[Double Exposure / Ten percent & My Love is Free / 1976 - image: Vinyl Masterpiece] Today, sampling is practiced in new media culture when any software users including creative industry professionals as well as average consumers apply cut/copy & paste in diverse software applications; for professionals this could mean 3-D modeling software like Maya (used to develop animations in films like Spiderman or Lord of the Rings);1 and for average persons it could mean Microsoft Word, often used to write texts like this one. Cut/copy & paste which is, in essence, a common form of sampling, is a vital new media feature in the development of Remix. In Web 2.0 applications cut/copy & paste (sampling) is a necessary element to develop mashups; yet the cultural model of mashups is not limited to software, but spans across media. Mashups actually have roots in sampling principles that were first initiated in music culture around the seventies with the growing popularity of music remixes in disco and hip hop culture; and even though mashups are founded on principles initially explored in music they are not always remixes if we think of remixes as allegories. This is important to entertain because, at first, Remix appears to extend repetition of forms in media, in repressive fashion; but the argument in this paper is that when mashups move beyond basic remix principles a constructive rupture develops that shows possibilities for new forms of cultural production that question standard commercial practice. The following examination aims to demonstrate the reasons why mashups are not always remixes and the importance of such difference in media culture when searching for new forms of critical thinking. I will first briefly define mashups and Remix to then examine mashups' history in music, then briefly consider them in other media, to then examine in detail their usage in web applications. This will make clear the relationship of mashups to Remix at large, and will enhance our understanding of sampling as a critical practice in Remix and Critical Theory. Introducing Mashups There are two types of mashups, which are defined by their functionality. The first mashup is regressive; it is common in music, and is often used to promote two or more previously released songs. Popular mashups in this category often juxtapose songs by pop acts like Christina Aguilera with the Strokes, or Madonna and the Sex Pistols.2 The second mashup is reflexive, and is usually found outside of music, and most commonly in web 2.0 applications. Some examples of this genre include news feed remixes as well as maps with specific local information. This second form of mashup uses samples from two or more elements to access specific information more efficiently, thereby taking them beyond their initial possibilities. While the Regressive Mashup is a remix the Reflexive Mashup is not, that is if a remix is defined as an allegory that finds its authority in sampling pre-existing objects. But to move further with this argument Remix must be defined in detail.3 Remix Defined A music remix, in general, is a reinterpretation of a pre-existing song, meaning that the "aura" of the original will be dominant in the remixed version. Some of the most challenging remixes can question this generalization. But based on its history, it can be stated that there are three types of remixes. The first remix is extended meaning that a longer version of the original song is created. This extended remix containing long instrumental sections is more mixable for the club DJ. The first known disco song to be extended to ten minutes is "Ten Percent," by Double Exposure, remixed by Walter Gibbons in 1976.4 The second remix is selective; it consists of adding or subtracting material from the original song. This is the type of remix which has turned DJs into popular producers in the music mainstream. One of the most successful selective remixes is Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full," remixed by Coldcut in 1987.5 For this song Coldcut produced two remixes; the most popular version not only extended the original recording, following the tradition of the club mix (as in the previous Gibbons example), but it also subtracted some sections as well as added new sounds, while always maintaining the "essence" of the song intact. The third remix is reflexive; it allegorizes and extends the aesthetic of sampling, where the remixed version challenges the aura of the original and claims autonomy even when it carries the name of the original. In Reflexive Remixes material is added or deleted, but the original tracks are largely left intact in order to be recognizable. An example of this is Mad Professor's famous dub/trip hop album No Protection, a remix of Massive Attack's Protection. In this case both albums, the original and the remixed versions, are considered works on their own, yet the remixed version is completely dependent on Massive's original production for validation.6 The fact that both albums were released at the same time in 1994 further complicates Mad Professor's allegory. It is worth noting that Mad Professor's production is part of the tradition of Jamaica's dub, where the term "version" was often used to refer to "remixes" which due to their extensive manipulation in the studio pushed for autonomy.7 Allegory is often deconstructed in more advanced remixes following this third form, and quickly moves to be a reflexive exercise that at times leads to a "remix" in which the only thing that is recognizable from the original is the title. Remixes can quickly crossover and blur their own definitions. Some do this by becoming Regressive or Reflexive Mashups as I explained in the introduction. Now that remix has been defined in its three basic forms, we are ready to look at mashups in music as well as other fields in mass culture, especially web 2.0 applications. This will then expose the latent state for critical practice in Reflexive Mashups: new opportunities for critical practice are waiting for media producers to put them into practice. |
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