Bootie Blog

Bootie Top 10 - March 2010

2010-03-04T01:59:00.001-08:00

We're pressed for time this month, as we've got Bootie Berlin's DJ Morgoth here in California for the week, ~~so we're just going to cut the blather and do a quick intro instead. Besides, does anyone even bother to even read our blurbs, or do you guys just skip it and get straight to the downloads?~~ (Leave comments below to let us know!)

UPDATE: Okay, so you guys let us know, and it seems that at least a few of you appreciate the blurbs. So we've updated this Bootie Top 10 with our comments for each track.

Anyway, we've actually got twelve (count 'em, 12!) tracks for you, due to having two "Double Shots," the first featuring Kate Bush (including an interesting hybrid mashup/cover from UK artist Dan Black) and the second featuring Chicago's The Hood Internet (we couldn't decide between STV SLV and ABX, so we just picked both!) We've also got a couple of "Bootie Exclusives" for you -- mashups you won't find anywhere else -- as well as a bunch of other gems, including tracks both brand-new and a couple months old (which gives us enough time to determine that they're fantastic Bootie party tracks!

Enjoy, and start right-clickin'! – A+D

DOUBLE SHOT: Kate Bush
Apollo Zero - I'm Ready & Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush vs. Kano) - New Orleans
Dan Black - Get Into Cloudbusting (Kate Bush vs. Dan Black covering Madonna) - UK
We're both big fans of Kate Bush, so we when had the opportunity to do a "double shot" of mashups that feature the iconic '80s British songstress, we couldn't resist. The first gives her biggest hit, "Running Up That Hill," a nice disco backbeat, while the second is an inspired mashup/cover hybrid from Dan Black, who sings Madonna's "Get Into The Groove" over a remixed version of "Cloudbusting."

Bassnectar - Where Is My Mind? (Bassnectar Remix) (The Pixies vs. Bassnectar) - San Francisco
This starts off innocuously enough, womming and throbbing away before mutating into the most heavy electro breakbeat version of the Pixies you've ever heard. Seeing as that Bassnectar is probably the "biggest name DJ" to come out of the Burning Man scene, we can't help but imagine this blasting out of a ginormous sound system out on the playa at dawn. "Where is my mind?" ... indeed!

DJ BC - Could You Be Love Gamed? (Bob Marley vs. Lady Gaga) - Boston BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
There haven't been very many killer mashups of "Love Game," but here, Bootie Boston's DJ BC rectifies that situation, making an unlikely lyrical connection between Lady Gaga and Bob Marley. Could this be love?

Copycat - I Was Made For A Heavy Cross (Kiss vs. The Gossip) - Sweden
Kiss is a rock band that dabbled in disco back when it was originally popular in the '70s. The Gossip are quite a different rock band that -- like many of their indie-rock contemporaries -- are also currently dabbling in disco. So why NOT put these two together? Apparently, disco is NOT dead!

The Face Melters - Ice Ice Tik Tok (Vanilla Ice vs. Ke$ha) - San Francisco BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
The debut track from The Face Melters, a collaboration between frequent Bootie Top 10 contributor DJ Fox and his accomplice Kool Karlo. What can we say that Pop Wrap's Ryan Brockington at the New York Post hasn't already said? "The dollar store version of Lady Gaga, both in name spelling and song yelling, has recently been pureed with one of the '80s most quintessential bleach-tipped rappers ... take a moment to accept the fact that Ke$ha may just be the Vanilla Ice of our era. Yikes."

DOUBLE SHOT: The Hood Internet
ABX of The Hood Internet - Ignition (Keep It Remixing Louder) (R. Kelly vs. Major Lazer) - Chicago
STV SLV of The Hood Internet - I Ain't That Earthquake (Wallpaper. vs. Little Boots) - Chicago
We couldn't pick just one! Besides, we didn't want to play favorites between The Hood Internet's ABX and STV SLV, so they get one each here ... and when both tracks are this good, why not? R. Kelly gets some hipster cred mashed-up with Major Lazer, and speaking of hipster cred, you get a double dose of both with STV SLV's combo of two very-now "bands of the moment."

The Kleptones - Welcome Back (Guns N' Roses vs. Chemical Brothers vs. LFO vs. Basement Jaxx vs. Missy Elliott) - Brighton, UK
The Chemical Brothers always approached dance music with very big, rock 'n' roll beats (hence the term "big beat") so it actually makes kinda perverse sense that The Kleptones would mash them (and several others) up with some classic Guns 'N Roses. This is a special unmixed, "single" version - the original appears on their new mashup album Upside/Downside.

MadMixMustang - Take Me On The Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne vs. a-ha) - The Netherlands
We gotta admit -- the first time we played this at Bootie, we weren't really sure how it was gonna go over. But we shouldn't have worried -- this is the classic sort of A+B mind-fuck mashup that made Bootie's reputation. In fact, it's mashups like this that originally made us fall in love with the genre to begin with.

DJ Tripp - How Low In The House (Ludacris vs. Steve Aoki) - Santa Cruz, CA
We're loving the new Ludacris single, and it's even better coupled with some bangin' electro dance-floor beats, mashed together courtesy of Bootie regular, DJ Tripp, whose output has been nothing but quality as of late.

The White Panda - Fireflies Goin' Down (Yung Joc vs. Owl City) – Chicago/Los Angeles
The White Panda mixtape amply proves that you can pretty much plop a rap vocal over just about ANYTHING, which unfortunately makes most hip-hop mashups sound a bit trite and uninspired ... and not really all that edgy. This track however, is a notable exception, adding some much-needed dirty street-cred to the overly-precious sicky-sweet sounds of that damn "Fireflies" song. Catchy as all get out. Meet me at Bootie ... it's goin' down!

Stop the war on fun in San Francisco!

2010-02-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

We've been meaning to write about this for a while, but then we just came across the following blog post from Nightlifewars that puts it all in perspective quite well. We've re-posted it here in its entirety:

This one night at the DNA Lounge...

Last Saturday my hubby and I decided to drop in on Bootie SF's triumphant return to the DNA Lounge. We got dropped off by a friend, and noticed two odd things: first, several police cars parked in front of Butter, and lots of officers on the street. The next thing I noticed was that there was no line at the DNA, even though it was midnight, prime time for people to show up for Bootie. Knowing what I know is going on with SF nightlife, I just chalked it up to some SFPD BS. Sure enough, a quick check of the DNA Lounge blog told me the whole ugly story. The DNA is in for weekly harassment, Butter got shut down, and the cops also pestered the patrons of Mist down the street. Officer Larry Bertrand waved his proverbial nightstick around, and evidently intends to keep doing so till all the clubs on 11th Street are driven out of business.

I've testified in front of the board of supervisors on this issue, and now I have written to the mayor as well. Mayor Newsom calls San Francisco an event-positive city. Evidently, Larry Bertrand and the SFPD are attempting to prove him wrong. Here is what I said to Mayor Newsom. If you are reading this, please write to him as well.

"Hi Mayor Newsom,
I will get to the point quickly. Why are the SFPD officers conducting Gestapo tactics at some of the best-run nightclubs and bars in San Francisco? What on Earth is happening in South of Market? Is there anything you can do to reign in Officer Larry Bertrand's one-man campaign to kill nightlife in San Francisco? How do tourists who have heard of Bootie, or other world-class nightclub entertainment in SF, react when the see a police mob? NOT SPEND MONEY is what. What's more, why do I even know Officer Bertrand's name? The horror stories I have heard of his tromping on the Constitutional rights of both patrons and club owners is chilling. And where the hell was Officer Bertrand during the Suede club killing? No doubt harassing clubs South of Market.

Are you powerless in the situation, or do you simply not care? Do you really want the death-knell of nightlife in San Francisco to be your lasting legacy to the city as mayor? Don't talk to me about Suede. Badly-run clubs that tolerate thugs are going to have such problems. But the DNA? Slim's? Butter? What is particularly fiendish about the targeting of the DNA is that they are a very gay-friendly nightclub and provide a safe and fun environment to dance and have fun after 10pm. If this is the way a place like DNA gets treated, (i.e., police harassment and weekly "sidewalk-blocking" tickets that get thrown out by a judge), what hope is there for the other legitimate nightlife businesses in San Francisco?

Please do something. We need leadership from the Mayor's office on this.

Sincerely,"

A+D interviewed in SF Weekly's "Hey DJ!" column

2010-02-12T13:19:00.000-08:00

Bootie's creators and DJs Adrian & Mysterious D got a nice little interview in this week's SF Weekly "Hey DJ!" column.

As the writer succinctly puts it: "On the eve of their red-themed Valentine's Day party, A Plus D teach us about making the perfect mashup, crafting a successful club night, and falling in love with classic rock through freshly mashed singles."

Check it out here!

Bootie Top 10 - February 2010

2010-02-02T02:54:00.000-08:00

We skipped the month of January, since we had just put out the Best of Bootie 2009 CD. But damn, there was such an abundance of good material these past two months, that we easily could have put together a Top 20 instead of a Top 10! But we're just gonna save the rest for March... Right-click to download!

A Plus D - Don't You Want My Bad Romance (Lady Gaga vs. Human League) - San Francisco
We knew we were taking a gamble when we went ahead and put this on the "Best of Bootie 2009" CD -- barely a week before the end of year! Sure, call us biased ... but fortunately, we've been getting tons of great feedback and reports of hearing this track in clubs and at parties everywhere! Lady Gaga goes New Wave! And it sounds like both artists need some serious relationship counselling. :-)

DJ Jay-R of C.H.A.O.S. Productions - Ke$ha Just Wants To Have Fun (Ke$ha vs. Cyndi Lauper) - Oakland
Just listen to the lyrics of Ke$ha's "Tik Tok," and really, isn't is basically just a raunchier, more updated version of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" anyway? This track is fun, flirty, and ready to rock the party. A much-welcome comeback for Oakland's own DJ Jay-R.

Jeff Jones - Party In The Empire State (Jay-Z & Alicia Keys vs. Miley Cyrus) - Boston
For our first Bootie NYC party in three months, we just KNEW we had to drop a mashup of the instantly-iconic "Empire State of Mind." Only one problem ... there weren't that many out there! But mere minutes before we left for the party, we found this simple-yet-effective A+B. And let's face it, with Miley name-dropping Jay-Z, coupled with the whole "hands up" vibe of both songs, these two were obviously meant to be together!
NEW YORK CITY BONUS TRACK!
Purple Crush - NYC Bad Girl Lovegame (Purple Crush vs. Lady Gaga) - Los Angeles
We're feeling the love with New York lately, perhaps due to the fact that we unexpectedly had our biggest Bootie party ever there -- over 840 people! It was crazy, so we're throwing in an NYC-inspired bonus track, created by Purple Crush, a Brooklyn-based electro duo who recently moved to LA. We love it when artists mash up their own tunes!

The Kleptones - Cubikini (Bikini Kill vs. 808 State) - Brighton, UK
From the album Upside/Downtime
This is the soundtrack of our lives back in the early '90s, where a typical weekend might consist of going to see a Riot Grrrl girl band play at some trashy punk club down the street, before heading out to an all-night rave in a warehouse on the outskirts of town. Did The Kleptones do the same thing? We love hearing surprising and rarely (if ever) used source material in a mashup, such as Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl."

DJ Le Clown - Billie Bootie Lazer (Michael Jackson vs. Major Lazer) - Paris
For the record, Adrian HATES Major Lazer, finding its bloops and bleets incredibly annoying. D, on the other hand, loves the crazy sampling sounds and ridiculous rhythms. But here, we find some middle ground, as MJ gives a jolt of familiar melodicism to the modern, oh-so-hipster, "lazer" sound.

MadMixMustang - Is This Digital Love? (Bob Marley vs. Daft Punk) - The Netherlands
Here's another mashup that we like, in spite of its source material. Neither one of us are especially big fans of reggae -- but Daft Punk sounds so shockingly well-suited paired up with Bob Marley, taking an electronic jam and turning it into anthem of love and unity. It's the dance floor equivalent of "warm fuzzies."

Marc Johnce - Mr. Crowley Might Like It Louder (Ozzy Osbourne vs. Dada, Obernik & Harris vs. Amanda Blank vs. Major Lazer) - Germany
We love it when hard rock artists from the '80s get the electro-dance bootleg treatment, especially when they sound as bangin' as this. How awesome is Ozzy's "Mr. Crowley" for a dark Electro-Bootie set? Dude, it rocks.

Mashup-Germany - Sexy Bitch In Memphis (Akon vs. Justin Timberlake vs. Robyn vs. The Eagles vs. Cher vs. David Guetta) - Germany
Can rap lyrics get any more shallow and ridiculous? What's left to do but take them and mash them up with other artists, both probable (Hi, Justin!) and highly unlikely (OMG, the Eagles!). A nice multi-mash from hot newcomer Mashup-Germany.

DJ Morgoth - Any Way You Want My Woman (Journey vs. Wolfmother vs. MSTRKRFT) - Berlin
Wherein, Bootie Berlin's own DJ Morgoth discovers the awesomeness of a classic American arena rock band from the '80s by mashing up a song of theirs that came out before he was even born! See? Journey's music really is the new Great American Songbook! And it sounds hot mashed-up with the Aussie retro-rock of Wolfmother remixed into a sexy groove by hipster heroes MSTRKRFT. Both these bands love the ladies ... it's oh-so-rock-n-roll!

Winkar Lopez - Shots (Hands Up Bootleg) (LMFAO feat. Lil Jon vs. Winkar Lopez) - Mexico City
As unapologetic and unironic fans of MTV's "Jersey Shore," we have a soft spot for LMFAO, who not only did the show's theme song, but whose commercial for "Shots" practically became the show's OTHER theme song. Winkar Lopez's bootleg remix will have you "beating up the beat" and fist-pumping like a true guido! "Shotshotshotsshotshots... EVERYBODY!!!"

AND IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK:
DJ Earworm - United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It On The Pop) (Mashup of the Top 25 Hit Songs of 2009 According to Billboard Magazine) - San Francisco
What can we say that we haven't already? Mashup of the year, literally. This should be put in a time capsule for 2009. It's got over 10 million views on YouTube, it was listed as #1 on the "Must List" in Entertainment Weekly, and Earworm was profiled on CNN.com . It's an epic tour de force that, with its widespread mainstream attention, doesn't just elevate the mashup artform -- it takes it to a new level of legitimacy. Bravo!

DJ Earworm's "United State of Pop 2009" on CNN.com ... and Bootie gets name-dropped!

2010-01-27T23:25:00.000-08:00

Hopefully by now, you're already familiar with DJ Earworm's utterly epic United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It On The Pop), his year-end masterpiece that mashes together the top 25 songs of 2009 (as ranked by Billboard magazine) into one insanely brilliant, 4-1/2-minute pop creation. This is now Earworm's third year in a row doing this, and it's by far his best yet.

For one thing, he doesn't simply mash up unrelated bits and pieces of songs together into a big sonic stew. Instead he has taken individual words and phrases from the lyrics and has intricately crafted entirely new verses and choruses. In effect, he has created a NEW SONG, one that carries a message of hope and perseverance in tough times -- "No need to worry, just pick back up when you’re tumbling down, down, down (down, " It's uplifting and beautiful, and we'd be lying if we didn't say that we actually get a little choked up sometimes when we hear it!

Earworm recently posted a color-coded lyric sheet, so you can see just how cut up and manipulated his work really is. It's seriously Type-A!

The video he posted to YouTube went viral within a few days -- which probably explains the extensive FAQ in the "more info" section of the video's page -- and right now it's fast approaching 10 million views. He's been written up by major media outlets the world over, and two days ago, CNN.com ran a major interview with him.

Check out the DJ Earworm interview here -- and notice that Adrian from Bootie gets name-dropped in the fourth paragraph, answering the "how did you get started" question! Thanks, Jordan! :-) We vividly remember meeting him for the first time at Bootie, back in April 2004 when we were just a monthly Wednesday at the tiny Cherry Bar in San Francisco. We became fast friends and introduced him to the wider world of mashup culture on the internet ... and the rest, as they say, is history!

Needless to say, we are incredibly proud of Earworm, and his newfound wider popularity is much deserved and long overdue! And yes, he'll be playing feature sets at Bootie SF and Bootie LA very soon!

"NirGaga" forced to be removed from Best of Bootie 2009 CD

2010-01-10T23:29:00.000-08:00

Bootie just received its first "cease-and-desist" letter, for DJ Lobsterdust's "NirGaga" (Nirvana vs. Lady Gaga) track on the Best of Bootie 2009 CD:

--------------------------------------------------------------
To Whom It May Concern:
EMI Entertainment World, Inc. ('EMI") is the owner and/or administrator of certain copyrighted content which is currently being reproduced, displayed, transmitted and distributed without authorization on www.bootiemashup.com (the "Site"), including, without limitation, a sample and download of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana (the "Copyrighted Work"). The unauthorized reproduction, display, transmission and distribution via the Internet of the Copyrighted Work without our express permission constitutes copyright infringement in violation of Title 17 U.S. Code, Section 106(a) of the Copyright Act of 1976, and other international copyright laws.
http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2009/
This e-mail shall serve as EMI's good faith notice to you that you are to immediately remove the Copyrighted Work, “Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana as well as any other unauthorized EMI material. Once the Copyrighted Work, has been removed from the Site, please send us written confirmation of the same.
This notice is written without prejudice to the rights and remedies of EMI and its songwriters at law or at equity, all of which we hereby expressly reserve. Thank you.

Infringement Compliance Unit │ EMI Music Publishing
a: 75 Ninth Avenue │ 4th Floor │ New York, NY 10011
www.emimusicpub.com
--------------------------------------------------------------

We find it interesting that while "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is probably one of the most mashed-up songs out there, it took someone using Kurt Cobain's vocals and lyrics rather than the iconic instrumentation to bring about a "Copyright Infringement Notice."

We have complied with the request and have since replaced the track with one of the bonus tracks, DJ Moule's "Hey, C La Vie," which just narrowly missed the original cut of the album.

This now means that the original version of the Best of Bootie 2009 CD is now a collector's item!

This also allowed us to add DJ Schmolli's "The Trooper Believer" (Iron Maiden vs. The Monkees) as an additional bonus track.

To read or post comments, click here.

Party & Bullshit (In The USA) on FuckAdvocacy.com

2010-01-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

Hathbanger - Party & Bullshit (In The USA) (Notorious B.I.G. vs. Miley Cyrus

So many people get it wrong, that it's awesome when someone gets it right.

Below is a copy of a blog post from Cyle Gage at FuckAdvocacy.com, wherein he explains eloquently not just why mashups are awesome, but why Hathbanger's Bootie hit, Party & Bullshit (In The USA) is particularly awesome.

What’s Wrong, And How To Do It Right
by Cyle Cage

Listen to the motherfucking awesome song. Party & Bullshit (In the USA) (Notorious B.I.G. vs Miley Cyrus) For those fools who are unfamiliar, this is from Best of Bootie 2009, an annual album comprised entirely of amazing bootleg mashups. Why is it especially awesome? Because through their music, they transform culture. Really, they take normally earsplitting mainstream shit, smash it together like they do in the goddamn LHC, and transmute it into danceable, art-worthy brilliance.

But I’m singling out “Party & Bullshit (In the USA)” for a reason. The reason is simple and fairly obvious, but I want to explain it for those who don’t pick up on it immediately. This song is taking something that’s doing it wrong and making it right. I like to complain about what’s wrong, but some things deserve a break to be commended. Especially if it’s transformative. So what’s wrong? Miley Fucking Cyrus, that’s what. Honestly, I had never listened (or known that I was listening) to a Miley Cyrus song before this one, mostly because I figured she’d sound just like those other girls. I was wrong. She’s worse.

What I love about this mashup is the contrast, and it’s that satire which makes the music work so well. The song opens with big’s amazingly harsh, thick rap, which I love for its rough honesty. But there’s a nice, light dance beat (like most bootie songs). Talking about smoking blunts at 13 and getting shot at. Then from nowhere, some autotuned 12-year-old’s grating high-pitched voice slices the song up with some bullshit about a Jay-Z song? Putting your hands up? Butterflies? Moving your hips? Aren’t you illegal in most countries, little girl? Party in the USA? This is fucking bullshit, I can’t think of worse lyrics. (And I lived through Staind, Nickleback, and Evanescence.)

And then more of big’s fucking killer lyrics. You read this shit? Compared to modern music, this is Hemingway. NWA might as well be Longfellow, Thoreau, and Emerson. I’m not the biggest fan of rap in the world, but I have a lot of respect for a guy who can stick to a rhyming scheme like it’s nothing. (Yes, biggie rhymes “out” with itself, but Dylan Thomas did that too sometimes.) I have a great deal more respect for motherfuckers like Snoop and Ice-T who rhyme about killing people than anybody who writes a pop love ballad. Poetic conventions in such violent situations? Brilliant. Scare kids into thinking poetry is cool, it works.

The killer, and my favorite part of the song, is big’s swaying jive in the background of Miley’s chorus. Turn it up and listen to it. Party… and bullshit. Party… and bullshit. Fuck Miley Cyrus and her fucking voice. She is what’s wrong. But biggie, even though he’s fucking dead, is making it right.

Vindication?

2010-01-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

We've gotta admit, we're starting to feel vindicated!

Seven years ago, everyone thought our little mashup hobby was just a silly underground fad. But in the past week, our little "hobby" has popped up on MTV, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Huffington Post, CNN, and more.

Is the "Best of Bootie 2009" CD a harbinger of where music is going in the new decade?

As tireless torch-bearers of the mashup scene, 2009 was certainly an interesting year for us to watch, what with mashups popping up as a major plot point on the television show Glee, becoming every playable track on the DJ Hero videogame, CNN's Campbell Brown talking about "the mash-up" every night, etc.

Have mashups gone from buzzworthy to simply part of the cultural fabric yet? We'd like to think so. And it will become even moreso as time goes on -- the mashup will go from "guilty pleasure" to simply "pleasure". The "trend" element will be long gone, and hopefully what we'll be left with is just another style of remix for producers and music listeners to choose from.

The song that defines the decade ... is a mashup!

2010-01-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

As we laze around on the first day of the new decade, nursing our hangovers from our epic Bootie New Years Eve party the night before, we find ourselves getting a little reflective. Looking back on not only the past year, but the past decade, we think about where we've been, where we are now, and how we got here. And in regards to Bootie, much of our trajectory can be traced back to one brilliant flashpoint of a mashup.

That mashup is called "A Stroke of Genius," and it was created in 2001 by a bootlegger who went by the name of Freelance Hellraiser. It was one of the first mashups we ever heard, and its importance was paid homage to last night as Bootie SF house band Smash-Up Derby covered it just before midnight, calling it "the mashup of the decade."

But we're not the only ones who have called out this landmark track. Bootie LA's DJ Paul V. said the same thing in his weekly "Mashup of the Week" blog on PopBytes.

But perhaps, most importantly, the UK's influential Guardian newspaper called "A Stroke of Genius" "the song that defines the decade." Although the article's viewpoint is obviously written from an extremely trendy UK perspective – "A Stroke of Genius" never got the kind of massive attention and radio airplay here in the States that it did in the U.K., and as a consequence, the bootleg scene in that country exploded and burnt itself out rather quickly – hence, the writer's erroneous comment that "the musical mashup has waned," which is not only patently not true, but from our experience is quite the opposite! Still, the writer is pretty insightful on many points, which you can read in its entirety here:

Photograph: Marco Dos Santos/Hector Mata/Rex Features/AFP/EPA

When Christina met the Strokes: the song that defines the decade

Looking back at the noughties, Dorian Lynskey examines how a bootleg song, A Stroke of Genius, that never got a legitimate release prefigured all the significant pop trends of the decade

by Dorian Lynskey
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 November 2009 21.45 GMT

When you're sifting through the ashes of a decade in pop, it's very tempting to search for the Important Statement, the song that best sums up The Way We Live Now. (Here's a drinking game for anyone reading end-of-the-00s round-ups: take a shot every time a record is tenuously related to 9/11.) But the most important records are often the ones that don't know they're important. They flare like Roman candles and burn out quickly and, in that brief window of incandescence, they vividly illuminate a moment in time. So the song that seems to tell me most about the decade just ending is not something off Kid A or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but the Freelancer Hellraiser's A Stroke of Genius.

In the autumn of 2001 (wait, don't take that shot), a British producer called Roy Kerr, aka the Freelance Hellraiser, spliced together the music from the Strokes' Hard to Explain with the vocal from Christina Aguilera's Genie in a Bottle and named it A Stroke of Genius – even the title seemed magically serendipitous. In the 1980s and 90s, art-minded mashups by the likes of John Oswald and the Evolution Control Committee tended to highlight the smash-and-grab nature of combining well-known songs, producing satire and subversion from the mismatch. They brokered shotgun marriages; Kerr, however, was more of a benign matchmaker, showing two disparate artists how much they really had in common.

Fittingly, the record plays out like a seduction. In her original song, Aguilera is coquettish and controlled, keeping her sexuality on a tight leash until the right guy comes along, and the music reinforces her restraint by maintaining a slow simmer. "My body's saying let's go," she breathes. "But my heart is saying no." In Julian Casablancas's vocal on Hard to Explain there's another inner battle ("I say the right thing/ But act the wrong way") but, stripped of their singer's hesitancy, the band's itchy sexual energy becomes a "let's go" too strong to resist and Aguilera sounds like she's being swept towards a rendezvous that's both dangerous and delicious.

It's as if the Strokes had heard her line about "hormones racing at the speed of light" and written the music around it. Just before the chorus, her "oh-oh-oh"s swoon into the oncoming embrace of the rising guitars, and the pampered pop princess hooks up with the scruffy hipster from the wrong side of the tracks (never mind that Casablancas was definitely born on the right side: this is pop fantasy, not reality). The combination is so perfect that both original songs, excellent in their own right, suddenly sound incomplete, like two works in progress needing someone to complete them: two genies in different bottles waiting to be rubbed the right way. "Come, come, come and let me out."

As three minutes and 36 seconds of endlessly listenable and danceable pop brilliance, A Stroke of Genius is up there with OutKast's Hey Ya! in the 00s hall of fame (in fact, the two songs can be mixed together with ease) but it also says a lot about what has happened to pop over the past decade. First, there's the means of distribution. A few hundred one-sided seven-inches of Stroke of Genius were independently released, which was enough to provoke a cease-and-desist order from RCA, home to both Aguilera and the Strokes, but almost everyone who heard and acquired the song did so online. Ten years earlier, Kerr's creation would have been a samizdat artefact and you'd probably only have heard it via a tape of a tape of a tape, like copyright-flaunting records by Steinski or the JAMMs, but in 2001 it coincided with an explosion in MP3 blogs and filesharing software. Kerr got a career out of A Stroke of Genius, becoming Paul McCartney's tour DJ and remixer for, among others, Aguilera, but after that initial vinyl run, it didn't directly earn him a penny. Its gratis nature was part of its charm. It showed that illegal downloading could be an outlet for creativity and not just a means of taking for free music that already existed.

Mark Vidier, who made some of the very best mashups under the name Go Home Productions, told the New Yorker: "You don't need a distributor, because your distribution is the internet. You don't need a record label, because it's your bedroom, and you don't need a recording studio, because that's your computer. You do it all yourself." During the early 00s mashup boom, fostered by Eddy Temple-Morris's Xfm show The Remix and blogs such as Boomselection, there were thousands of examples, some so bad they made you doubt the creator's sense of hearing, others so good they were stepping stones to fruitful legitimate careers.

Danger Mouse made his name with 2004's Jay-Z/Beatles soundclash The Grey Album before working with Gorillaz, Gnarls Barkley and Beck. Minor Belgian indie band Soulwax earned themselves a second act via the thrilling mashups they played as their alter ego, 2 Many DJs. And there were dozens of wondrous one-offs. All you needed was one good idea, some freely available software and a basic understanding of how music works and 15 minutes of mashup glory could be yours.

A Stroke of Genius also spoke to a new breed of listener: the voracious hyper-consumer, with MP3s of every song ever recorded at his or her fingertips, whose loyalty is not to a particular scene or style but to the endless quest for the next hit of pleasure, from whatever source. Twenty years ago, there was always one friend who, when asked what he was into, said "a little bit of everything". Now, at least if you're under 35, that friend is you and everyone you know. If the old model of music consumption was the categorised-by-genre record collection, the new one is the iPod shuffle, where old and new, hip and cheesy, rub along just fine.

A Stroke of Genius came out when many indie fans still believed that manufactured pop stank of evil and death, and the idea of Christina Aguilera and the Strokes in perfect harmony was strange. These days there's no contradiction between loving Arcade Fire and loving Britney. In fact, mainstream hits like the Sugababes' About You Now and Kelly Clarkson's Since U Be Gone, blurred the margins,in the style of A Stroke of Genius, by marrying an R&B-trained vocal to a Strokesian metronomic chug.

While Sean Rowley's Guilty Pleasures night was busy rescuing Wings and ELO from years of ignominy, a similar process was taking place on a massive scale with new releases. "Do I like this?" superseded "Should I like this?" as the music fan's automatic response to new music. As Jody Rosen wrote in Slate, "Maybe the real guilty pleasure in [the 00s] is gluttony." This utopia of open-minded listening comes at a price – the old tribal tug-of-war that once made the top 40 a gripping battleground of rival factions with occasional guerrilla forays from leftfield; the sense that liking a certain kind of music was crucial to your cultural identity – but most of us now inhabit it, for good or ill.

The third crucial thing that A Stroke of Genius and its ilk did was to forge musical alliances so blatantly. Mashup pioneer John Oswald insisted 20 years ago that "the plundering has to be blatant." His foe was copyright, which he considered a cage around creativity, but the mashup producers applied the same principle to apolitical ends. As pop's history becomes more overwhelming (and, thanks to the internet and reunion tours, ever-present), originality gets harder with every passing year. So instead of copying old bands and hoping the audience either doesn't know or doesn't care who's being imitated, the mashup producers played games with pop's back catalogue, often with more wit and ingenuity: you could argue that Richard X's mashup of Gary Numan and Adina Howard, released legitimately as the Sugababes' 2002 hit Freak Like Me, made more imaginative use of early 80s synth-pop than anything on La Roux's album.

The form reached its manic apex, or perhaps reductio ad absurdum, with the work of Pennsylvanian DJ Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, whose albums suggest the view from a bullet-train window as it speeds past countless pop landmarks. Much of the listener's pleasure derives from recognising the source material and seeing pop as a fluid continuum, teeming with potential connections. Even though the musical mashup has waned, the YouTube equivalent thrives (just ask Oliver Hirschbiegel, the director of Downfall), and recently produced its own answer to Girl Talk with Rev Diva Schematic's The Golden Age of Video, which cuts up famous movie dialogue to form a rhyming lyric.

But, as with Girl Talk, it's both a remarkable achievement and a dead end. Both projects rely on a set of shared reference points, largely from an era when certain cultural artefacts were unifyingly successful, and consume them like a reckless oil driller bleeding a well dry. Pop, and pop culture, can only eat itself for so long before all you're left with is bones.

Little, if any, of this was going through Roy Kerr's head when he thought it would be a cool idea to match up two songs he liked but, in retrospect, they are all threads waiting to be unpicked. A Stroke of Genius is an accidental prophecy, a signpost pointing in an unforeseen direction. It came out during the first throes of enormous changes in the way music is heard and consumed, not all of them entirely welcome or boding well for the future, which makes it all the sweeter that the song is about velocity, ambivalence and the potential danger of surrendering to pleasure. Looking back, it feels like digital music was the genie in the bottle and, now that it's been let out, nobody can put it back in.

A Plus D - Don't You Want My Bad Romance (Lady Gaga vs. Human League)

2009-12-23T00:30:00.000-08:00

After seeing the Lady Gaga show in San Francisco last week, we just HAD to do SOMETHING with "Bad Romance." So here we are, finding common ground between two songs nearly 28 years apart.

Presenting the latest mashup production from A Plus D, where we give early '80s electro-pop pioneers Human League a hot new singer!

"Don't You Want My Bad Romance"
Click here to download

VJ Brewski even made us a video!

Lady GaGa vs. Human League (AplusD MashupMix)
Uploaded by vjbrewski. - Explore more music videos.

A Very Bootie Christmas 2

2009-12-13T15:36:00.000-08:00

It's been three years since our first Bootie holiday mix CD -- that's how long it takes to compile 15 more quality Christmas (and Hanukkah!) mashups! But we've finally released our second holiday mashup compilation! Happy holidays!

Get it here: BootieUSA.com/xmas

There's even a "family-friendly" version of the album which omits our "Xmas Dick In A Box." Here's what's on it.

1. Go Home Productions - High Tides and Blocked Peace Pipes
2. DJ Schmolli - Pumping Up Christmas
3. Dan Phillips - Jingles Are Jingles
4. King Of Pants - Alala Falala Hasselhoff
5. Smash-Up Derby - Christmas Bop
6. Secret Santa - Santa's Silent Bum
7. Voicedude - Dreidel All The Way
8. Voicedude - Black Door Or White Santa
9. Jacqui Naylor - Santa Claus Is Coming To Alabama (A+D Remix)
10. A Plus D - Xmas Dick In A Box
11. DJ BC - Sugar Plum Fairy Coda (Recoda)
12. Little Drummer Bonzo - DJ Topcat
13. Mojochronic - Yuletide Zeppelin
14. Alexkid & DJ Seep - Santa Baby (Remix)
15. Voicedude - It's The Little Things

Bootie Top 10 - December 2009

2009-12-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Sorted alphabetically by bootlegger. Right-click the song titles to get to the downloadin!

Dan Mei - Papillon The One I Love (R.E.M. vs. Editors) - Denmark
R.E.M. gets an indie-electro makeover courtesy of the Editors ... well, actually, courtesy of Danish bootlegger Dan Mei, who skillfully melds these two songs into a dark disco dance-floor banger.

Dave Wrangler - Tardy For The Party (Dave Wrangler Remix) (Kim Zolciak vs. Dave Wrangler) - Houston
Total pop culture detrius from one of the women of the TV show "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," made surprisingly tolerable (and dance-floor-friendly) in this unsanctioned bootleg remix by Houston's Dave Wrangler, who has taken it from silly to dance-floor groovy.

Half Mast/Hat - Poker Faces (Lady Gaga vs. Christopher Walken vs. Eric Cartman) - Phoenix / New York City
From the team who brought you the Lazytown vs. Lil' Jon internet meme "Cooking By The Book," this mashup is more in the style of "celebrity karaoke," but is still ridiculous fun. So simple, so stupid -- but we can't stop quoting it! Adrian always mimics the "Oh!" like Christopher Walken, while D prefers Cartman's "I love it." Be sure to check out the VIDEO!

Hi-brid - Never Gonna Kill Time (The Killers vs. Culture Club vs. Rick Astley) - London
There are a lot of '80s influences in the music of the Killers ... but for some reason, Culture Club isn't one of the bands they name-drop in interviews. But they should! This mashup is for anyone who ever said "The Killers are so gay!" ... and meant it as a compliment!

LeeDM101 - Womanizer On Fire (Kings of Leon vs. Britney Spears vs. Jason Nevins) - U.K.
Speaking of gay ... Kings of Leon have never sounded as gay than they do here, mashed up with the thumping circuit-party dance beats of Britney Spears (as remixed by Jason Nevins). Yet, they still retain their bad-ass anthemic quality.

DJ Lobsterdust - Deceptishot (Pat Benatar vs. Le Tigre) - New York City
Grrrl power from two different decades come together in this underrated gem. The world needs more Pat Benatar (and Le Tigre!) mashups, and here, NYC's DJ Lobsterdust does his best to rectify this unfortunate situation.

Marc Johnce - Three Lonely Paparazzi (Britney Spears vs. Lady Gaga vs. Freemasons) - Germany
Triple the divas = triple the fabulousness. Lady Gaga and Britney Spears both make their second appearances combined with the Freemasons (and their guest diva vocalist) in this finely-crafted sythesis of everything we're loving about pop and electro-house music right now.

Rhythm Scholar - Any Way You Want It (Syntax Error Remix) (Journey vs. Rhythm Scholar) - Chicago
OMG, we love this track so much! We are both unapologetic, un-ironic fans of Journey, so having something besides "Don't Stop Believin" to play for the Bootie dance floor makes us jump up and down and go crazy (and sing at the top of our lungs.) Rhythm Scholar puts his production skills to good use turning this classic rock track into a fabulous electro club banger, primed and ready for the dance floor.

Viper Pilot - Sugalumps (Flight of the Conchords vs. Missy Elliott vs. Busta Rhymes vs. Beastie Boys) - Brisbane, Australia BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
Mixing a parody of a hip-hop song with actual serious hip-hop artists starts to blur the differences between the two. Who's really "real," and who's "frontin'"? Bootie Brisbane's Viper Pilot pairs the New Zealand comedy duo with the real deal, and with some clever cutting-and-pasting back-and-forth, he showcases just how perfectly they nail it! This track will kick your badonkadonk!

DJ Zebra - Get It On My Mind (Marvin Gaye vs. The Pixies) - Paris
Our new "end of the night" song. Not only is this our (and many people's) favorite Pixies song, it also fits perfectly with Marvin Gaye's sexy come-on, so caught up in trying to "get it on," that he might even wonder, "Where is my mind?"

BOOTIE New Years Eve Bootleg Ball in San Francisco!

2009-11-25T20:22:00.001-08:00

OMG!
NYE!
SF!

Bootie Top 10 - November 2009

2009-11-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

Right-click the song titles to get to the downloadin'!

Clivester - To Lose My Touch (Genesis vs. White Lies vs. IZIT) - Vienna, Austria
This has been a bit of a sleeper track, sneaking its way into Adrian's late-night and Electro-Bootie sets over the past six months, and finally making its way into our Top 10. There's just something about hearing Phil Collins go electro that brings a smile to people's faces when they're dancing!

Colorpulse - A Glorious Dawn (Carl Sagan vs. Stephen Hawking vs. John Boswell) - Bellingham, Washington
Sheer awesome beauty. While not strictly a mashup, this track is still pure bootleg, auto-tuning sound bites from Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" and Stephen Hawking's "Universe" series and combining it with John Boswell's atmospheric electronica. It's the first song from The Symphony of Science project, designed to deliver scientific knowledge and philosophy in musical form. Simply put, it gives us chills. Check out the video, which went viral in September.

Glee Cast - It's My Life Confessions, Pt. II (A+D Bootie Edit) (Bon Jovi vs. Usher cover) - Lima, Ohio BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
You know that mashups are finally entering the mainstream consciousness when they become a major plot point in an episode of a network television program. In this case, the kids from the Fox show Glee were challenged to create their own mashup, and it was girls against boys. In the end, both teams were disqualified (watch the "Vitamin D" episode to see why), but in our minds, the boys totally won with their cover of Bon Jovi vs. Usher. Here, we give it the A+D Edit, adding dance beats and re-arranging and extending it, making it suitable for playing out, where it has become an instant Bootie hit.

Hathbanger - Party & Bullshit (In The USA) (Notorious B.I.G. vs. Miley Cyrus) - Boulder, Colorado
We must admit, we have such a soft spot for Biggie ... even more so when he's rapping with Miley Cyrus, making the insufferable pop tart actually listenable. So simple, so cheesy, so wrong ... but oh so right!

The Kleptones - Voodoo Sabotage (Beastie Boys vs. The Prodigy) - Brighton, UK
Are we ready for the retro-'90s revival yet? This track certainly sounds like it! It's been WAY too long since we've heard anything new from The Kleptones, but courtesy of Audio Porn Central, this sneak preview track from their upcoming Upside/Downside album is an excellent banger of a tune that just whets our appetite for what's to come!

Lenlow - Do Your Thing To The Music (Basement Jaxx vs. Sly & the Family Stone vs. MGMT vs. New Pornographers vs. Sweet vs. Led Zeppelin) - Boston
File this one under "forgotten favorite," which we only recently rediscovered when we were compiling mashups for our Bootie 6-Year Anniversary CD ... which came out over three months ago! (Yup, our lag time is in direct proportion to our lack of free time.) Anyway, better late than never, this multi-layered, soulful mashup from Bootie Boston's Lenlow is the last thing he released (over 14 months ago!) and makes us pine for the days when he was releasing tracks on a monthly basis.

DJ Lobsterdust - NirGaga (Nirvana vs. Lady Gaga) - New York City
None of us were really sure about this one at first. Sure, we have a bunch of mashups that use the classic "Smells Like" instrumental. But this was the first one to use the ACAPELLA, and pairing Kurt's anguished vocals with Lady Gaga's pristine pop might have seemed like sacrilege. Yet every time we've played this at Bootie, everyone screams along like mad ... proving once again that despite its grunge pedigree, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" just might be the perfect pop song.

Makaio - You Belong With Me (Makaio's Kanye Club Mix) (Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West) - Utah
"Imma let you finish, but Makaio made one of the best Kanye West/Taylor Swift mashups of all time!" After Kanye unceremoniously interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, it was only a matter of minutes before someone had the idea to mash these two artists together. Simply put, it HAD to be done, and here, Makaio not only does it, but does it well, producing a well-crafted club track out of Taylor Swift's country-teen-pop.

DJ Tripp - Just Stop Believin' (Lady Gaga vs. Journey) - Santa Cruz, CA BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
If there's one thing the Bootie crowd loves, it's singing along to Journey's now-iconic "Don't Stop Believin'" And for years, our own mashup pairing the tune with "Planet Rock" was the definitive Bootie club anthem. But now, we've finally got another contender, courtesy of DJ Tripp, who gives Lady Gaga her second appearance in this month's Top 10. Pure dance floor gold!

DJ Schmolli - Complicated Sex On Fire (Kings Of Leon vs. Avril Lavigne) - Vienna, Austria
Frequent readers of this blog know how much we love the "closing tune" ballad, and this month's slow jam gem is perfect for Bootie SF, where at the end of the night, couples are often seen making out in the corners or on the dance floor. In the haze of a drunken hour, they might think that their "sex is on fire," but we hope the next morning they're not wondering how they made "things so complicated!"

Bootie Top 10 - October 2009

2009-10-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

DJ Axel - Steppin' Out Wherever You Like (T.I. vs. Tony Bennett) - Los Angeles
A fairly extreme genre-clash, which is, after all, the whole reason we got into this "mashup thing" to begin with. How cool does T.I. sound rapping with Tony Bennett? It totally mellows out the thug rapper with a chilled-out lounge vibe. DJ Axel proves that we can have whatever we like!

DJ BC - Everybody's Everyday Girl (Fleetwood Mac vs. Snoop Dogg vs. Kanye West vs. Q-Tip vs. Capleton) - Boston BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE! From the forthcoming Fleetwood Mash album from Radio Clash
We've been waiting forever for Radio Clash's Fleetwood Mash album to come out, and this "Bootie Exclusive" from Bootie Boston's DJ BC has helped fast-track its release ... finally! We've been spinning this in our early sets for months now, and are so glad to not have to keep it to ourselves anymore -- we can now happily share this awesome track with you!

CjR - Call Me Uprising (Blonde vs. Muse) - West Yorkshire, UK
Indie-glam-prog-new wave? Whatever you want to call it, this works for us! We've been LOVING the new stompy Muse single, and having Debbie Harry join the band for this inspired mashup just sweetens the deal. The Muse guitar squeals along with Blondie belting out "Call Me" on the choruses are a match made in mashup heaven.

DJ Earworm - Beautiful Mashup (Sean Kingston vs. DJ Earworm) - San Francisco
DJ Earworm has become THE "go-to" mashup producer for record labels -- you may remember his recent artist-solicited-and-approved Annie Lennox mashup release -- which is how this solid slice of pop collage came to be. Sean Kingston's people wanted all four of his singles combined into one cohesive track, and here is the successful result. Extra points for integrating the Sean Kingston "mashup" lyric into the chorus!

DJ Fox - Here Comes The Lovestepper (Lady Gaga vs. Ini Kamoze) - San Francisco
Guaranteed to kick-start a party! San Francisco's own DJ Fox continues to prove his dance-floor savvy with a crowd-pleasing jam pretty much MADE for the clubs. It's also a nice interplay of these two sexed-up and ready-for-action crooners.

Jells Mayhem of The Illuminoids - Welcome To The Jungle (Serpentine Edit) (Guns N' Roses vs. Jells Mayhem) - Los Angeles
This one is soooooooo Bootie LA! Not that we don't play it at our other parties, but G N'R -- and this song in particular -- just seems to play such a big part in the Los Angleles iconography. Jells Mayhem of The Illuminoids strikes out on his own to produce this thumping electro edit of the '80s hard rock classic, giving it a modern electro makeover while still retaining the integrity of the original.

MadMixMustang - The Ice Cream Mash (Vanilla Ice vs. 20 Fingers vs. Enur feat. Natasja vs. Sesame Street) - The Netherlands
Some mashups simply slap a couple songs together and that's it. Then there are those that combine songs into a melange of lyrical interplay and inspired samples. This is one of those mashups, making the connection between "Ice Ice Baby," "Lick It," and, well... Ernie's complicated ice cream order from an episode of Sesame Street! I scream, you scream, we all scream ... for this ice cream mashup!

DJ Paul V. - Might Like Ghosts Better (Amanda Blank vs. Bad Cabbage vs. Deadmau5) - Los Angeles
Bootie LA's resident DJ Paul V. produces a track perfect for our Electro-Bootie room, combining three tracks into a sexy, dirty come-on of a dance-floor stormer. NSFW! But very safe for a late-night pickup.

DJ Schmolli - Ain't Nobody Humping The Ting Tings (The Course vs. Sound On Sound Productions vs. The Ting Tings) - Vienna, Austria
For some reason, we seem to get quite a few requests for Chaka Khan -- and there simply aren't that many mashups that use the '80s R&B singer. (Leak some studio acapellas, Chaka!) This bootleg from Schmolli doesn't really rectify that but at least it uses a COVER of a Chaka Khan song. Paired with the latest Ting Tings single, it sounds strangely dark ... yet danceable ... and makes you want to belt out the song and sing along. Also, the intro is ridiculously catchy. For those that know Schmolli's hard rockin' metal roots, this proves why we love him -- he's not afraid to attack any genre!

Titus Jones - Good Girls Burn Miami (Sean Kingston vs. Cobra Starship vs. Lady Gaga vs. Shakira vs. LMFAO) - Clarksville, Arkansas BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
Sean Kingston and Lady Gaga both make their second appearances on this month's Top 10, where Titus Jones takes a summer's worth of hits and synthesizes them down into 3-1/2 minutes, seemingly proving how all the different varieties of pop songs these days (from indie to R&B to mainstream to electro) sound the same! That might make this a guilty pleasure, but it's a well-produced track and a fun listen.

Bootie in Brazil: Tour report!

2009-09-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been nearly a month since we were in Brazil, but we're just now getting around to finally blogging about it! It really was a fantastic trip, even though it felt like we barely scratched the surfaces of São Paulo and Brasília (and no, we didn't make it to Rio ... next time!)

For the full photo gallery of our Brazil trip, click here!

This is what São Paulo looks like from the top floor of our hotel. It's the largest city in Brazil (11 million people!) and it truly is a megalopolis. Shockingly though, there's a surprising dearth of distinctive architecture. What it lacks in cool buildings however, it more than makes for in sheer electric urban energy, which we soon discovered ... by hitting the clubs!

We were really fortunate in São Paulo to have a little posse of "instant friends," whom we met through Fernanda, a super-awesome girl (that's her above, with Iwi peeking in on the left, Richard on the right) who had contacted us a couple years ago to try to bring Bootie to Brazil. We met her in New York last year, and she made us feel right at home in São Paulo, introducing us to her friends Iwi, Goos and Richard, and taking us to three different clubs our first night there!

Our new Brazilian friends kept telling us, "We're going to a house party," so of course, we thought that meant a party at someone's house. As it turned out, we went to a place called Funhouse, which is literally a house that's been converted into a club! (Adrian intends to totally steal this idea someday -- after all, everyone loves house parties!)

We were there for a weekly called FunHell, one of the hippest parties in São Paulo, and the DJs were spinning a fantastic mix of electro, indie, rock, and pop, with lots of sampling, hands in the air, and crowd singing (more on THAT later...)

The next night, after visiting MASP, the modern art museum, and doing some fancy dining at Spot, we met up with Fernanda and her girl Iwi. We went to A Loca, the infamous 13-year-running gay club (with a mixed crowd), where we would be playing a few days later. Here's a poster from inside the club.

There was a drag show at 1 AM, and Adrian got dragged up on stage by the hostess to plug the Bootie set, and then was forced to say something obnoxious and embarrassing in Portuguese! Good times!

The next day, we flew to Brasília to meet up with DJ Faroff, who gave us a whirlwind mini-tour of Brazil's capital by night. This is the new Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, built just seven years ago, and very cool-looking.

Here's Leo, aka DJ Faroff, the one responsible for bringing us to Brazil. He took us to a late lunch buffet at Oca Da Tribo, a restaurant housed in an immense oca (a traditional native Brazilian dwelling).

Outside the oca with DJ Daniel Black.

Brasília did not exist 50 years ago. Before Brasília, there was nothing. Not even a village or a crossroads. It was, quite simply, willed into existence by the campaign promises of Brazil's president Juscelino Kubitschek, who upon winning the election in 1956, hired urban planner Lúcio Costa and modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer to design the space-age capital from scratch – in THREE YEARS (he wanted it completed before his term was up). The architectural crown jewel is definitely the Catedral Metropolitana (above).

One of the statues outside the Catedral Metropolitana.

Brasília is literally in the middle of nowhere, miles away from the beaches and ocean which so typify Brazilian culture. Lúcio Costa once said, "The sky is the sea of Brasília," and this photo proves it. This is the Congresso Nacional, where Brazil's government meets. Mmmm... modernism!

Brasília is definitely the "capital of the future" -- or at least, the future as envisioned in 1960.

And in Brasília, the future does not change! It remains forever space-age retro, as demonstrated by the Museu Nacional. Built in 2006, it's one of the city's newest buildings, but stays true to the modernist aesthetic established by Oscar Niemeyer, who at 102 years old, is not only still alive, but still designing buildings!

As an aficianado of modern architecture, I wish we had been able to spend more time checking out the buildings in Brasília, if for no other reason than they make awesome backdrops for photo shoots! It was a fascinating city, spread out like a giant space-age office park, with hardly any sidewalks or traffic lights. It was a city designed for cars, not pedestrians, at a time when gas was cheap and plentiful. (And today, an average of 6 pedestrians are killed each week trying to cross roads in Brasília.)

For modernist architecture, Brasília is a win, but for civic planning, it's kind of a fail. Everything in the city is divided into sectors -- sectors for hotels, banks, malls, embassies, sport clubs, and residential apartments. On paper, it sounds great, but in practice, everything is separated by wide boulevards and giant superquadras (apartment blocks), with a confusing, byzantine address system to go with it, as demonstrated by the above photo. It took 10 minutes for me to decode this address, which is the fourth giant apartment building in the giant apartment block that is one block east of the center axis and 4 blocks south of the main street. Don't try to come home drunk!

Brazil's best hangover cure! Agua de coca, or coconut water, direct from the source! (This is what a coconut looks like before it gets brown and furry.

Bootie Brasília was held in a building in the middle of a big city park, which was a pretty cool spot to throw a party!

DJ Faroff ramped things up with an all-video mashup set, which you unfortunately can't see very well in this crappy photo.

Imagine our surprise when our friend Antonio -- who we had originally met in Hong Kong -- showed up at Bootie Brasília with his boyfriend Kevin! The two of them are traveling around the world, and they JUST HAPPENED to be in Brasília the EXACT SAME time as us! (And in fact, they were even staying at the same hotel! Seriously!!) We love meeting up with friends in random cities and countries (and that means you, Dean!) halfway around the world!

Bootie Brasília in action. Lots of hot, sweaty bodies dancin' up a storm!

I'd always heard that Iron Maiden was pretty huge in Brazil, so after seeing no less than THREE Maiden t-shirts in one day in Brasília, we decided to have some fun with our set, and take some offbeat mashup chances. So we dropped Wax Audio's "Maiden Goes To Hollywood" (mashed up with Frankie Goes To Hollywood) and we had a group of guys absolutely LOSE THEIR SHIT! I've never seen anyone dance to Iron Maiden the way these guys did!

At the end of the party, we had a group of people who just were NOT ready for the night to end. Even after we played a slow-jam last song (Divide & Kreate's still-classic "Always With You"), and they turned the lights on, they were still screaming for more, chanting, "One more song! One more song!" The girl at the front REALLY wanted Madonna's "Like A Prayer," so we played Maxentropy's "Low A Prayer," and led everyone in a good old-fashioned sing-along. Damn, those Brazilians sure love to sing!

Back to São Paulo! After waking up WAY too early for our flight back, we took a nap, and woke up just in time to meet up with Goos, one of Fernanda's friends, and a DJ and former mashup maker. We absolutely loved Goos ... and he not only helped us get the gig at A Loca, but (along with Fernanda) acted as a wonderful host to us while we were there. We also love his taste in t-shirts! This one is a visual pun taken from a Van Halen song title.

Iwi and Fernanda picked us up and we all went to A Loca, where we were doing two Bootie mashup sets at the long-running Sunday club night called Grind.

We were super-excited to play this night, which seemed tailor-made for our eclectic, mixed-up style. Here we are, posing in the front hallway of A Loca.

We started each set with a live mashup sung by Adrian (aka, Smash-Up Derby karaoke). People weren't drunk enough for the 11 PM show (early by Brazilian standards), but the 1 AM performance really killed it!

It was an up-for-it, fun crowd that LOVED singing along! We had made some Brazilian-flavored mashups with CSS and Bonde Do Role, but what they REALLY loved were the Madonna and Britney mashups!

And speaking of Britney ... we had no idea what the "W" of their hand gestures meant, and then one of the girls told us it meant "Womanizer." Who were we to say no? We gave 'em DJ Fox's mashup with The Police.

Can you tell we were having a good time DJing at A Loca? We ended up giving away a bunch of Bootie CDs.

They may not know very much English, but inexplicably, Brazilians seem to know nearly every word to "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)." Even in the gay clubs! We have The Offspring mashed up with the electro of Alter Ego, but we can barely get away with playing it in the U.S. (so not cool) but in Brazil, it brought down the house! So we put it in this month's Bootie Top 10.

Here we are with "Pomba," the DJ and producer/promoter of Grind at A Loca. Love him!

Hanging out after our set. That's Fernanda in the green shirt, and some guys who wouldn't look out of place at The Eagle in San Francisco. Did we mention that Grind at A Loca has a great mix of people? It's an excellent party, with a very fun vibe ... highly recommended!

D and her last caipirinha, the national cocktail of Brazil! With our wonky sleep schedule and nocturnal activities, we barely saw anything in São Paulo during daylight hours. In fact, come to think of it, we barely saw anything outside of the seven block radius of the Consolaçao neighborhood! Still, we can't complain. The Brazilians sure know how to party, and that's what we like to do best!

For more photos of our Brazil trip, click here!

Obrigado, Leo, Fernanda, Goos, and Iwi! And obrigada, Brasil!

Bootie Top 10 - September 2009

2009-09-10T19:07:00.001-07:00

It's been two months since we last posted a Bootie Top 10, and during that time we did 14 different Bootie parties or sets, including two epic back-to-back nights in San Francisco to celebrate our 6-Year Anniversary, a week in Brazil which included Bootie Brasília and a gig in São Paulo, and another week at Burning Man, where we DJed mashups four nights in row.

So please forgive us for skipping the month of August - we were (and continue to be) utterly swamped! Hopefully our Top 10 Tribute to Michael Jackson last month helped tide you over, and this current list showcases a few older tracks from a few months ago that deserve to be spotlighted. Download and enjoy!

A Plus D - Krazy Day N Nite (Pitbull vs. Lil Jon vs. Kid Cudi vs. Crookers) - San Francisco BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
A simple floor-bangin' A+B that we whipped up on a flight to São Paulo. Mysterious D's been wanting to use The Crookers remix of "Day N Nite" for months, and Pitbull's "Krazy" just seemed to be the cherry on top. So here it is, as a Bootie Exclusive!

Dunproofin' - Groove Is In The Girls (Deee-Lite vs. The Prodigy) - Scotland
This has pretty much been a staple in our sets for the past two months, updating the classic one-hit wonder with some electro-throb courtesy of The Prodigy. It takes Deee-Lite from "light n' airy" to "dark n' dirty." The song arrangement tweaks on this make it especially awesome.

DJ Fox - Hot Birthday Stuff (Jeremih vs. Boys From Brazil) - San Francisco
Sounding like Jimmy Somerville covering Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff", the Boys From Brazil (who are are actually from Germany) give the song-of-the-moment "Birthday Sex" some trashy Euro-pop flava. Another nice one from one of our favorite producers from SF, DJ Fox. Yes, it's hot stuff.

Lasso The Moon - Spaceman On Fire (Bang A Gong) (Kings of Leon vs. T. Rex vs. The Killers) - Indianapolis
Three distinctive brands of rock collide in this exceptionally well-crafted mashup, blending the early '70s glam of T. Rex with the more contemporary rock stylings of The Killers (modern new wave pop posing as Americana) and Kings of Leon (Americana posing as epic arena rock). Nicely layered to form such a natural fit!

Lobsterdust - CalabriHorse Tonite (Enur vs. Laid Back vs. INXS vs. Kid Cudi vs. 3OH!3 vs. Lil Jon) - New York City
Adrian can't stand that annoyingly catchy Enur song - you know, the one with the ingratiating horn line that gets stuck in your head like glue. But there's no denying its dance-floor appeal - especially when mashed up with five other songs, all effortlessly blended together by a master mashup craftsman such as DJ Lobsterdust.

Mad Mix Mustang - I Got More Than A Feeling (Boston vs. Black Eyed Peas) - The Netherlands
This was pretty much our camp's theme song for Burning Man this year, perfectly encapsulating the rapturous, joyous, anthemic "end of summer" vibe that the event entails. After spending Burn Night driving around the playa in the SlugCar, creating impromptu Bootie BRC parties along the way, we rode through Black Rock City as the sky began to get light. And just as the sun was rising over the mountains, we blasted this at top volume. It was a gloriously magical moment that we'll cherish forever. Epic, beautiful, perfect.

DJ Magnet - Girls On Film Freak Out (Duran Duran vs. Chic vs. Beastie Boys) - Denver
This mashup came out about five months ago, and lo and behold, on Duran Duran's current summer tour, the band has taken to playing Chic's "Le Freak" during their live version of "Girls on Film." Coincidence or idea biting? You decide! Either way, this one is super funky and for the dance floor!

DJ Schmolli - Bulletproof Radar (La Roux vs. Britney Spears) - Vienna, Austria
In Schmolli's own words: "So these are both the brand new singles of La Roux (”Bulletproof”) and Britney Spears (”Radar”). Both do pop music but in a very different way." We've been loving the electro-pop of La Roux, and let's face it, Britney's producers are seriously trying to make her sound more "electro-cool," so this mashup ends up pitting the genuine article against the wannabe. This is taken from AudioPorn Central's 2nd anniversary album.

Torero - Pretty Vain Rocker (The Offspring vs. Culture Beat vs. Alter Ego) - Germany
Our trip to Brazil was fascinating, not the least of which was discovering which songs were "big hits" at the clubs. Imagine our surprise when we heard The Offspring played at A Loca, an infamous São Paulo gay club. Brazilians may not know a ton of English, but they somehow knew ALL the words to "Pretty Fly For A White Guy." Bizarre! So of course, we just had to drop this when we gigged there a few nights later, a mashup custom-created by Torero when he played Bootie Munich back in January.

DJ Zebra - With A Little Help From Soulwax (Joe Cocker vs. Queen vs. Soulwax) - Paris
A few weeks ago was the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, and to celebrate, DJ Zebra played a special show at Bootie in San Francisco called Bootstock Live, based on the Woodstock mashup album he produced and released in July. This is far and away our favorite track from the album - and was another one of our "theme songs" at Burning Man - an epic, jubilant stormer that gets off to a slow start, but by the end has everybody screaming.

Bootie goes to Burning Man ... again!

2009-08-26T01:44:00.000-07:00

We're back from Brazil! We'll have photos and a full report soon, as well as a new Bootie Top 10 (Really! We promise!)

But first, we wanted to post about our upcoming Bootie parties and other gigs in Black Rock City at the annual Burning Man festival. Click the flyer to go to the Bootie BRC web site for more details:

A+D go to Brazil! Bootie Brasília and A Loca in São Paulo

2009-08-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry kids, you're gonna have to wait just a little bit longer for a Bootie Top 10. You know we'll make it up to you! At least we have a good excuse this week -- we're going to Brazil!

We've got Bootie Brasília happening with ourselves and DJ Faroff this coming Saturday, 15 August. As a fan of modern architecture, Adrian has always wanted to go to Brasília, so this trip should be a treat! Then the very next night, it's...

We get to play one of the most infamous clubs in São Paulo ... A Loca! We're special guests at the long-running club night Grind.

Adrian will be singing live "Midnight Mashup Shows" at both events ... although knowing how LATE things start in Brazil, they most definitely won't actually be happening at midnight!

Brazil -- especially São Paulo -- has always been a dream trip for the Mysterious D, so we're definitely looking forward to this! We'll post a tour report next week!

Bootie 6-Year Anniversary Weekender!

2009-08-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering why there hasn't been a Bootie Top 10 update yet, this is the reason why:

It's the biggest party of our careers! An event so big, it couldn't be contained on one night! You can read the full press release HERE.

And check out the press love we got from the SF Bay Guardian HERE.

It's mashup madness, and it's gonna be epic!

Bootie Top 10 - July 2009

2009-07-10T02:03:00.000-07:00

Right-click to get to download!

Clive$ter - Rock This Night (The Eagles vs. Dimitri From Paris) - Vienna, Austria
The Eagles hit the dance floor and get an electro makeover, as Austria's Clive$ter transforms this classic rock staple into an unlikely dance floor stormer!

g4gorilla - Not Farewell (Lily Allen vs. White Lies vs. Salt-N-Pepa) - Newcastle, Australia
We couldn't have said it better than g4gorilla himself: "Post-punk band-of-the-moment White Lies joins Lily Allen in her continuing search for consonants and the balance between love, security, and sexual gratification. Salt-n-Pepa have no such problems, and they make a cameo appearance to tell Ms. Allen it's all about the mattress mambo."

Jimmylin - Boom Boom Pow In Miami Bitch (Black Eyed Peas vs. LMFAO) - Los Angeles
If only the Black Eyed Peas had let LMFAO remix their big summertime hit (instead of David Guetta) it might have sounded something like this. Will.i.am's pop instincts prevent him from giving the Peas this sort of heavy electro bass throb, but we think it's perfect for Electro-Bootie.

Lasso The Moon - Religion In The Wind (R.E.M. vs. Kansas) - Indianapolis
An utterly gorgeous mashup, simply perfect in its melancholic beauty. With its unconventional arrangement, "Losing My Religion" is hardly the easiest song to work with, yet Lasso The Moon subtlely shifts the timing - and adds some well-placed additional beats - to lock in with the original Kansas song, creating a minor-key masterpiece.

DJ Lobsterdust - Hot Maus (Van Halen vs. Deadmau5) - New York City
Of all the Deadmau5 mashups making the rounds - their "Ghosts n Stuff" has become a bootlegger favorite - this is the one we keep coming back to. Hearing David Lee Roth's campy lyrics sung over something so current and cool is the sort of genre-clash we love. And Lobsta's great production skillz don't hurt!

Mad Mix Mustang - I'm Not A Creep (Radiohead vs. Calvin Harris) - The Netherlands
Here, the genre-clash works in the opposite direction. Take a well-loved vocal from a much-respected band, and turn it into a cheesy Eurodance anthem! Hey, Thom Yorke hates "Creep" anyway, so why not? It's all about the wailing "Thom Yorke howl goes house music" chorus!

Mighty Mike - Human In St. Petersburg (The Killers vs. Supergrass) - France
When you play this early in the night and DJ Earworm runs over to find out what it is, you know you've got something good. Here, that insufferable song by The Killers is made tolerable by turning it into a shuffling, swinging "Tin Pan Alley" piano ballad.

Party Ben - Machine Gun Shelter (The Rolling Stones vs. The Commodores) - San Francisco
Readers of this Top 10 blog already know that "Gimme Shelter," with its dark tone and subject matter, is possibly our favorite Stones song. So what do we have here? A mashup that practically "funks away" all the darkness out of the original, turning it into a soulful dance number that we still love!

DJ Riko - Happy When I Get It In (50 Cent vs. Royksopp) - San Diego
Royksopp's new single gets the inevitable rap treatment. Well, what do you expect when it's got the perfect hip-hop tempo? 50 Cent sounds particularly well-suited here, rapping smoothly and seamlessly over the beats of the Norwegian electronic duo.

DJ Y Alias JY - Finally Don't (Let) Go (Salt-N-Pepa vs. CeCe Peniston vs. Yaz vs. Yo Majesty) - Munich, Germany
A dance floor starter to be sure, courtesy of Bootie Munich's secret weapon, resident DJ Y Alias JY. Interweaving several different female vocal tracks over the funky yet dancey Yo Majesty track, it's a multi-layered piece of work that never loses its effortless-sounding flow. Y Alias JY's smoove productions skills just shine on this one.

Bootie Top 10 - Tribute to Michael Jackson

2009-07-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

In honor of the late, great King of Pop, we have assembled a Top 10 list of our all-time favorite Michael Jackson mashups, listed here in alphabetical order by bootlegger. Nine different MJ songs are represented, with the iconic "Billie Jean" pulling double-duty as both an instrumental and acapella base. It's interesting that most of these were produced by European bootleggers, most notably Austria's DJ Schmolli, who produced three of the mashups on this list. No wonder Michael was planning his comeback in Europe!

ComaR - I Want You D.A.N.C.E. (Justice vs. Jackson 5) - Paris

Divide & Kreate - I Told You To Beat It (Michael Jackson vs. The Hives) - Stockholm, Sweden

Divide & Kreate - Illiterate City (Jackson 5 vs. Guns N' Roses) - Stockholm, Sweden

DJ Jay-R - Michael Remembers Cheryl (Michael Jackson vs. Cheryl Lynn) - San Francisco

Loo & Placido - Should I Stay Or Should I Boogie (Michael Jackson vs. The Clash) - Paris

McSleazy - Smells Like Billie Jean (Michael Jackson vs. Nirvana) - Glasgow, Scotland

DJ Schmolli - Hollaback Thriller Girl (Gwen Stefani vs. Michael Jackson) - Vienna, Austria

DJ Schmolli - Jacko Breaks Free On Earth (Michael Jackson vs. Queen vs. Belinda Carlisle) - Vienna, Austria

DJ Schmolli - Justice For Billie Jean (Justice vs. Michael Jackson vs. C&C Music Factory) - Vienna, Austria

Unknown - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough Q-Tip (Q-Tip vs. Michael Jackson)

Bootie Top 10 - June 2009

2009-06-11T23:53:00.001-07:00

Right-click to get to the downloadin!

A Plus D - Stanky Whip (GS Boyz vs. Devo) - San Francisco
This utterly ridiculous rap is getting a bunch of airplay and tons of kids on YouTube have already made their own "Stanky Legg" dance videos. You can tell the Dallas-based GS Boyz want so badly for this to be the next Soulja Boy-style dance sensation. All we know is, it sure sounds better with Devo!

Daw-Gun - Don't You Forget American Boy (Estelle vs. Kanye West vs. Simple Minds) - New York City
Stretching the shelf life of "American Boy" just a LITTLE bit longer, this mashup brings back a gem of an '80s song that everyone forgot how much they loved. We didn't realize it either until we watched an entire dance floor at Bootie shout out, "Hey, hey, hey, hey!"

Dunproofin - Lily & the Robot (Lily Allen vs. Röyksopp vs. Robyn) - Scotland
Dun might call this one "a quickie," but sometimes when a bootleg comes together quickly, it's simply because it just WORKS. Lily Allen sounds shockingly awesome fronting the electro-dance throb of Rökysopp, and dueting with Robyn takes it up another notch. Well spotted!

DJ Earworm - Heartless (In A Bottle) (The Fray vs. Black Eyed Peas vs. The Police vs. 2Pac vs. Alan Parsons Project) - San Francisco
The bootleg scene's resident mashup genius is back with another multi-layered, multi-faceted production, using The Fray's cover of Kanye West's "Heartless" as a base, then interweaving several other elements. It's slow and melancholy and utterly gorgeous.

Elocnep - I Believe It's Not Fair (The Darkness vs. Lily Allen) - France
We love it when a bootlegger we've never heard of comes out of nowhere with something as cheeky and wonderful as this. Newcomer Elconep pairs the over-the-top falsetto vocals of The Darkness with a galloping spaghetti western instrumental -- which is, interestingly enough, from the same Lily Allen song above that Dunproofin took his vocals from. Totally unexpected and inspired!

g4gorilla - I Wanna Dance With One Of These On My Mind (Pet Shop Boys vs. Whitney Houston vs. Eagles) - Newcastle, Australia
Well, it IS Gay Pride month here in San Francisco (and LA and NYC). So we gotta represent! The Eagles have never sounded so gay! "Comin' up behind you, one of these nights" takes on a whole NEW meaning in THIS context! And the Pet Shop Boys and Whitney Houston together up the gay icon ante!

Immuzikation - Help, I'm Alive (Immuzikation B-ting Like a Hammer Remix) (Metric vs. Immuzikation) - Athens, Georgia
It's our token "Electro-Bootie" track on the Top 10, a bootleg remix of the first single from Canadian indie band Metric's new album, courtesy of Immuzikation, our favorite remixer from Georgia. It's an awesome song to begin with, and we are loving this version because it gets it ready for the dance floor.

Mighty Mike - Fall Out Gloria (Fall Out Boy vs. Gloria Gaynor) - France
Part of the reason we love mashups is that, in the hands of the right producer, a song you just can't stand can magically get turned into something listenable. That's exactly what Mighty Mike has done with Fall Out Boy, giving them a '70s disco makeover that sounds shockingly suitable!

Winkar Lopez - So Fine In The Sun (Mary J. Blige vs. Weezer) - Mexico City
This is such a sunny, seamless combination, that if you weren't familiar with either song, you would probably mistake this for an original song from a band with two vocalists, one an R&B singer, and the other a guitarist who writes all the songs and insists on singing on the choruses.

World Famous Audio Hacker - If U Seek Lucretia (Britney Spears vs. The Sisters of Mercy) - Portland
Our goth roots are showing again. How could anyone possibly make Britney sound kinda dark and cool? Well, pairing her with a classic Sisters of Mercy song is a start. But it's WFAH's additional beats and production that really elevate this, giving Britney an edge that she (or rather, her producers) never even dream of.

Bootie Top 10 - May 2009

2009-05-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

Right-click to get to the downloadin!

ABX of The Hood Internet - 1000 Times Right Round (Flo-Rida vs. MSTRKRFT) - Chicago
It's been a while since we've featured anything from The Hood Internet, but ABX knocks it out of the park with this one, blowing up the blogosphere with this dance floor stormer, where MSTRKFRT's buzzsaw electro seems to suit Flo-Rida's remake of "You Spin Me Round" much better than his own hip-hop instrumentation, and brings something new to both tracks, making an unbeatable Electro-Bootie hit.

Aggro1 - You Know You're Blue (Nirvana vs. Blue Stahli) - Dayton, Ohio
Last month marked the 15-year anniversary of Kurt Cobain's tragic suicide, so it seems perfect timing for Ohio's best bootlegger to take one of Nirvana's last recorded songs and to make it even darker and more depressing than it already was. We hate to say it, but this mashup just screams suicide. It's dark, it's haunting, it's depressing as hell, but powerful.

Amoraboy - The Twist of Single Ladies (Beyoncé vs. Chubby Checker) - Toulouse, France
Nearly 50 years separate these two songs, yet they fit together like they were made for each other, turning "Single Ladies" into a doo-wop hit at a 1950s sock-hop. Can't you just imagine the video for this, with Beyoncé in a poodle skirt doing The Twist?

Dan Mei & Marc Johnce - Chasing Cars That Way (Backstreet Boys vs. Snow Patrol) - Denmark / Germany
VIDEO: click here
We didn't realize how many people know EVERY SINGLE WORD to this Backstreet Boys song until we played it as our last "slow dance" song at Bootie LA. We're not sure whether this gives the Backstreet Boys a bit of indie cred, or if it just makes Snow Patrol sound cheesy. Um ... both?

Faroff - House of Klezmer (House of Pain vs. Amsterdam Klezmer Band vs. Pa Brapad) - Brasilia/Cambridge
VIDEO: click here
We love fucking with our audience at Bootie, and this is one of those tracks that does exactly that, with a long intro that has the crowd scratching their heads going "WTF?" -- that is, until a minute later, when "Jump Around" kicks and makes the place explode into some sort of klezmer-hip-hop freakout. And make sure you watch the video, it's fantastic! How does someone from Brazil come up with this stuff? Did we mention that DJ Faroff is our special guest in San Francisco this month?

DJ Lobsterdust - Love City (R.E.M. vs. The Panthers vs. Holy Ghost!) - New York City
We've always loved this R.E.M. song and hearing it updated with some nice electronic throb and beats takes nothing away from its melancholy sentiment. It's not exactly something you'd wanna drop in the middle of a prime-time party set, but we love its dark beauty.

Overdub - Mixed Farm (Beck vs. Rage Against The Machine) - France
This mashup feels SOOOO LA to us! Take two quintessential Angeleno artists, from opposite sides of town, and put 'em together -- somehow, it just magically works, giving Beck a much harder-rockin' backing band, and making Rage sound more melodic than they ever have before.

Party Ben - Shame (At Nite) (Kid Cudi vs. Evelyn "Champagne" King) - San Francisco
Seems like many of the hipsters are jumping on the disco-revival bandwagon these days, so mashing up Kid Cudi with a classic disco hit not only gives everyone a bit of a musical history lesson, but also, interestingly enough, sounds fresh and contemporary -- even despite that saxophone!

Titus Jones - A Circus of Heartbreakin' Divas (Pat Benatar vs. Beyoncé vs. 3OH!3 vs. Britney Spears vs. Christina Aguilera vs. M.I.A.) - Arkansas
Our favorite bootlegger from Arkansas returns with a sonic stew featuring five dueling divas from different decades, along with "peanut gallery" input from hot new band 3OH!3. We've been waiting for years for something good to be mashed up with Pat Benatar's classic "Heartbreaker" (it's Adrian's fave karaoke song!) and here, Titus Jones delivers.

DJ Topcat - Boyz Slumdog (M.I.A. vs. A.R. Rahman) - Seattle
This mashup was just MEANT to be. How perfect is it to pair the Sri Lankan M.I.A.'s vocals with A.R. Rahman's Indian soundtrack music from "Slumdog Millionaire?" We love giving a little Bollywood flavor to the dance floor!

Bootie Top 10 - April 2009

2009-04-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

After doing Bootie parties in China and Australia last month, we fell a little behind in updating our Bootie Top 10. But here's a fresh batch of bootlegs for your downloading pleasure...

DJ BC - Shorty Shutup (The Ting Tings vs. Busta Rhymes vs. The Zombies vs. Marvin Gaye) - Boston
Sick of this Ting Tings song yet? Not us! In the mashup world, "Shut Up And Let Me Go" has become somewhat of an overused cliché, yet many bootleggers are still mining gold from this nugget, as Bootie Boston's DJ BC does here -- still guaranteed to kick-start a dance floor!

TWO-FOR-ONE SPECIAL!
Dan Mei & Marc Johnce - My Life On The Crazy Train Sucks (So What?) (Kelly Clarkson vs. Ozzy Osbourne vs. Pink vs. Daft Punk) - Denmark / Germany
g4gorilla - I Will Always Suck To Me (Kelly Clarkson vs. Charlene vs. Whitney Houston) - Newcastle, Australia
Here are two different takes on mashing up the newest Kelly Clarkson single -- the first is a guilty pleasure, the second is an even GUILTIER (and gloriously gayer) pleasure. While it's not much of a stretch to pair two pop princesses together on the choruses, the appearance of Ozzy on the verses really make this first version shine. And the second one is a gay diva trifecta; it's easily the campiest mashup we've heard in a long time. In other words, it's a Bootie Midnight Mashup Show just waiting to happen!

Hi-Brid - Human Dream (Human League vs. Empire of the Sun) - London
Empire of the Sun is an Australian duo obviously heavily influenced by the '80s -- so why not show where their influences come from by mashing them up with one of the most quintessential '80s bands, The Human League. "Human" is somewhat of a forgotten gem, so it's nice to hear it again in this new context.

Loo & Placido - Betty Got Jacked (Ram Jam vs. Herve vs. Kanye West vs. Boys Noize. vs HitHouse. vs. C&C Music Factory) - France
French bootleggers Loo & Placido take the basic concept of Torero's mashup classic "Gonna Make Betty Sweat," and jack it up considerably, adding a bunch of other elements, and giving it a much-welcome electro-house makeover with a little Kanye thrown in for good measure, among other things. Consider this our token "Electro-Bootie" track for this month's Top 10. This track is super-hot, and we've noticed it making its way to dancefloors, iPods and radio stations all over the world.

Mad Mix Mustang - Like A Life On A Prayer (Bon Jovi vs. Nina Simone vs. Madonna) - The Netherlands
Mad Mix Mustang is one of our new favorite bootleggers, and his clever work continues to surprise us. Here's another strikingly genre-clashed track from him that somehow, inexplicably, just WORKS. Soul vs. pop metal? Who would have thought? Brings a smile to our faces every time.

Mighty Mike - Use The Same Old Song (The Four Tops vs. Kings of Leon) - France
Mighty Mike is another relatively new bootlegger whose recent work just keeps delivering the mashup surprises. Kings of Leon's anthemic rock gets a soulful twist courtesy of the Four Tops, proving quite literally that with mashups, nearly everything is "the same old song."

DJ Moule - Hey, C La Vie (The Pixies vs. M. Solveig vs. The Hives vs. Peter, Bjorn & John) - Bordeaux, France
Yay! Any excuse for us to play some Pixies for the dance floor! Besides, the world needs more Pixies mashups! The electro groove throbs nicely, and the little "Young Folks" bit near the end is simply the cherry on top of this fantastic bootleg. And the best part: the ever-flowing "Woo!' courtesy of The Hives.

DJ Schmolli - In-A-Gadda-Blue-Monday (Iron Butterfly vs. New Order) - Vienna, Austria BOOTIE EXCLUSIVE!
The world wasn't exactly in need of another "Blue Monday" mashup -- but it's practically a rite of passage for every bootlegger to make their own version of this dance floor staple, and here, Bootie Munich's DJ Schmolli goes above and beyond with an unexpected pairing that somehow turns the psychedelic classic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" into a dance song.

team9 - Good After Time (Lykke Li vs. Cyndi Lauper) - Perth, Australia
Stereogum's go-to bootleg producer, team9, is threatening to quit making mashup -- and that makes Bootie sad, especially after hearing excellent tracks such as this, which helped introduce us to the angelic vocal stylings of Lykke Li. Come on, team9! Never say never! Still, if this is his swan song, it's a lovely way to leave us.

10000 Spoons - Precious Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis vs. Depeche Mode) - Kent, UK
Seeing as that this came out nearly nine months ago, this is what we would call a "sleeper hit," a track that has been slowly growing on us over time, and now we can't believe we never included it in our Top 10. Leona Lewis' pleading vocal is a perfect fit with the melancholy electro-somber of Depeche Mode. Better late than never, right?