Quite enjoyable so far, but I'm still waiting for the truly innovative satisfaction of MC Hammer acapellas over Jethro Tull samples. posted by carsonb at 8:32 PM on January 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
The Grey Album was goddamn garbage, and had no reason to exist.
This, on the other hand, is really really good. I think the key is the judicious use of the boom-bap pianos. A lot of the tracks can't touch the originals, but only because the originals were untouchably good. posted by rxrfrx at 8:46 PM on January 17, 2010
After a decent yet almost so-so 24, this made my evening.
The blue comes through - thanks! posted by unwordy at 8:59 PM on January 17, 2010
well, it's not actually the beatles, but instrumental, perhaps cheesy, cover versions of the beatles - which might work better than if they used the originals posted by pyramid termite at 8:59 PM on January 17, 2010
well, it's not actually the beatles, but instrumental, perhaps cheesy, cover versions of the beatles - which might work better than if they used the originals
Certainly works better from a legal standpoint. posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:07 PM on January 17, 2010
Why LNSSW? I prefer never stopping figuratively. posted by unwordy at 9:08 PM on January 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Wow I actually like this a lot. They were even able to maintain that melancholy vibe from the early RZA stuff where it counts. And add me to the list of people who were totally unimpressed by the Grey Album. I liked a lot of what Dangermouse did after that but I didn't understand the hype for that thing at all; I guess it was just the novelty of the mashup at the time. posted by palidor at 9:10 PM on January 17, 2010 [3 favorites]
Normally I don't like this kind of thing. In fact, I've hated every one of these I've ever heard, except the Frank Sinatra + Biggie Smalls one. I don't hate this, but I don't really like it as much as that, either. Hm.
On the download link, is "VBR High" v0, or am I going to need to grab the FLAC and do my own? posted by paisley henosis at 9:28 PM on January 17, 2010
Certainly works better from a legal standpoint.
well, there are some real beatles samples here and there - uh huh and mighty healthy have them posted by pyramid termite at 9:31 PM on January 17, 2010
Tracks 1-7 were working pretty well for me, (except for 'Uh Huh' being a terrible, god awful song) but Chessboxing was really, really flat. posted by paisley henosis at 9:45 PM on January 17, 2010
there are some real beatles samples here and there
Either Apple has loosened its policy of absolutely NO Beatles sampling (and granted licensing rights in this case) or... these guys might be looking at some sort of lawsuit. posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:45 PM on January 17, 2010
This is really, really well done - but yeah, these are mostly not samples from actual Beatles songs. I figured out that's why I couldn't identify many of them, despite having heard every Beatles song a million times. There's at least some samples from "The Beatles' Story", though, which is a long out-of-print US-only interview album. posted by DecemberBoy at 9:47 PM on January 17, 2010
this is the shit. posted by pwally at 9:48 PM on January 17, 2010
The beats on tracks 3 and 6 are fucking AWESOME, fake Beatles or no. posted by DecemberBoy at 9:55 PM on January 17, 2010
Oh wow, track 11 samples from one of the Beatles Fan Club Christmas records. Whoever's behind this knows his Beatles, at least. posted by DecemberBoy at 10:09 PM on January 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Well, OK, track 14 samples pretty much all of "She's A Woman", so they're not worried about copyright. posted by DecemberBoy at 10:17 PM on January 17, 2010
sample list and cover art at the bottom of this
Indeed, there are actual Beatles samples. Surprising! Wonder if they've cleared them? posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:19 PM on January 17, 2010
Wonder if they've cleared them?
No way, they wouldn't be able to even if they tried. Nobody ever clears samples for mashups like this, they used to only appear at swap meets and small record stores. This seems to be an internet-only release by an anonymous artist. I'm guessing the only reason he/she used the fake Beatles stuff is because the samples fit better, since having listened to most of this now, there's super-obvious Beatles samples all over it. posted by DecemberBoy at 10:41 PM on January 17, 2010
This is simply awful. The Beatles -- and rap (ugghhhh) -- do not belong in the same universe (yes, I'm aware of the Grey Album too), let alone mashed like this. And they never will. That is all. posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:54 PM on January 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Nobody ever clears samples for mashups like this...
Well, if Apple gets wind of this one, they'll send out some lawyers. No big deal. But whoever made this should be aware of one very important point:
Holy shit, are you kidding? The Beatles mashed up with the Wu? PUT IT IN MY EARS. posted by Tiresias at 11:36 PM on January 17, 2010
That's a very gray area there, humannaire. Actually, it's not all that gray, it's more... off-white. Or, let's say slate-gray. Charcoal? Anyway, a company like Apple (or Wu Tang's record company, or any big company with sufficient dollars) can shut down sites offering free music that contains unauthorized samples, generally with the threat of costly legal proceedings. It doesn't have to be music that's being sold. It happens a lot. One recent case in point: the "Dylan Hears a Who" site (that one was excellent), which was shut down by the Dr. Seuss estate. That music wasn't being sold. posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:41 PM on January 17, 2010
The Beatles -- and rap (yaaaaaay)
In a perfect world. posted by Nomiconic at 11:41 PM on January 17, 2010
I haven't heard a single *actual* Beatles sample that I can recognize. Can anyone point out a recognizable sample from the Beatles' recorded musical output? posted by scrowdid at 11:52 PM on January 17, 2010
Ooops, sample list posted above, sorry posted by scrowdid at 11:53 PM on January 17, 2010
This is simply awful. The Beatles -- and rap (ugghhhh) -- do not belong in the same universe
Jokes on you sucka. Ol' Dirt Dog's already crept into your vocabulary. posted by mannequito at 12:05 AM on January 18, 2010 [13 favorites]
And yeah, track 6 - Uh Huh - has some awesome bounce to it! posted by mannequito at 12:20 AM on January 18, 2010
rap (ugghhhh)
You're a dinosaur, grandpa. You're obsolete. Soon you and all like you will be dead anyway. posted by DecemberBoy at 12:30 AM on January 18, 2010
I LIKE EVERYTHING BUT RAP AND COUNTRY, EVERYTHING MEANING WHATEVER THE FM ROCK STATION PLAYS posted by DecemberBoy at 12:33 AM on January 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
You know you want it.
Uh, no do not want. Not putting down Wu Tang or whatever. But no, do not want it. Thanks anyway. posted by Splunge at 12:41 AM on January 18, 2010
Wu production is often fairly sparse (prime example being Mystery of Chessboxin'), so it's probably pretty tempting to mix in something dense like this, but it turns out that's generally a bad idea. I listened to four tracks, and the busy Beatles samples cause a lot of fighting for mid-range attention. Pretty impressive effort, nonetheless, and maybe the rest are better. posted by ignignokt at 12:47 AM on January 18, 2010
You guys know your browsers have a scroll feature right.
paisley henosis: On the download link, is "VBR High" v0, or am I going to need to grab the FLAC and do my own?
The link that they sent when I downloaded the VBR High format contains "v0" at the end, so I'd guess that it is. posted by Oops at 2:01 AM on January 18, 2010
Uh, no do not want. Not putting down Wu Tang or whatever. But no, do not want it. Thanks anyway.
Thank-you for your feedback. Your have been upgraded to "You don't know you want it, but you want it." posted by bicyclefish at 2:36 AM on January 18, 2010
Your have been upgraded to "You don't know you want it, but you want it."
As the old saying goes, life is what you don't make it. posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:47 AM on January 18, 2010
[This is awesome]
FWIW, my money's on Got Your Money. posted by flippant at 2:58 AM on January 18, 2010
The Grey Album was goddamn garbage, and had no reason to exist.
I want to like this, & I've only listened to a few but hmmmm... i dont know. That Got Your Money is a pretty good case in point, the rhythm is all wrong for Dirty's rapping, if a rapper got up and freestyled on that beat with that sort of flow, he wouldn't get past the third line posted by criticalbill at 3:56 AM on January 18, 2010
I like this a lot, but then I know almost nothing about hip hop. It somehow makes the rap listenable without losing it's raw energy. posted by deticxe at 4:12 AM on January 18, 2010
and rap (ugghhhh)
Yet further proof that it's easier to listen, eat, watch and read the same thing every day than it is to challenge yourself and risk expanding your horizons.
I like mashups mainly because it feeds directly to my love of varied music. Like cooking, putting individually excellent but disparate elements together isn't always a success, but when it works it is sublime.
The Beatles -- and rap (ugghhhh) -- do not belong in the same universe (yes, I'm aware of the Grey Album too), let alone mashed like this.
How does it feel to be trapped by what you believe something should be, as opposed to how things end up, and then damning the things others do for enjoyment when they inevitably fail to fit your rigid worldview? What's that world like? I bet it's pretty boring. posted by Mikey-San at 4:49 AM on January 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
/me is puzzled by all the Grey Album haters. The Grey Album was my introduction to Jay-Z. When i finally heard some of the original Timbaland tracks in the proper context, I thought they sounded lame and cliched.
Anyway, I'm not saying that I'm downloading the mashup that this thread is ostensibly about, but it is very likely that circumstances will permit me to listen to it soon. posted by e.e. coli at 4:54 AM on January 18, 2010
"Got your money" is right on the money. Zing!
Also, as there seems to be some confusion regarding the matter: Grey Album is actually better than the Jay Z original, which itself was rather neat. posted by monocultured at 5:12 AM on January 18, 2010
The Beatles -- and rap (ugghhhh) -- do not belong in the same universe
brilliant. i'm a big fan of this bandcamp.com webapp. very clean and usable. any idea how they make money? posted by bostran at 7:27 AM on January 18, 2010
Yech, double yech. You should go to jail for doing stuff like this. posted by cccorlew at 7:49 AM on January 18, 2010
And rap - uuuuuhhhhhhhhhh!! (beat drops) posted by naju at 8:11 AM on January 18, 2010
As a Beatles purist, I'm pretty sure somebody's going to hell over this. posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 8:17 AM on January 18, 2010
Two of my favorites together! posted by PHINC at 8:26 AM on January 18, 2010
Well, Exitpursued, I just forwarded this to two friends of mine. She, a Beatles purist. He, a Wu purist. They also happen to be married to one another.
Not as bad as that grey album, but still shit. posted by the cuban at 8:30 AM on January 18, 2010
I'll be in the corner for people who love the Wu, love the Beatles, and remain mystified at the popularity of mash-ups. posted by the bricabrac man at 8:46 AM on January 18, 2010
Artichoke Dance Off! If they have children they'll be good at singing close harmony and droppin' mad beats yo! posted by ExitPursuedByBear at 9:01 AM on January 18, 2010
Currently listening, liking it so far.
Thanks for posting it. posted by maortiz at 10:01 AM on January 18, 2010
This is simply awful. The Beatles -- and rap (ugghhhh) -- do not belong in the same universe (yes, I'm aware of the Grey Album too), let alone mashed like this. And they never will. That is all.
Fuck the haters; as a hardcore lifelong Beatles fan, I gotta say this kicks ass. posted by grubi at 10:44 AM on January 18, 2010
Okay. This is really really good. posted by eyeballkid at 10:48 AM on January 18, 2010
Make 'em say ugghhhh. posted by box at 10:49 AM on January 18, 2010
So far, I've been called a"dinosaur" and "grandpa" in this thread, although my age and sex are nowhere revealed here. So be it. But I am happy that there are those in this thread that seem to agree (or at least in part) with my comment. Disliking a genre in any field of creativity does not make one "rigid" or myopic, so I feel vindicated. Disagreements like this have been here countless times, in many discussions and whenever the now-cliched "Your [particular favorite band, artist, etc.] sucks" appears. It's what this place is often about, although in former times, a bit more civil and courteous. Metafilter: where people often refuse to agree to disagree. posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:58 AM on January 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm calling shenanigans on track 15 -- Live and Let Die isn't a Beatles song. posted by danb at 10:59 AM on January 18, 2010
I was ready to hate track 4, but the overlays of easy-listening lounge-country guitar noodling combined with a lite dub chunk-a chunk-a rhythm somehow makes it all hilarious. Worst I can say is that it interrupts the flow from tracks 3 to 5.
And I liked The Grey Album too. And I'm probably older than you. Enjoy the music or find a different thread to piss in. posted by ardgedee at 11:03 AM on January 18, 2010
Disliking a genre in any field of creativity does not make one "rigid" or myopic
No. It just makes you kind of douche-y when you come into a thread specifically about a genre of music you don't like just to express your dissatisfaction with it. posted by eyeballkid at 11:09 AM on January 18, 2010
Hey eyeballkid: I did not "come into a thread specifically about a genre of music you don't like just to express your dissatisfaction with it." Yes, I dislike rap (which I clearly stated) , but it was the mash-up aspects with the Beatles music drew my attention. It's like taking a crayon to a Picasso, or adding lines to a Johnny Mercer song, IMO. posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:15 AM on January 18, 2010
I guess we agree to disagree then. posted by eyeballkid at 11:23 AM on January 18, 2010
That is some craaaazy creative.
This is well done.
eh? #23-slang editorial, I didn't know the Beatles did Gershwin's 'Summertime', heh-heh.
Really liked some of the mixes from the teasearecords page - first player window on the acappella page.
—not exactly laid back— posted by alicesshoe at 11:25 AM on January 18, 2010
Wu production is often fairly sparse (prime example being Mystery of Chessboxin'), so it's probably pretty tempting to mix in something dense like this, but it turns out that's generally a bad idea. I listened to four tracks, and the busy Beatles samples cause a lot of fighting for mid-range attention. Pretty impressive effort, nonetheless, and maybe the rest are better.
Yeah I wanted to say this. I feel like this mashup makes it too crowded, and I can't imagine chilling to these tracks the way I do with Wu Tang. Still, A+ for effort.
Also I liked the Grey Album, so, I dunno, shoot me. posted by shakespeherian at 11:25 AM on January 18, 2010
I preferred the original wu-tang beats and I didn't feel like the beatles samples sounded that good out of context. If anything, the wu-tang lyrics sounded cheesier without the fat beats underneath them. I didn't like this as much as I liked the Grey Album. posted by mai at 12:08 PM on January 18, 2010
Adding lines to a Johnny Mercer song
What the fuck did you just say about Ella Fitzgerald? posted by box at 12:29 PM on January 18, 2010
It's like taking a crayon to a Picasso
Wasn't Picasso himself just taking a crayon to previous art? I'm not going to claim that if he were alive today he'd like this particular mix, but I doubt he'd be in here spouting this sort of arbitrary absolutism. posted by kaspen at 1:45 PM on January 18, 2010
I'm not feeling it. Maybe I just love the original Wu-Tang production too much, and these lack the audacity of the Grey Album, IMO.
When i finally heard some of the original Timbaland tracks in the proper context, I thought they sounded lame and cliched.
I respectfully disagree. I don't remember who on MetaFilter introduced me to this clip of Jay-Z hearing the beat for "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" for the first time. It's pretty great, particularly for Jay-Z's face once he hears the beat: you can see the song form in his head. posted by Bookhouse at 1:54 PM on January 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
cheesy, cover versions of the beatles
sample list and cover art at the bottom of this
I thought the covers used were pretty obscure, but I still found most of them online.
I also found most of them more compelling in their way than I did the sonic bibimbap under discussion. I was also disappointed by The Grey Album.
Disliking a genre in any field of creativity does not make one "rigid" or myopic, so I feel vindicated.
'I dislike rap' just sounds like someone saying 'I dislike drama films'. It doesn't make me think they hold strong opinions, it just makes me think they are ignorant and proud of it. There is a lot of rap I do not like, but thankfully I don't have to listen to any of that and can concentrate on the stuff that is out there that is absolutely fantastic. The same applies to pop, jazz, classical, country, rock, blues, metal, electro etc. To say you do not like X speaks of an intense reductionist attitude with no desire to expand your knowledge which is the definition of 'rigid'.
It might take a little work, but the gems are often not played on the radio or on TV. Like I said, it's easier to just consume what you know you like but I find exploration, even at the risk of listening to some music I do not like, worth the eventual discoveries. I basically want to be like John Peel and be excited about a new death metal band when I'm 60.
It's like taking a crayon to a Picasso, or adding lines to a Johnny Mercer song
It's more like Picasso illustrating a Johnny Mercer song. Both are respected and liked artists. Combining them doesn't 'ruin' the other unless done badly or if you are predisposed to disliking it. posted by slimepuppy at 2:24 PM on January 18, 2010 [6 favorites]
It's like taking a crayon to a Picasso, or adding lines to a Johnny Mercer song
I took a crayon to a Picasso
added lines to a Mercer song
poured ketchup on a crème brûlée
played a violin with a gong
sometimes you gotta just shake things up
n' put things where they don't belong
put things where they don't belong
some folks'll say you're doing it wrong
putting things where they don't belong posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:59 PM on January 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Awesomeawesomeawesome. Instantdownload.
DJBC's The Beastles is also worthy of a listen if you can find it. Beatles vs The Beastie Boys. Delicious. posted by AzzaMcKazza at 4:07 PM on January 18, 2010
kaspen: "but I doubt he'd [Piacasso] be in here spouting this sort of arbitrary absolutism". Not that that is what it was, since it was not. Apparently we've gotten to the point here that someone says I dislike "rap" or "heavy metal" or "classical" or "abstract expressionsim," whatever, that makes one "ignorant and proud of it". (as slimepuppy said). That is plainly absurd, it's done here all the time and you know it. And there's never been ANY "arbitrary absolutism" in here. No, not ever. Not even once.
I guess it's more like taking a drama queen to a watercolor. Er, I mean The Prom, but only if there's none of those "RAP BANDS" playing. Geeesh. posted by joe lisboa at 8:28 PM on January 18, 2010
I like everything except Wu Tang and the Beatles. posted by Evilspork at 8:31 PM on January 18, 2010
never has a thread been so thoroughly trolled by two words: rap ugggggghhhh posted by tehloki at 9:12 PM on January 18, 2010
Seekerofsplendor, sorry, I wasn't trying to address the hilarious dismissal of rap as a whole (others have done that to my satisfaction), but rather fumbling to gesture towards what I felt was undue obsessiveness over an arbitrary distinction between inflexible genres. This might be too hoity toity a point to try to make, but I meant something like all artistic production and experimentation is necessarily the manipulation and combination of genres and traditional forms (though granted the mashup is a particularly garish and overt expression of this), and that successful art is often an unlikely or subversive contrast between generic inputs, and that Picasso's work especially (IANAArtHistorian) could be seen as a shocking and unusual manipulation, even violation, of previously established famous artists and movements. So you don't have to dig this mix, and Picasso (our invoked caricature, where did that come from?) might not value it particularly himself, but I would expect him to be the last one reprimanding people for violating some sacrosanct view of the icons of the past being inviolable. I don't know, go read Tradition and the Individual Talent or something. posted by kaspen at 2:38 AM on January 19, 2010
Also, because it sounds so pleasing and delicious, allow me to QFT:
sonic bibimbap posted by kaspen at 2:41 AM on January 19, 2010
It had its moments, but eh. posted by cashman at 7:42 AM on January 19, 2010
kaspen: thanks for a quite erudite response. I appreciated it. "Tradition and the Individual Talent" -- are you referring to the Alex Colville article from Antioch Review? posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:21 AM on January 19, 2010
No it's an essay by T.S. Eliot that's become quite central to Modernism. Here you go. Rereading it now I see it does say what I thought it did, the importance of the relation of the poem to other poems by other authors, and ... the conception of poetry as a living whole of all the poetry that has ever been written. However, there is perhaps still leeway for judgment in his philosophy, in which case let the "meh"s continue!
In a peculiar sense he will be aware also that he must inevitably be judged by the standards of the past. I say judged, not amputated, by them; not judged to be as good as, or worse or better than, the dead; and certainly not judged by the canons of dead critics. It is a judgment, a comparison, in which two things are measured by each other. To conform merely would be for the new work not really to conform at all; it would not be new, and would therefore not be a work of art. And we do not quite say that the new is more valuable because it fits in; but its fitting in is a test of its value—a test, it is true, which can only be slowly and cautiously applied, for we are none of us infallible judges of conformity. We say: it appears to conform, and is perhaps individual, or it appears individual, and may conform; but we are hardly likely to find that it is one and not the other. posted by kaspen at 2:25 PM on January 19, 2010
I don't know what trickster posted that video you link to; here's the original. posted by e.e. coli at 6:45 PM on January 19, 2010
kaspen: Thanks very much; that was kind of you to include the quote. I will read this with great delight, being a long-time T.S. Eliot reader. (BTW did you know that he and Groucho Marx were letter-writing correspondents? Quite strange, yet logical in its way. posted by Seekerofsplendor at 7:01 PM on January 19, 2010
And....it's already gone. posted by inigo2 at 10:10 AM on January 23, 2010
And....it's already gone.
Wu Tang Clan wuddn' nuttin' ta fuck wid. posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:39 PM on January 23, 2010
This tops my list for 2010 !
posted by dawdle at 8:27 PM on January 17, 2010