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Blame It on the Pop
December 26, 2009 8:05 PM   Subscribe

DJ Earworm releases for download his mashup of the year's top hits, according to Billboard.

No official video has been released yet. Here's a video to preview it [sorry for low quality!] Accompanying image.

DJ Earworm's previous mashups on Mefi: 2007, 2008
posted by estlin (50 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite

It’s hard to argue that 2009 wasn’t the year of autotune...
posted by hermitosis at 8:09 PM on December 26, 2009 [2 favorites]


Awesome, I was just wondering about this...
posted by Ian A.T. at 8:41 PM on December 26, 2009


Autotune is to 2009 hip-hop audio what Fish Eye Lens was to 1998 hip-hop video.
posted by symbioid at 9:16 PM on December 26, 2009 [4 favorites]


Not digging this year's track as much as the last few. Maybe my impression will improve once there's an actual video for it.
posted by flatluigi at 9:29 PM on December 26, 2009


Uh, where did you get this? It's not anywhere on his site and he hasn't mentioned it on any of the usual suspects (twitter, facebook, etc).
posted by flatluigi at 9:31 PM on December 26, 2009


Twitter. Facebook. I also thought it was odd that he didn't announce it on his site at all.
posted by estlin at 9:39 PM on December 26, 2009


Yeah it was sorta meh. That doesn't mean he doesn't do good work. No More Gas is one of my all time favorites. I blame his source material much more than his skills.
posted by msbutah at 9:39 PM on December 26, 2009


Twitter. Facebook. I also thought it was odd that he didn't announce it on his site at all.
posted by estlin at 12:39 AM on December 27 [+] [!]

Well, don't I look silly.
posted by flatluigi at 9:51 PM on December 26, 2009 [2 favorites]


EXTREMELY SILLY
posted by tehloki at 10:21 PM on December 26, 2009


Also holy crap year of the autotuned pseudocarribean crooner
posted by tehloki at 10:22 PM on December 26, 2009 [1 favorite]


I just get further and further disconnected from popular music. I didn't recognize most of these songs.

I spent the night listening to Buck Owens. And I can't feel bad about that.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:25 PM on December 26, 2009 [3 favorites]


Autotune is to 2009 hip-hop audio what Fish Eye Lens was to 1998 hip-hop video.

Let's just go back there for a moment, shall we?
posted by Burhanistan at 11:11 PM on December 26, 2009 [1 favorite]


(oops, I misread and thought that you wrote 1989. Beastie Boys were ahead of their time with that one.)
posted by Burhanistan at 11:12 PM on December 26, 2009


Hah! I was just looking for this last night, so great timing and thanks.

Too bad I only recognize a grand total of one of those songs. I agree: previous years had better source material and a better result.
posted by librarylis at 11:38 PM on December 26, 2009


This is like a sundae with every topping in the ice cream shop.
posted by the jam at 11:39 PM on December 26, 2009


Thanks for these. Man, the 2007 one was KICKIN. I'm convinced the 2009 one sucks not because of a lack of good material to work from, but simply because the focus music was pretty poorly chosen.
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 12:35 AM on December 27, 2009


And here's the blog post and video.
posted by flatluigi at 1:35 AM on December 27, 2009


The official video is now available.
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 1:36 AM on December 27, 2009


Yeah, there we go. Watched the video a few times and I'm in love. DJ Earworm continues to be fantastic.
posted by flatluigi at 2:16 AM on December 27, 2009


Shite, and that lady gaga tune is from 2008.
posted by the cuban at 2:31 AM on December 27, 2009


This is awesome, thanks for posting it.
posted by triggerfinger at 3:46 AM on December 27, 2009


I have heard the "riffs" (read- autotune with no musical instruments played and questionable talent) which comprise most components of this mashup, but how does it reflect on me that I have no fucking idea who participated, other than Black Eyed Peas? For safety's sake, I told my girlfriend "well I really liked the Black Eyed Peas' part."

In reality, I have hated that band ever since "Let's Get Retarded" became "Let's Get It Started."

Is this what passes for popular music now? Having at least heard most of these tracks in their entirety, through no fault of my own, I wonder: where are the fucking solos? For that matter, where are the fucking instruments?

If this is what it means to get old, then color me Methuselah. I'm going to invent and then slightly flaw a time machine so I can just go back slowly through time and watch bands get better.
posted by Clamwacker at 4:07 AM on December 27, 2009 [2 favorites]


That mashup link wakes up Avast Antivirus here, gives me the following warning:

Network Shield: blocked access to malicious site ad.yieldmanager.com/imp?Z=300x250&s=232763&_salt=2041494168&B=10&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediafire.com%2Ftemplates%2Flinkto%2Fdefault-337x281-default.html&r=0 [ C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe ( 304 ) ]

Hardly the end of the world, but thought I'd mention it.
posted by curtj at 7:05 AM on December 27, 2009


Well... It is interesting. And reminds me why I have avoided pop music as much as humanly possible lately.

My 18 year old daughter just asked what I was listening to. I explained it and offered to send her the link. She said, dismissively, "I'm alright."

There's hope for the child.
posted by mmahaffie at 7:11 AM on December 27, 2009


DJ Dumbass
posted by DieHipsterDie at 8:22 AM on December 27, 2009


Not my favorite Earworm end of year mashup, but the video is a lot of fun and makes the song better.
posted by WolfDaddy at 8:30 AM on December 27, 2009


The video stops at 3:42. Anyone else having this problem?

I hope this is the worst problem I face for the rest of this year.
posted by lukemeister at 8:53 AM on December 27, 2009


This is great. Thanks for posting.
posted by sveskemus at 8:55 AM on December 27, 2009


And reminds me why I have avoided pop music as much as humanly possible lately.

I just spent the last few days putting together a short list of my favorite so-called "pop music" of the past ten years, and quickly got it down to 332 titles: a few BIG hits (MGMT, Eminem, White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand etc), a lotta "lesser" more "indie" hits (TV on the Radio, Tilly + the Wall, Portugal the Man, Marykate O'Neil, Grandaddy) and all manner of just great, great music (Johnny Cash, Sigur Ros, Fuck Buttons, Four Tet, Beautiful South, Iron + Wine, Calexico, Nick Cave, Avalanches, !!!).

My point: music in general is in great, great form these days, despite downloading (maybe because of it), despite autotune, despite the ongoing efforts of large and evil corporations to destroy everything that's decent about human culture (usually, unconsciously).

For me, what's utterly remarkable about this Earworm mash-up and the accompanying vid is their complete failure to reflect any of this. It's just four some minutes of really awful, facetious, narcissistic effluent ... and yet I sorta liked it.

Thanks for the compression.
posted by philip-random at 10:01 AM on December 27, 2009 [3 favorites]


Pet Shop Boys made a pop record in 2009 that used some trendy songwriters and very current studio effects and didn't suck a bit. It's not the studios, it's not the labels, it's not the kids getting dumber - it's the American Idol mentality that it doesn't take songwriting skillz to be a pop star. When the same four people manufacture all the birdhouses all the birdhouses are going to look the same.

I blame Cathy Dennis. I love her, but I blame her.
posted by mintcake! at 10:43 AM on December 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


I like what happens at 1:50
posted by iamkimiam at 10:43 AM on December 27, 2009


Here are the sources, for those of us not too busy chasing those damn kids off our lawns:
posted by hades at 10:55 AM on December 27, 2009 [5 favorites]


I thought it was decent, about as bland as the parts combined. And DJ Earworm on his worst day > Girl Talk on his best, so...
posted by tmcw at 10:55 AM on December 27, 2009


Haven't Heard Any Of These And WTF Is Up With All The "FTs" -- Me ft. Apathy
posted by Ratio at 11:32 AM on December 27, 2009


The self-described genderqueer geek and “web slave” quietly hacks on everything within reach

I just hacked my ham sandwich by adding brown mustard! A jawdropping feat of breadcraft!

This mechanical pencil? Also a zit-popper. Hackery!

Yesterday on the bus I was a little sleepy so I wadded up my coat and used it as a pillow! Hackariffic!

That ham sandwich I mentioned before the jump? Gave me heartburn! So I hacked my wetware with a Pepcid AC! Jawdropping!
posted by Ratio at 11:40 AM on December 27, 2009 [3 favorites]


Oops! Wrong thread! MASHUP!
posted by Ratio at 11:41 AM on December 27, 2009 [9 favorites]


Maybe its just me but it seems like that Black Eyed Peas song has been around for at least a decade.
posted by wcfields at 12:19 PM on December 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


tmcw: "And DJ Earworm on his worst day > Girl Talk on his best, so..."

They're in almost completely different genres, you know. The only similarity is the amount of samples in a given song. Girl Talk heavily focuses on glitch pop and switching between themes and music on the fly, keeping the sound of the various pieces largely unchanged. In contrast, Earworm makes one consistent pop song by making a background beat and taking tiny, tiny pieces of different songs as lyrics.

I understand preferring Earworm's style over Girl Talk's, but they're really quite different in their style and intent. Personally, Mr. Gillis should just name a genre for himself and let people who style themselves after him contribute to it; I've always preferred tracks with consistent sounds like DJ Earworm's.
posted by flatluigi at 12:41 PM on December 27, 2009


DJ Earworm has one of those DJ names that makes me not want to let any of his DJ stylings near my precious, precious ear. Khan flashbacks, etc.
posted by damehex at 1:59 PM on December 27, 2009


So, I felt like transcribing.

DJ Earworm - United State of Pop '09 (Blame It On The Pop)

I know you want pop you want dance you want rock and roll (you want it)
(BOOM BOOM) This here remix's got symphonic soul
I got pop I got dance I got rockin' electronic club beats
I got hip hop music with the future flow

So don't worry, even if the sky is falling down (down, down)
Gonna be okay when it knocks you down, down, down
So baby don't worry (it's alright, it's alright)
When it knocks you down (when you go down, when you go down down)
No need to worry just get back up
When you tumbling down down down

It's like I've been awakened (every step I take you)
Every rule I had you breakin' (every move I make you)
The risk that I'm takin' (every chance I'm taking)
With a big smile on my face, and it never feels out of place

Blame it on the pop, blame it on the dance, blame it on the rock and roll
Blame it on the rumba sovereignty with the symphonic soul
I like that pop, I like that bass, I like that rockin' electronic club beats
Blame it on the hip hop music with the future flow

Baby don't worry (it's alright a-alright)
When it knocks you down
Somewhere far along this road
Stressed out and I wanna let it go
I feel down, down, down (Baby are you down, down, down, down, down)

Oh, I've been travelin' on this road too long (too long)
Just trying to find my way back home (back home)
But the old me's dead and gone, dead and gone

I got a feeling (whoo-hoo)
I've found God

Blame it on the pop, blame it on the dance, blame it on the rock and roll
Blame it on the feeling that the music's keepin out of control
We've got the pop, we've got the dance, we've got the rockin' electronic club beats
We've got the hip-hop music with the future flow

People in the place! Put your put your hands in the air!
(pu-pu-put your hands up oh oh oh, oh oh oh)
Forever united here
Blame it on the po-po-po-po poker face po-po poker face

So live your life
Let's live it up
If you want to get down
Down, down, ma-ma-ma-ma
I wanna get down, down, down

So baby don't worry (it's alright a-alright)
When it knocks you down (when you go down, when you go down down)
No need to worry just get back up
When you're tumbling down down down

Blame it on the pop, blame it on the dance, blame it on the boom boom boom
Gotta get that rumba, blame it on the 808 with the boom boom boom
Gotta get that pop, gotta get that dance, gotta get that boom boom pow
I gotta get, I gotta get this here remix's with the future sound

I got a feeling (but I never really had a doubt)
That tonight's gonna be a good night, that tonight's gonna be a good night
And I say the same thing every single time
You know that I could use somebody (whoo-hoo)
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love

Got-got-got feeling (Down, down, down)
Can't you see (Love, love, love)
Isn't this easy (easy)
Feeling (love, love, love)

Down, down, down (it's like I've been awakened)
Can't you see (every step I take you)
Don't be afraid (the risk that I'm takin')
Can't you see (I've had a little bit too much)

Feelin' down, down down
Can't you see (Every move I make you)
Every rule I had you break yeah-yeah
Isn't this easy (easy)

Feelin' love, love, love
We'll make it out of this mess (Change your mind)
Baby just say so (Da-da da-da da-dah, Da-da da-da da-dah)
posted by flatluigi at 2:09 PM on December 27, 2009 [10 favorites]


MeFi Fashion Tips 2009

How best to establish one's cred by expressing disdain and ignorance of popular culture?

OUT: "is this something one would need a television to know the answer?"
IN: "I just get further and further disconnected from popular music. I didn't recognize most of these songs."
posted by Parasite Unseen at 3:01 PM on December 27, 2009 [5 favorites]


thank god all the hits of this past year were compressed into one bite sized song so I can feel like i'm still in touch without having to listen to any of this god awful shiite in full.
posted by kuppajava at 4:07 PM on December 27, 2009


Hmm. The whole is much greater than the sum of it's parts. Or something.

I liked it.
posted by Bageena at 4:57 PM on December 27, 2009 [1 favorite]


On a related note, Best of Bootie 2009 has just been posted.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 2:26 PM on December 28, 2009 [1 favorite]


They're in almost completely different genres, you know. The only similarity is the amount of samples in a given song. Girl Talk heavily focuses on glitch pop and switching between themes and music on the fly, keeping the sound of the various pieces largely unchanged. In contrast, Earworm makes one consistent pop song by making a background beat and taking tiny, tiny pieces of different songs as lyrics.
Yeah - I get that. You're right - they definitely cater to different crowds, and I'm in the DJ Earworm crowd. I just get this feeling that Girl Talk belongs to the Ableton crowd which is only barely cognizant of key and tonality, and dependent on the hallowed robotic beat-sync quantization of such tools. He seems like the kind of guy who dutifully provides the 2 & 4 bass beat and caters to people who want to grind and occasionally shout that omg they know this song.

Okay, I'm an old man, and not trying to derail this thread. Move on, nothing to see here.
posted by tmcw at 6:11 PM on December 28, 2009


This mix does not highlight the DJ's skill; it highlights how bland and interchangeable the raw material is.

When all corporate pop songs are run through the production grinder and made to conform to that mass-market template, you can snap 'em together like Legos and make a song out of them. There's no challenge to that.
posted by jason's_planet at 11:32 AM on January 2, 2010


There's no challenge to that.

Wow. Can't wait to hear you make something like this.
posted by sveskemus at 6:38 AM on January 3, 2010


*yells out the window* I liked it a lot and I don't care who knows it.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 4:33 PM on January 3, 2010


Hint: If you don't like club music, you probably won't like this club music track, okay? Move along, there's nothing to see here, leave us and our teevees alone. There's no contradiction between listening to Dirty Projectors or Destroyer on your headphones and getting crunk to Lady Gaga; honest, this track is not an attack against your guitar rock sensibilities. It's not supposed to be high-diction "ahhht," it's supposed to be fun, and if you were there, it is. If you want intellectualism or acoustic instrumentation, this is probably not your genre. That doesn't mean music is dead!

Ignoring it's your loss, though. Earworm clearly loves this music and the result is a thing to behold. He's considered his cuts carefully; the song has a coherent narrative that addresses the "down" year and provides an optimistic resolution without losing its sense of fun. The Black Eyed Peas bassline gets a little old, sure, and maybe some of his other tracks have been better, but admit it, you were dancing.

Gotta say, though, mintcake, you might be the first person I've met who liked Yes. ;)
posted by mote at 8:39 AM on January 4, 2010 [1 favorite]


DJ Earworm just posted his own version of the lyrics, color-coded to what song he took each from.
posted by flatluigi at 2:17 PM on January 4, 2010 [1 favorite]


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