With all different types of genres and views on music, there can never really be a type of sound that is universally known as the music of today. However, music that reaches out to a wide variety of people and is generally well-accepted can be viewed as the music of today. Various genres make up this music. Wether it is rock, hip hop, classical, or electronic; these genres make up most of what people in our world listen to today. Nevertheless, there is one particular genre of music that combines all different genres into one, eclectic, form of music. This genre of music is commonly known as the mashup song. Mashups are songs that are created from the mixing and combining of various beats and other songs together to form one track. This can be done using simple computer software. The first step in creating a mashup is brainstorming different songs and vocals that you want to use in your track. The next step is choosing which program to use to create the mashup. Generally, any music mixing software can be used, however, one of the simplest and most common programs used is MacBook's Garage Band. The next step is to copy the songs into the program and lay them over each other. This is usually the hardest step in the mashup process due to the difficulty many people face when trying to incorporate the different songs together in a way that makes it sound as if its one single song. The third step is to incorporate different sounds and beats into the track. What this means is that the creator creates his own beats and rhythms to accompany the already mashed up songs. The final step when creating a mashup should be tweaking the final product. This can mean that the creator edits the pitches, tempo, and other key characteristics of the song to ensure that the final product sounds fluid and is put together flawlessly. Although they have have been around from as early as the 1950s, they have become increasingly popular from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Some notable mashup artists that are pioneers in this field are DJ BC, Girl Talk, The Keptones, Max Tannone, and Milkman. These artists have laid the foundation for this ever so popular and growing genre of music. Their music combines the most popular hip-hop, pop, and electronic, and rock songs together to form their music. Many times these songs are mashed together with electronic/techno beats. The mashup we created for class combines some of the most popular songs in the last few years. The vocals used are added to various mashed up electro/pop beats. The mashup was created in three movements. The first movement is a combination of Hans Zimmer's song called “Time” laid over a beat we created on garage band that combines a electronic beat. We then move to a more hip-hop influenced beat and vocal by using the popular hip-hop song “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz. After this short section we follow it with the third movement which has a pop/techno type of sound. We use the song “Hey Sexy Lady” by iSquare. We added a electronic beat with this to keep the pop/hip-hop sound. In this one song, we combined three very distinct and different types of sounds to create one catchy and ever so popular song.
What makes these mashups so popular today is that they are not limited to use the musical techniques that are found in one single song. They can sample techniques from various tracks and incorporate them into one single song. This is the reason that they often seem to jump around from various beats and vocals, giving the listener a wide variety of style of music to listen to throughout one single song. The ability the DJ has to recycle music that is thought to be “good” while still adding other instrumentals, vocals, and songs to place an original spin on the track is what makes mashups so unique. Mixing and mashing the most popular sounds of today can only make for something that is going to be just as recognizable and enjoyable to the listeners as the original pieces themselves. This is why the mashup is slowly encompassing what we think of as the music of today.