HW Creativity

The article entitled "1 + 1 + 1 = 1:  The new math of mashups" written by Sasha Jones explains how Dj's are using music, old music specifically, and pairing them up with a different style of music to make them harmonious in a way people hadn't thought of before. Take for example Freelance Hellraiser and his mashup of Christina Aguilera's hit "Genie In a Bottle" and the Strokes' "Hard to Explain" which went viral and on the billboard charts. He dubbed it "A Stroke of Genius", using Aguilera's vocals for the majority of the song, and using the Strokes' music in the background. The two songs put together made people realize that music is not binary; different tempos, melodies and genres can be crossed to create something that's never been heard. This is where the creativity comes in, because the fact that a D.J can spend months on one song, one mashup, to make it not only perfectly melodic, but then making it a hit among artists in the industry is really a stroke of genius (pun intended). His remix was so good that he eventually because the official remix-er for Christina Aguilera if and when she wanted a song mixed, and even caught the attention of Paul McCartney as well. Using software to create these remix hits takes a great level of patience, ingenuity, and time to be able to mash together two different genres of music into one song that sounds like it can stand on its own. I think I finally understand the title of the article and what it means. Three songs alone are great, but combining them together doesn't make them 3 songs remixed; it actually makes it one song that nobody really could have fathomed before hand. It says that a mashup shouldn't be considered a remix at all, but instead a natural representation of what a song 'could' look like had the artists used this particular blend instead of the original.