The Scotch Snap from Strathspey to Rap (Grande Megamix) wayneandwax 2019-03-01 | a montage tracing the Scotch Snap from traditional Scottish and English music to recent rap and pop -- just follow the 808 cowbellprepared for this article, which adds plenty of context:vulture.com/2019/04/did-ariana-grande-copy-7-rings.html
Reappropriating Levitating (Outkast X Dua Lipa) wayneandwax 2022-03-06 | after sifting the recent copyright claims (youtube.com/watch?v=xM08YyCdwZo), I decided the only decent thing to do would be to try to make a decent mashup out of "Rosa Parks" and "Levitating"
Limp Jonzun Express wayneandwax 2022-03-06 | Back in 2005 I was invited to serve as expert witness / forensic musicologist in case involving the popular rap-rock group Limp Bizkit and Boston-based electro pioneers, the Jonzun Crew. If you had asked me, without any other info, whose side I would take in a musical dispute, I would not have picked Limp Bizkit. But when their lawyers played me the tracks in question, I immediately recognized the material in dispute as the central, memorable, and quite influential (especially in electro) melody from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express." In the end, this never went to court, and at best my report may have prevented bad precedent and saved Limp Bizkit a few thousand dollars (though the Jonzun Bros did get a settlement). Anyway, here's a mashup showing the similarities.
Did Dua Lipa Rip off Artikal Sound System, or Are Both Indebted to Outkast? wayneandwax 2022-03-04 | A quick mashup of Dua Lipa's "Levitating" and Artikal Sound System's "Live Your Life" (who allege infringement), along with some clear "prior art" c/o Outkast's "Rosa Parks."I've "warped" the audio to line up the BPMs, but I have not altered key at all.
American Clave Megamix (How We Do in Ragtime Country) wayneandwax 2020-08-04 | a megamix to accompany the essay, "Ragtime Country," in the Journal of Popular Music Studies (June 2020): ~170 tracks recorded between 1891-2020, all featuring the same distinctive rhythm that appears to date to the ragtime era -- spanning jazz and country, blues and bluegrass, rock and soul, disco and funk, house and techno, hip-hop and EDM.produced by Wayne & Wax / Wayne Marshall, spring 2020for more info: wayneandwax.com/?page_id=9315
American Clave Rap Attack wayneandwax 2020-06-01 | several examples of rappers using a rather ragtimey 2+3+3+3+3+2 flow (aka, the American clave, as I argue in the forthcoming essay "Ragtime Country")
Concrete Jungles (Released + Unreleased Versions) wayneandwax 2020-03-22 | A mashup, stereo-panned, of the opening track on the Wailers' classic 1973 album, Catch a Fire. The unreleased Kingston-made recordings (remixed and overdubbed in London before the initial release), were made available on a Deluxe Edition reissue of the album in 2002. What this mashup helps us to hear is what was changed -- and what was not. Note the addition, on the released version, of an electric lead guitar (Wayne Perkins, who takes a wailing solo), a clavinet and piano, and an entirely new vocal take from Bob Marley (highlighting the upper frequencies of his voice). The unreleased version features a steady, strummed guitar on the offbeat, which was removed in London, as well as a mellow repeat of the 1st verse for the 3rd (instead of a guitar solo). Listening to them together, you hear that none of the backup singing has been changed, nor the drum or bass. (But who would want to mess with the Wailers or Robbie Shakespeare?).Because of the panning (to help disambiguate the two), headphones are recommended.
Bless the Broken Rascal wayneandwax 2020-03-06 | a mashup of RMR's irreverent cover of Rascal Flatts' version of "Bless the Broken Road," showing how musically faithful it is to the original despite taking serious liberties with the lyricsas you can see, I only made a couple cuts to RMR to get the songs to line up entirely (including a repeat of the end to match the extended outro of the original); as for key, I've pitched Rascal Flatts up a semitone to match RMR
Thats All Right, I Got a Woman wayneandwax 2020-02-04 | a mashup showing how Ray Charles's and Elvis Presley's hits in 1954 share an underlying rhythm that comes from ragtime (if via jazz on the one hand, and country on the other)
Zunguzung Megamix 2019 wayneandwax 2019-11-12 | now with over 60+ appearances of Yellowman's 1982 earworm!more info here: wayneandwax.com/?p=137full tracklist: 1982 — Yellowman, “Zungguzungguguzungguzeng”1982 — Yellowman & Fathead, “Physical / Zunguzung (Live at Aces)”1982 — Sister Nancy, “Coward of the Country”1984 — Frankie Paul, “Alesha”1984 — Toyan, “Hot Bubble Gum”1985 — Little John, “Clarks Booty”1985 — Super Cat, “Boops”1986 — Cocoa Tea, “Come Again”1986 — BDP, “The P Is Free”1987 — BDP, “Remix For P Is Free”1988 — BDP, “T Cha T Cha”1988 — Queen Latifah, “Princess of the Posse”1988 — Masters of Ceremony, “Keep on Moving”1988 — Afrika Bambaataa & Family (ft. Yellowman), “Zouk Your Body”1988 — Sublime, “Roots of Creation”1989 — Nice & Smooth, “Nice & Smooth”1989 — Nice & Smooth, “Dope on a Rope”1991 — Leaders of the New School, “Case of the P.T.A.”1991 — Michie Mee & L.A. Luv, “Jamaican Funk Canadian Style”1992 — Lecturer, “Gal Yu Mean It”1992 — Sublime, “Scarlet Begonias”1992 — Roxanne Shanté, “Dance To This (Dance To Cee’s Zunga Zunga Mix)”1992 — Rev. Baddoo, “Bop Scuche”1992 — Leila K, “Open Sesame”1993 — Us3, “I Got It Goin’ On”1993 — K7, “Zunga Zeng”1993 — KRS-One, “P Is Still Free”1993 — Jamalski, “African Border”1993 — Buju Banton, “Big It Up”1994 — The Coup, “Pimps (Freestyling at the Fortune 500 Club)”1994 — Ninjaman, “Funeral Again”1994 — Bounty Killer, “Kill Or Be Killed”1995 — Buju Banton, “Man a Look Yu”1995 — Junior M.A.F.I.A. ft. Biggie Smalls, “Player’s Anthem”1996 — 2pac, “Hit ‘Em Up”1996 — Ivy Queen, “He Regresado”1996 — Captain Barkey, “Go Go Wine”1996 — Junior Dangerous ft. Lucas, “Comin’ Out To Play”1997 — Cru, “Pronto”1998 — Mr. Notty, “Sentencia de Muerte”1998 — Black Star, “Definition”1999 — Lil’ Cease ft. Jay-Z, “4 My Niggaz”2000 — Dead Prez, “It’s Bigger than Hip-Hop”2000 — Daisy Dee, “Open Sesame”2000 — Wyclef Jean ft. Xzibit and Yellowman, “Perfect Gentlemen Remix”2001 — Ñejo, “El Problema Ser Bellaco”2003 — Joe Budden, “Pump It Up”2004 — Jin, “Learn Chinese”2005 — Looptroop, “Chana Masala”2006 — POD ft. Matisyahu, “Roots in Stereo”2006 — JD (aka Dready), “UK Zunga Zeng”2007 — White Rappers, “One Night Stand”2007 — Gwen Stefani ft. Damian Marley, “Now That You Got It”2009 — Wax Taylor ft. ASM, “Say Yes”2010 — Vybz Kartel, “Whine (Wine)”2010 — Jovi Rockwell, “Keep It Real”2011 — Tifa, “Matey Wine”2011 — Rankin Taxi & Dub Ainu Band, “You Can’t See It, and You Can’t Smell It Either”2011 — Yellowman, “Zungguzungguguzungguzeng (Horsepower Productions Remix / Dub)”2011 — Baracka Flacka Flames, “Hit Em Up”2013 — Benga & Kano, “Forefather”2013 — Deekline & Ed Solo ft. Rubi Dan, “Zunga”2019 — Lizzo, “Truth Hurts”
Juice WRLD v. Yellowcard (Same Key) wayneandwax 2019-10-28 | I've transposed the two songs -- "Lucid Dreams" and "Holly Wood Died" -- placing them into the same key in order to facilitate melodic comparison. Because the two songs are 7 semitones (or, a fourth) apart, they sound a bit weird transposed into each other's keys. (Chipmunked and screwed.) But here you can compare each in their original key with the other transposed to match, as well as a third version that puts both into an intermediate, common key. I've been surprised to see such varied responses to the other version of this I posted (with each song in its original key: youtube.com/watch?v=4_aHTftX6jU ). To my ears, the melodies -- especially the first half of the phrase -- are pretty much identical. Of course, whether that means Juice WRLD owes anything to Yellowcard is another question entirely, and I'll be curious to see how this one pans out in the unlikely case that it actually makes it to court. (I'm suspecting this one will be quietly settled.)
Crocodile Trap wayneandwax 2019-10-22 | When I first checked out Post Malone's new album, I was struck by how the song "Allergic" seemed reminiscent of late 50s / early 60s rock/pop, especially the classic 3-chord "girl group" anthem. A few hours later, I found myself humming Elton John's "Crocodile Rock," and upon closer inspection, the two songs bear some strong rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic resemblances. Was Post Malone nodding, however subconsciously or not, to Elton John's nodding to early rock'n'roll? I put them together to see how closely they track.As you can hear toward the end, I've pitched Elton down several semitones to get them into the same key. Otherwise, they're at essentially the same tempo, etc.
Did Juice WRLD copy Yellowcard? wayneandwax 2019-10-22 | A quick mashup of "Lucid Dreams" and "Holly Wood Died" showing rather similar melodic contours/rhythms; now the subject of a $15M lawsuit: pitchfork.com/news/juice-wrld-hit-with-15-million-lawsuit-from-yellowcardIf you'd like to compare them transposed into the same key, you can do so here: youtu.be/fcRJdb8Lag8headphones recommended for best (stereo-panned) comparison
Thems There Eyes wayneandwax 2019-10-22 | a mashup of three (or four) different takes on the jazz standard, "Them There Eyes." first we hear Ella Fitzgerald's relatively faithful rendition against Billie Holiday's more radical take, followed by Billie's counterposed with Louis Armstrong's (clearly an influence), and finishing with Billie dueting with herself on the 1st and 3rd verses of the same take!
Copenhagens wayneandwax 2019-10-22 | a mashup of the released & alternate takes of Fletcher Henderson's "Copenhagen" (1924), revealing how tightly the band reproduces the arrangement, right down to the precisely reproduced & well rehearsed solo by Louis Armstrong
Moanins wayneandwax 2019-10-22 | a mashup of the released & alternate take of Art Blakey's / Bobby Timmons's 1958 hard bop classic "Moanin'," revealing how Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Timmons, and Jymie Merritt take divergent and convergent paths through their (iconic) solosi've had to squash some of the timing at times (especially noticeable in the "head") in order to get things on grid, but i think it's worth it to be able to hear the solos in sync. thank god for blakey's stalwart backbeat throughout or i would have gotten lost at various points!
CherokeeKoKo wayneandwax 2019-10-22 | a mashup of Charlie Parker's 1941/42 Kansas City version of Cherokee with its bebop contrafact Ko Ko (1945), revealing the different paths Parker takes through the changes, including some remarkable echoes (see, e.g., ~ms. 37 / 1:01 and ~ms. 49 / 1:23).
Whisperin High (Paul Whiteman X Gillespie-Parker) wayneandwax 2019-10-22 | a mashup of Paul Whiteman's hit "Whispering" (1920) and Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin High" (1945), which uses the same chord changes (aka, a bebop "contrafact" of a jazz-age "standard"), with a few edits to keep them together while following the Gillespie/Parker arrangement
Lil Nas X-Files wayneandwax 2019-07-12 | The banjo/vocal melody in Old Town Road kept reminding me of the X-Files theme, so I went ahead and put them together. I was a little stunned that they matched so closely in terms of key and tempo (at least with the Pure Moods remix version). added the NIN sample for accentuation. (were NIN, whether consciously or subconsciously, riffing on the X-Files?)
Kumbaya 3+3+2 wayneandwax 2019-03-06 | adding some drums to a 1926 Gullah Geechee version of "Come By Here" (Kumbaya) to highlight the 3+3+2 rhythms -- common to Gullah Geechee music, and to spirituals (not to mention lots of Afrodiasporic music), but not as commonly applied to this song anymoremore here: http://annecbailey.blogspot.com/2018/02/gullah-geechee-community-finally.htmland here: http://www.ethanhein.com/wp/2019/kumbaya
Cannot Pour It Up wayneandwax 2019-02-21 | an unlikely mashup that works remarkably well (at least in terms of rhythmic alignment): Henry Purcell's "Twas within a Furlong" and Rihanna's "Pour It Up" -- all thanks to the Scotch Snap
How Many Bells Does 7 Rings Ring? wayneandwax 2019-02-21 | a sequential mashup of Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" (panned to the right) with the 3 songs it has been accused of plagiarizing (panned to the left), Soulja Boy's "Pretty Boy Swag," 2 Chainz's "Spend It," and Princess Nokia's "Mine" -- beat-sync'd to highlight the similarities (and differences)
Didnt My Lord Deliver Dancehall? wayneandwax 2019-02-10 | An Ableton-assisted "mashup" showing how African-American spirituals could be heard as "dangerously near to being dance tunes" as inspired by "the merry chorus manner of the ... husking frolic method" (Eileen Southern, The Music of Black Americans, p. 85). Spiritual arrangement by Moses Hogan.
walking through the marsh at high tide wayneandwax 2017-11-22 | pamet harbor, fisher beach, truro, cape cod, MAaugust 2017
black cherry tree removal wayneandwax 2017-11-22 | good bye, ol' tree. some crane!july 2017, letting some light in
Get Lite Jig wayneandwax 2017-03-29 | by a student in my american social dance class, highlighting parallels between breakdown/buck dancing and ongoing harlem dance trends
charlies cutnpaste composition (performed by charlie) wayneandwax 2015-07-01 | a cut 'n' paste classic, written & performed by charlie, featuring nico & alec
charlies cutnpaste composition (conducted by charlie) wayneandwax 2015-07-01 | a cut 'n' paste classic, realized by nico & alec, written & conducted by charlie
Sorry Sorry Megamontage wayneandwax 2014-01-12 | the story of "sorry sorry" -- a k-pop song&dance that evidently inspires a lot of embodied reception & otherwise performed fandomas staged in livingrooms and schools and prisons, danced by people and mascots and animations and robots, as karaoke and TV tutorial, and -- in a genre that seems native both to youtube and to k-pop -- as reaction video (that is, as people watching people watching youtube on youtube), here is "sorry sorry" in all its spreadable splendormeta meta!produced by wayne&wax in collaboration with DJ Hatfield on curation & consultation
Queens of the Night wayneandwax 2014-01-10 | a youtube-sourced montage of the lively modern social life of "queen of the night" -- a remarkably popular song some 200+ years after mozart composed it with an aim at moving the boys at "the lodge"brief and flashy, it's a catching composition, as evidenced by the various renditions collecting here, spanning professional and amateur contexts, gender and age, virtuoso and awful performances, modes of reception (e.g., the occasional applause), drama and humor, private and public -- a spreadable song for the ages memetastic, mozart!produced by wayne&wax with consultation & curation c/o isaiah jackson
funk carioca as folk practice wayneandwax 2013-09-24 | brief excerpt from Favela on Blast showing MC Pé de Pano with a group of kids from the local favela, using hand claps to play a tamborzinho for them to rap to
Junior Rodigan w/ RSO (1991) wayneandwax 2012-03-27 | from the documentary _Arch Nemesis: Benzino_ youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Jl2dixBCS8o#!according to @JuniorRodigan: "Show was in 91 at #TheChannel w/ @naughtybynature @triggertreach their 1st time in Boston."
Wiley: Dancehall as Install wayneandwax 2012-03-16 | This is a brief excerpt from SHOWTIME! a DVD produced & presented by the Heatwave bringing together an amazing slate of luminaries from the UK's soundsystem scene (spanning reggae, rave, garage, grime, etc.). For more the official trailer & ordering info, see http://www.theheatwave.co.uk/showtime.html
saturday morning family dancehall wayneandwax 2011-11-12 | Made with CamBox iOS: http://camboxapp.com
If you want a picture of the future, imagine my finger tapping on your iPhone — forever. wayneandwax 2011-11-10 | Made with CamBox iOS: http://camboxapp.com
Gasodoble wayneandwax 2011-02-09 | This video stitches together 13 performances of "España Cañi" collected on YouTube. It sets them all to the tempo and (more or less) the key of the instrumental, or pista, from Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina." To my ears, the simple, semitone-step harmonic motion in "Gasolina" always suggests Pascual Marquina Narro's sporting anthem, a classic riff for bullfights and ballgames, pasodoble competitions and guitar recitals. And though I've yet to confirm that Luny Tunes are invoking "España Cañi," could it really be a mere coincidence that Yankee raps, "En la pista nos llaman los matadores"? While I like how this montage/mashup highlights the harmonic and thematic overlap I've been hearing, I also dig that it brings together so many interpretations and contexts of "España Cañi." Thanks to all the people involved. (I contend that this video constitutes a fair use of all materials.)
Thinking in Fours vs. Playing in Threes wayneandwax 2009-06-09 | In this excerpt from _The Visitor_ (2007), Tarek explains to Walter the difference between classical music ("in 4s") and African music ("in 3s"), except that everything they play can be counted in 4/4 time, and classical has its fair share of waltzes :: I appreciate the distinction that Tarek attempts to draw here, calling attention to the centrality of 3:2 interplay in West African drumming and the relative lack of such polyrhythm in European art music, but this is really clumsy language for illustrating these differences :: I claim fair use for these 101 seconds, offering it as an example of the sort of discourse that misrepresents African rhythm (not to mention "classical" music) and props up a misleading racialist dichotomy (about how -- or whether -- people "think" even!), if, perhaps, with the best of intentions
hip-hop vs. reggaeton wayneandwax 2009-01-24 | Vico C demonstrates the difference between hip-hop and reggaeton via beatbox :: this is an excerpt from the _Chosen Few_ documentary, which I highly recommend :: I claim fair use for these 14 seconds -- it serves as an example in an article about reggaeton (in _Reggaeton_ [Duke University Press, 2009]) and is included on a page of musical examples here: http://wayneandwax.com/?page_id=139
Nico Concreto (3-6 Months) wayneandwax 2008-07-25 | video footage plus some additional audio -- all from the last 3 months -- plenty of cutting'n'pasting and a lil time&pitch shifting, but most of the rhythms and melodies and chordal flourishes are nico's own
Nico Concreto (0-3 Months) wayneandwax 2008-04-13 | This video combines 680 or so photos and over 100 discrete samples and loops recorded during Nico's first three months in the world. Assembled using Ableton Live. Premiered @ Brandeis University on 11 April 2008.
