Dancing, Mashups, and Missy Elliot's Unstoppable Kung-Fu

Last Saturday night was off the chain.

Turns out, one of my favorite Mash-up Dj's (assemblers?, synthers?, Grafters? - what is the term for someone who makes a mash-up?) DJ Freddy, The King of Pants lives in Seattle and hosts a mashup and illegal music dance party at my favorite places to go out - the Re-bar - every 3rd Saturday. This is sort of like being a new convert to catholicism, who lives in Rome, and is thinking about joining the priest-hood being informed that the Pope, in fact, lives down the street.

Dj Freddy is a a super nice sweet-heart! We got there sort of early and I went straight to the booth and let him know I was so excited and I had just put his "Badd To Me" on my latest Ugata disc, before I knew he was from here - and he immediately added it to the mix...DOPE!

So we and the crew went and danced for Approx 2 and 75/100ths of an hour. It was fantastic. But the mash-up dance party has a inherent - i don't wanna say flaw - but you know how to fly a plane has to over come the drag that the atmosphere produces? that same atmosphere that allows the plane to fly? it's kind've like that.

Mash-ups are great cause they re-contexualize the familiar, and the juxtaposition factor can be thrilling - but it can also distance from the core initial response we have to it. For example, i was struck by how well the underlying rythmn of "Come as you Are" works as a dance beat - but doesn't sound like a traditional dance rythmn. And I was boogie-ing away - but then, i realized I was thinking about the music too - so not really lost in the dance sort of vibe.

That to me indicates that, at least for me, a Mashup can be much more cerebral than kinetic, in a sense. Of course, the more seamless and alarming the juxtaposition - that is, the more skill fully the mashup is executed - the less this is an issue. But it does mean that a mashup dj needs to be on point, in a way that a regular dance music creator doesn't.

Also - sometimes it seems the juxtaposition can be a hindrance to "getting the party started" We might all be philistines, but there was a palpable surge of energy on the dance floor when a mashup had a section of song that was just a pure source from one track. There was a sense of releif and of "HEY! this is what i recognize!" feeling - when the both lobes of our brains had been furiously listening, dancing, investigating, remembering, and processing flipped over to - "YAY! this is the music AND the chorus to the same Madonna song! WOOO! let's boogie a little harder!"

Don't let this make you think that mashups aren't good to dance to. We're going back next time frankenboot drops at the rebar. It was mad fun and the experience needs to be repeated over and over again.

Seriously. It was fun and we'll be back. More to come!

Also - Missy Elliot sounds incredible rapping over Any, and Everything.