Today’s Mashup Monday post is from the YouTube artist oneboredjeu Mashup. This YouTuber took Drowning Pool’s anger-filled anthem “Bodies” and mashed it up with one of Britney Spear’s well-known songs “Toxic”, and it’s absolutely fantastic! What makes this particular mashup so successful is that the breakdowns in “Bodies” line up perfectly with the instrumental transitions in “Toxic”.

Combing through the comments in the video and I found an interesting comment – “I want to hear this mashup the other way around now.” On the surface it seems like a simple enough comment, just someone who is curious what it would sound like. The thing is, being in Fun DMC has started to make me be critical of mashups because it is not an easy thing to do. Especially making popular ones. Songs have an ID and something that makes them recognizable and it’s the mashup artist’s duty to make sure that the parts people know are highlighted. In the example of “Toxic Pool”, most people would not be able to easily recognize the instrumentals of “Bodies” if presented to them. Nothing against Drowning Pool, it’s just not NEARLY as recognizable as “Toxic” as everyone will know that signature synth from the song. But there is one thing about “Bodies” people do know, and it’s the lyrics. Screaming “let the bodies hit the floor” as well as the count into the chorus are well known parts to a lot of people.

Sure, maybe the instrumentals of “Bodies” with the lyrics of “Toxic” would work really well and academically be a successful mashup, but I don’t think it would be nearly as popular. Metal music can be extremely rough on people’s ears and not everyone likes what goes into it, and there is nothing wrong with that. People have their preferences; God knows I don’t like country music. But these are things mashup artists need to take into account when creating their mashups. What are people going to recognize more? What would people like to hear more? It’s a tightrope walk but when you nail it, you nail it.

Thanks for tuning into this Mashup Monday blog and I hope you enjoyed the music. Let us know of any cool mashups you have heard or songs you think would go well together!