YouTube Mashups

Terry Williams showed me this great video.  The artist takes samples (audio and video) from YouTube videos and remixes them to create new mashups.  The wealth of audio and video available online allows producers to extend the sampling model of music composition that hip hop started in the 80s with albums like the Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique.  This was also featured on NPR’s All Things Considered.  Thanks for the pointer Terry!

It’s official, I’m old and unhip

I live in an apartment complex above an outdoor shopping center in Arlington, VA.  There’s a lot of foot traffic because my neighborhood has all the conveniences a modern yuppie could ever ask for: Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble, Crate & Barrel, an Apple Store, Williams & Sonoma (there are a lot of ampersands around here).  Well, this shoppig center pipes music out of speakers by all the trees to provide a nice ambiance for shoppers.  Today on my walk to get lunch they were playing “Epic” by Faith No More and on my way back from lunch they were playing “Bad Luck” by Social Distortion.  Now, I’d like to think that the planners and managers of this shopping center are ultra-hip punk rock badasses, but unfortunately it’s more likely that two of my favorite bands from high school are now considered “easy listening”.    It’s a sad day for my ego…