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Pass the MASH(ed)-UP (potatoes and gravy)

The theme of today's post is mash-ups. 

If I were to ask you about the most talked about and referenced event in pop culture to happen in the last two weeks, you'd be a fool if you couldn't list the Kanye West/Taylor Swift VMAs incident as one of your answers (okay, maybe not a fool, but certainly someone who's been living under a heavy, heavy rock).  Well, some dude named Matt Kammerer (or DJ Makaio) found inspiration in that debacle and turned it into an opportunity to produce an amazing track.  Here's his mash-up of Kanye's Stronger and Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me, otherwise known as You Belong With Me (DJ Makaio's Kanye Club Mix).

I also come bearing a McNasty mash-up that includes one of my favorite bands at the moment, The xx.  The song sampled in this track is the opener for The xx's debut drop, which also happens to be one of my favorite album openers of 2009.  The original ("Intro") is pure instrumental, with a simple and clean electric guitar riff over some seriously infectious and pounding percussion.  I never really even considered the idea of someone remixing this track, so when I stumbled upon this mash-up with the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac, I basically peed in my pants.  This is that gangster isht your momma warned you about.  On that note, enjoy Biggie vs Tupac vs The xx - Runnin With The xx (Quix vs Elliot Blend).

My dad is cooler than yours. Edition 1.

I love catching up with my dad over the phone, but I do also love receiving his e-mails because they always put a giant grin on my face.  Below I've attached an excerpt of the most recent e-mail I received from him so you can get a glimpse of his awesomeness and words of wisdom.

"Congratulations!!!! You got the new internship at Billboard Magazine. I like this magazine very much when I was crazy about the rock & roll music in mid 60’. I did really enjoy reading it at that time.  As you mentioned, they are a big company which will not bring you too much challenging things to do. In the order hand, you may learn something about the “big” corporate culture which could be a nice experience to your future career. At least, you have your own nice & cozy cubic."

(*cubicle)

I'd also like to mention that my dad totally WAS "crazy about the rock & roll music" -- Back in Taipei during the 60's and 70's, he rocked shaggy long hair, bell bottoms, and thick framed glasses/big aviators.  He also owned an extensive collection of vinyls (Beatles, Hendrix, etc), all of which he special-ordered and had shipped from the US.  Honestly, is there any wonder which parent I obtained my love of music from? (I mean, yes.  My mom does love music too, but her taste can be quite questionable sometimes.  One of her favorites is Rod Stewart.  Just sayin'...)

Guess who's back?

Yes, as my buddy JYoh kindly pointed out in my previous post, I have been seriously MIA.  I've even missed not one, not two, but THREE editions of WTF, it's Wednesday?  Well, I'm back.  And I come bearing NYU AKPsi's Fall 2009 Rush Video.  It's one of the first videos I've seriously and actively been a part of scripting, directing, and music supervising since my high school days on ASB, and it's one of the reasons a large chunk of my time since I've been back in the city seemed to have vanished into thin air.  If you're an Entourage fan, I encourage you to check it out.  If you're a fan of good music, I also encourage you to check it out.  If you're bored, well, hey -- here's 8 minutes of video to kill some time.  Co-Directed, Co-Scripted, and Edited by production mastermind Mike Rosich, this video will (hopefully) rock your socks.