Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Top Eleven: Songs From The Best Of Bootie

I'm a pretty huge fan of remixes, mash-ups, and other alternative takes of popular music.  Take a death metal hit and put it to slow jazz music, and I'm all over that.

So when I first discovered the Best of Bootie Albums you have to know I was all over that.

So here I'm going to count down my eleven favorite songs from the past nine years of "best of" compilations.

These might not be the best, but they're my favorites.  Starting with...




11)  Best of 2007 - DJ Earworm - Funky Goes To Hollywood



(Yes, this is the 2011 edition, but hush)

This, honestly, was the first mash-up I ever found online.  I heard a few before on the radio, back when radio stations thought playing dance music through the night was a great idea (do they still do that, or is it all just Billy Bush and Ryan Seacrest these days?).

It has a special place because it's the first one I really heard and opened a lot of doors for me to explore.

10) Best of 2012 - Mighty Mike vs. VIC - Michael83 Down Under



I'm a huge fan of both of these groups (I think there's also some INXS in there, isn't there?).  To have them blend together this perfectly...well, listening to it is something I do just when I absolutely want to smile.

9)  Best of 2008 - Lobsterdust - It's Fun To Smoke Dust



Okay, to mash two songs together...that's one thing.  And it takes a lot of talent.

However, to mash-up a church sermon about a song and the song it's about...that takes some ridiculous levels of talent.

8)  Best of 2011 - Lobsterdust - Roll It



Something I particularly love is when they take songs from different eras and blend them together.  Plus, I'm a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, so having them in this was just a bonus.

Speaking of mixing up songs from different eras...

7)  Best of 2010 - Go Home Productions - Smells Like Rockin' Robin




I'm sorry, but if liking that song is wrong, I don't want to be right.

6)  Best of 2008 - DJ Earworm - If I Were A Free Fallin' Boy



Every now and again while listening to mash-ups, I can't help but wonder what the intent of the message is.  Are the DJs doing their best to blend together things that really have no business being put together, or are they making a statement about how, when you break it down, a lot of music is simply interchangeable and there's few artists doing anything truly original?

(This isn't to say we need more artists like Yoko Ono, but I hope you get my point)

Out of all the songs on this list, I can't think of one that is so perfectly blended as a song by Beyonce and Tom Petty.  It's just pure art and manages to come around as a unique song all on its own.

5)  Best of 2009 - Party Ben - Single Ladies (In Mayberry)

Speaking of songs that really shouldn't go well together and Beyonce...




4)  Best of 2010 - Titus Jones - I Wanna Bulletproof Dancer




Some of the best ones I've found are ones that introduce me to completely new artists.  I had never heard of Robyn or La Roux up to that point, and an artist managed to use them to make me tolerate a bit of Taylor Swift in a song.

Well done, Titus Jones.

3)  Best of 2010 -DJs From Mars - Enter Telephone




Hey, it took a song I was sick of and a group I never really liked and made them into something I do like!

Well done, DJs From Mars.

2)  Best of 2006 - Divide and Kreate - Always With You


That's right, not every mash-up is a dance song.  This one's just sweet and tender, and I somehow suspect it was harder to make than almost any other song here (except maybe for the Mayberry one).

1)  Best of 2006 Bonus Track - Disfunctional DJ - You're The One That I Want In The Next Episode

Yes, I'm cheating, but just listen to how good this is.



I really want to believe that Snoop Dogg has enough of a sense of humor that at some point in a concert he's start playing this and sing along to it.

Runners Up:

Best of 2013 - pomDeter - Call Me A Hole



Can you help but smile while listening?

Best of 2007 - Party Ben - Galvanize The Empire




I'm a nerd.  I think I'm obligated to put this one.

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