Things are not Always as they Appear

I think The Way The Music Died is the first emblematic music documentary of our time. In class, professor Anderson said that the documentary

has something for everyone.

I found this hard to believe, at first, as I knew the documentary was released before mash-up music made waves in the industry. I was not expecting to find anything relevant to my paper's topic of Girl Talk and copyright law evolution in the music industry. I found my connection in the most arbitrary of places; the portion of the documentary that chronicled the rise of Velvet Revolver. I realized something that I had never considered before - mash-ups can be much more than the chopping and screwing of audio files. Mash-ups can occur at the most fundamental level of music-the performers. While the music performed are not mash-ups of multiple bands, the members that comprise the band in question come from two or more bands to create a unique sound.

Comprised of members of Guns N' Roses and the Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver's lineup represents two crucially influential acts of the 90s. Through the combination of the voice of STP and the musicians of GNR, Velvet Revolver has mashed up two sounds of a single generation in order to impact a new generation. It is because of this new concept of the mash-up that I find it necessary to address a statement I made in a previous blog. I had previously said that mash-up music was created out of the lack of quality music being produced by bands on the scene today. Is it perhaps possible that the lack of quality music in today's industry is a direct reflection of the lack of quality musicians/personalities?

While bands come a dime a dozen these days, as self-production becomes easier and more professional sounding, the general public can only identify with the bands that impacted them at a young age. A more recent example of this is the band Two Tongues. The bands Say Anything and Saves the Day are two bands that just about every indie act in existence today can say that they drew influence from. Fall Out Boy's first practice ever consisted of current singer/guitar player, then drummer Pat Stump and bass player Pete Wentz playing Saves the Day's "Through Being Cool" cover to cover. Say Anything and Saves The Day are two bands with an instantly recognizable sound. The singers of both bands have created Two Tongues as a side project for both bands. I believe that bands like Two Tongues and Velvet Revolver have put a new spin on the concept of mash-ups. While their music is original and not mashed up in any manner whatsoever, their membership is mashed up from bands that have become heavily influential in their own right.

Links:
Click here for an article on the release of Two Tongues' debut CD.

Interested in how to mash-up? Click here for details.