other places. Wow, thanks all for stopping by!

It's been a fun diversion for me. Not sure how much I'll be able to commit to this in the future as the real world requires more productivity. Then again, I think diversions are a good release.

Glen Phillips - It Takes Time (The Multimodal Mix)

2009-04-19T20:42:00.003-06:00

A mix of one of my favorite Glen tunes, It Takes Time. Check out the original classic here. Acapella courtesy of The Reborn Identity.

a-ha vs Tony Rich Project - Nobody Knows Me

2009-03-31T22:02:00.003-06:00

Just got this one done for my only one in March -- been slacking. A tale of 2 (good) one hit wonders.

2Pac vs Hall & Oates - Sara Smile For Me Now

2009-02-20T22:00:00.005-07:00

I've been wrong on many things, but I do believe this works. 2Pac (feat. Scareface) - Smile for Me Now meets Daryl Hall & John Oates - Sara Smile

The System vs Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown - No Groove

2009-02-15T12:24:00.009-07:00

I remember when The System's "Don't Disturb This Groove" came out and loved the song. It sucks realizing that the song is 20 years older than "No Air". Oh well, I guess I'm no longer young. This is my attempt of a mashup of both songs.

I was hoping to use Chris Brown's mug shot for the artwork but it's apparently not available.

Tears for Fears vs Patrice Rushen - Shout Me Nots

2009-02-11T09:00:00.007-07:00

Why is that when most anyone takes a classic disco track and adds a different vocal, it's called a mashup, but when Will Smith does it, it's called a new hit song and mo' money for Willie?

Flight of the Conchords vs Justin Timberlake & Andy Samberg

2009-01-17T18:11:00.006-07:00

In honor of the start of the new season of the best in television and music, Flight of the Conchords, here's something special girl, to all the ladies of the world.

Glen Phillips vs Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous Spirit

2008-12-18T15:36:00.003-07:00

End of the year closet cleaning going on here. This one was done earlier this year before I started this site and kind of fell off my radar. Perhaps for Glen fans only?

Marvin Gaye vs One Republic - Apologize 4 What's Going On

2008-12-16T10:16:00.003-07:00

A little different from most of the norm here, in that the string parts to What's Going On are added to the Apologize instrumental along with Marvin's vocal. Multi-tracks to great songs are a great thing to have.

Commodores vs Madonna - Easy Bow

2008-12-08T22:15:00.005-07:00

There have been some great mashups using the instrumental to the Commodores' Easy (Madmixmustang's pairing with A-Ha's Take on Me called Take it Easy on Me is a personal fave). Here's my attempt using Madonna's Take a Bow.

OneRepublic vs George Michael vs Anita Ward - Fatherly Apology

2008-11-29T22:37:00.007-07:00

Fatherly Apology is admittedly a little subdued, which is what I was going for as subdued and Timbaland "production" are an apparent contradiction. It was really refreshing to work on this hearing Tedder's great vocal on Apologize without the typical rhythmic Timbaland treatment. Perhaps apparent, this uses George Michael's Father Figure (an extended version) with the acapella of OneRepublic's Apologize.

12/3 Update: For anyone wanting something with a little more zip, I was messing around with an extended version of Anita Ward's Ring My Bell and thought it could make an uptempo mix to the mashup. So, Fatherly Apology (The Bell Mix) is now also available.

KBCO Boulder Friday Mashup Broadcast

2008-11-17T17:24:00.003-07:00

I was honored that the world renowned 97.3 KBCO in Boulder played my John Mayer vs. The Impressions - People Get Ready for the World to Change this past Friday evening. Many thanks in particular to DJ Keefer for playing it.

I had just done some outpatient surgery that day so to hear my mashup while heavily drugged and unable to breathe out my nose, really made my day. You can listen to the broadcast below:

The Romantics vs The Cardigans - Talking Lovefool

2008-10-31T10:27:00.005-06:00

Bloggers who go extended periods without posting often offer an excuse. I won't as this assumes either the blog has some sort of importance or a following -- neither of which seems appropriate in my case.

Flight of the Conchords vs Robin Thicke - Lost Without the Ladies of the World

2008-09-05T21:07:00.004-06:00

Just wanna do something special for all the ladies of the world -- an acoustic slow-but-no-jam. This is neither a serious effort nor a serious outcome.

This was also my first time using an instrumental that I extracted myself, which when using the original Ladies of the World resulted in a track that sounded even more acoustic. As a result, if you're not familiar with Flight of the Conchords and Robin Thicke, then move on, nothing to see here.

Yes, there is an element of irony in calling this Lost Without the Ladies of the World while having images of almost naked men in this post. My apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

Chic vs Snoop Dogg - Mixed Signs 4 Good Times

2008-09-01T12:08:00.007-06:00

Both a mashup and a mix here, combining Snoop Dogg's Signs with Chic's Good Times. I feel like Prince or a rapper, using a number in the title!

Bernard Edwards' bass line on Good Times has to be one of the most influential bass lines in pop music. I have a bass and the tab for this bass line; one of my goals is life is to be able to play this bass line correctly and at the same tempo. (One can dream, right?)

Martha and the Vandellas vs. Rick James - Super Freak in the Street

2008-08-16T20:51:00.004-06:00

Per wikipedia: "Among the Amharic speakers of North Central Ethiopia, a vandella is one of several types of ghost-walking or dream-invading demons/vampires, somewhat similar to a succubus or the vetala of India."

Martha and the Ghost Walking Demons, I like it.

Katy Perry vs. Beach Boys vs. Michael McDonald - I Kissed a Sweet California Girl

2008-07-26T06:30:00.004-06:00

I don't really care for Katy Perry's music, at least what I've heard thus far. I like her voice, but then it's the being-from-California-but-singing-like-you're-British-thing; I don't like it and I don't get it. (I suppose Amy Winehouse does the same thing in reverse?) I didn't get that with Green Day back in 1992 and just assumed they'd disappear from music partly due to that. Guess I was wrong then, maybe I am wrong now.

U2 vs. Dishwalla - Mother of Opaline

2008-07-23T09:05:00.003-06:00

U2 is and has been my favorite group for over half my life. This mashup almost comes across like a remix, taking U2's Mothers of the Disappeared and adding parts of Dishwalla's Opaline from the album of the same name. Anything off of U2's The Joshua Tree doesn't need an introduction, just cuz it's off the The Joshua Tree. Dishwalla's album Opaline though is an incredible album in its own right. The opening song Opaline sets the tone for 45 minutes of tranquil fury throughout. Highly recommended.

John Mayer vs. Curtis Mayfield (The Impressions) - People Get Ready for the World to Change

2008-07-14T22:49:00.010-06:00

I've looked online to see if this has already been done before, and wasn't able to find a previous mashup. I suppose it's not exactly an exercise in contrasts seeing that Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change has the same chord progression as the classic People Get Ready (one of my all time favorite songs). The songs even have the same message -- well sorta-kinda, for the most part. I suppose one song advocates "waiting", while the other song to "get on board". I guess different times call for different measures.

***Well I knew I had to be wrong. One of the monsters of the mashup world Voicedude let me know of a version he had done in March of last year. Here's his awesome take called Waiting for People to Get Ready. Voicedude was gracious enough to compliment me on my effort, and coming from him it does make my day.

Glen Phillips vs. Joe Pesci vs. Mary Jane Girls - Drive By My House Wise Guy

2008-07-05T09:08:00.010-06:00

This started out as an attempt to utilize an acapella of the Glen Phillips song Drive By which was extracted and made available by Gavin (The Reborn Identity). The goal was to use an instrumental that would make for a clever title. Drive By My House came to mind and luckily an instrumental of Mary Jane Girls', In My House wasn't hard to find.

In starting to work on the mashup, I recalled the chorus of Joe Pesci's song (yes he put out an album) Wise Guy, "louvely dey in the neighburhud fer a drive by", and thought why not? I was surprised with how overlaying together the instrumentals to In My House and Wise Guy (really Blondie's Rapture) seemed to work.

So now the title had to be slightly expanded.

Many thanks to Gavin for the acapella and just all the help and support in general that he's given me in the mashup and mixing world. There are two versions, the first is an edited "for airplay version", the second is the longer full version.

Paula Cole vs. Leona Lewis - I Believe in Bleeding Love

2008-07-03T08:44:00.008-06:00

When I first heard the Leona Lewis tune Bleeding Love, I thought wow, Paula Cole managed to get airplay on the radio a decade later? Paula scored a few hits in the 90s with Where Have All the Cowboys Gone and I Don't Want to Wait. Her song I Believe in Love which I used to mashup with Bleeding Love didn't chart well, and the music video didn't do her any favors in this regard.

Anyway, to me Leona sounds a lot like Paula so I thought I'd try to do a mashup that has both of their voices. See what you think. For the record, I didn't need to change the key in either song.

Kompoz contest in the Top 10

2008-06-29T22:45:00.008-06:00

My opportunity to post that a mix I had done has made a Top 10 list. My Shrapnel Perilicious Mix of The Spirit of Shackleton ended up at #7. I'm just thrilled that this got voted in as one of the top 10 with 75 entries that were considered and voted upon by the public at large through Ourstage.com. 2076 plays? That might be more than Vanilla Ice's most recent album.

Mariah Carey vs. U2 - Dream a Little While

2008-06-20T12:57:00.005-06:00

Mainly, takes parts of Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover" and adds the main guitar riff to U2's "In A Little While".

I've had this completed as a work in progress for a while now. I hope to someday "finish" it. I've been looking for a vocal part (likely a rap) to add to the chorus. Suggestions are appreciated.

Feist vs. Nelly Furtado vs. Elliot Yamin vs. U2 - Honey Move It

2008-05-02T20:08:00.010-06:00

My first attempt at using more than two sources. Feist's Honey Honey, Nelly Furtado's Do It, Elliot Yamin's Movin' On, and a snippet of U2's Miracle Drug. (Feist is the 1, 2, 3, 4 singer on the iPod commercials.) It's overloaded, but hopefully not too overdone.

The Spirit of Shackleton mixes

2008-04-30T15:44:00.006-06:00

I completed a couple of mixes a few months ago for the Glen Phillips song "The Spirit of Shackleton". You can listen to the original song here to get an idea of what it sounds like. The mixes are entitled "The Thick Mix" and the "The Shrapnel Perilicious Mix". Naming a mix can be just as fun as creating one.

Glen Phillips vs. Marvin Gaye - Healing Spirit

2008-04-21T12:36:00.009-06:00

For me, Marvin Gaye has/had the greatest sounding voice in pop history. It's something I can say comfortably as a heterosexual male, and not have to feel awkward about. The guy just had a voice that how could any male pop singer not want to sound like? I could imagine a more tranquil world of phone customer service with less irate customers if Marvin's voice replaced all the automated voices, but I digress . . .

I always thought Marvin's "Sexual Healing" had only one negative, being released in the now dated 80's sound. "Let's Get it On" sounds more timely from a musical perspective even though it came out earlier. This mashup takes Glen's voice out of the mix in his track "The Spirit of Shackleton" and gives Marvin a chance to move "Sexual Healing" out of the 80's.

sunny and shady glen

2008-04-21T12:20:00.002-06:00

I have done several mashups and mixes in the past few months related to Glen Phillips' posting of the multi-track files to his most excellent song The Spirit of Shackleton off of his EP “Secrets of the New Explorers”. I’ll slowly be posting these as I come up with “artwork” for each track, basically, it’s an excuse to mess around with GIMP and/or Photoshop.

Since I’m mentioning Glen, I must tout his music. He’s been creating some incredible work since his days with Toad the Wet Sprocket, the quality of which far surpasses his former Toad-life. His solo works such as "Winter Pays for Summer" and "Mr. Lemons" have a sunny glen feel while works like "Unlucky 7" offer a more shady glen vibe.

Backstreet Boys vs. Nelly Furtado - Say the Meaning of Being Lonely

2008-04-19T21:57:00.019-06:00

If you're like me, you've always wondered about how the 90's boy band craze would have sounded like if Timbaland was behind it. Well look no further! I mean, the Timbaland/Timberlake collaboration just isn't the same thing. (Please note that I'm generally sarcastic.) I liked how the mashup turned out. I did originally try to add Nelly's vocal (where I instead used Timbaland's yelps) -- like a duet of sorts, but in the end I didn't like how her vocal sounded with this. I guess the mashup might come across as being somber given the Backstreet Boys song, but I think the somberness works well with the sparseness of Nelly's instrumental in Say It Right.