Tech Tuesday with Dave Green

This week: Monster - and muppet - mash-ups for a hip-hop Halloween!

Halloween seems to be huge in the US and, consequently, on the internet, even inspiring an entire album of the home-made "nerdcore" geek rapping we discussed on the show previously, with tracks such as NCMC's "When Zombies Attack" referencing the recent XBox 360 game in lines like "shotguns, sniper rifles, gats of all sizing - anything can be a weapon, yo, like Dead Rising" (NB: some strong language in the other lyrics).

Slightly more professional-sounding is the Bride Of Monster Mash remix project, where Obie Trice meets Ray Parker Jnr in Essexboy's "Freaky Teethbusters", and Apollo Zero adds the Paid In Full drumbeat to Andrew Gold's "Don't Scream (It's Only Halloween)".

And if that's not enough, this blogger seems to be uploading entire albums of retro Halloween weirdness (though I had problems unzipping some of the files until I tried using a different program - spooky).
Orson Welles' famous "War Of The Worlds" radio play debuted on Halloween in 1938, but British bootlegger Fettdog has produced his own version of Jeff Wayne's musical version, with Richard Burton narrating over an intriguingly different selection of backing tracks from Chris Isaak, All Saints, The Bravery and a lot of Nine Inch Nails.

A right old Monster Mash-Up
by Amanda Law


Mutant: 28 Oct, 8pm-1am, Fluid, Charterhouse Street, Farringdon, EC1, 020 7253 3444, £3 (guest list free before 10pm)


Where else can you witness the Arctic Monkeys, Screaming Lord Sutch and The Hives mutating seamlessly into one another? Or catch Gravediggaz red handed, stabbing Kasabian in the back? What about Ray Parker Jnr following Missy Elliott down a long, dark alleyway? Or hearing AC/DC aurally strangle Blue Oyster Cult? This kind of musical mutilation can only be found on a new long player’s worth of Hallowe’en-themed bootlegs entitled Bride Of Monster Mash-Up. Still not clear? Then read on. If you dare.

Ghosts, ghouls and goblins beware, for the increasingly fashionable mash-up scene has spawned many more bastard children than it would be safe to mention here. Mash-ups, or bootlegs (depending on who you ask), are works of pure evil, created in the licentious laboratories of artists with messed-up monikers such as Fettdog, Pilchard and Juxtaposeur. At least, that’s the view of most music industry moguls.

The reality, however, is that the art of bootlegging (mixing two or more musical tracks together, usually with effective or downright hilarious results) is highly skilled and usually practised by nice people in their bedroom studios. They very rarely see a penny for their troubles.

This is a travesty, because when they are allowed, mash-up artists can add a certain je ne sais quoi to an act, giving instant credibility and reaching an alternative and otherwise untapped audience.

For this, the hostile record companies may actually like to consider being thankful. Sadly though, due to the music industry’s inherent and paranoid fear of the internet and all things digital, the mash-up artist remains under-utilised and, therefore, underground. Most of the ultra-cool bootleg club nights remain off-radar, which may not be a bad thing.

There are, however, a few bootleg club nights that have reached listings pages – Uber, at 93ft East and, this Saturday, the Mutant Hallowe’en party at Fluid in Farringdon, toasting the launch of the Bride Of Monster Mash-Up album featuring Phil n’ Dog (creators of Mylo’s Dr Pressure), Who Boys, Pilchard and Instamatic.

Or to download Bride Of Monster Mash-Up in time for the witching hour, then visit www.bride-of-monster-mash.com for more details.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

10. DIAMANDA GALAS VS. JERRY GOLDSMITH VS. MANOWAR, "SATAN. OMEN. DEATH"

It has become something of an online tradition to concoct an elaborate collection of horrifying mash-ups each October in the run-up to Halloween. This year's edition — 19 selections (and that doesn't even include the bonus disc) — kicks off with this expertly rendered mood-setter that tosses bits of Goldsmith's score for The Omen to the snarling Galas. The effect is amusing in a chilling sort of way. Or, to paraphrase one of the 20th century's great philosophers: Don't fear the reaper, dude.

Paul writes in to tell us about Bride of Monster Mashup, a Hallowe'en-themed mashup album -- he sez, " It's excellent -- it features DJ BC, Solcofn (from DC101), Cheekyboy (from DMC), pilchard and load more big mashers. There are also podcasts and videos for some of the tracks." DJ NoNo's County Sound is a hoot. (Thanks, Paul!)