Tim Heidecker: A mashup could be the best example of everything that's horribly wrong with pop art. When an acapella group wants to cover a mashup rather than the original versions, they're appreciating the new rhythmic and tonal qualities of the mashup on its own terms. Theodore Adorno was Western philosophy's most prominent critic of popular music. Pop music is like industrially produced fast food,. And so mashups are the hot dog stuffed crust pizza or the burger redo of music.
Two records from 1983 achieved minor novelty fame, and then faded away, only to emerge 20 years later as the originators of a curious genre of pop music in the age of social media. This peculiar genre raises questions about how we should think about genre, musical aesthetics, and artistry in the time of industrially-produced music and digital reproduction. Guest voices include Jordan Roseman, aka DJ Earworm, Steve Stein, aka Steinski, philosopher Chris Bartel, and musicologist Christine Boone.
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