Digital Remix versus Mashups

Miske Ahmed

WRIT 2004 Writing in Digital Cultures

Rich Shivener

Mash-up analysis

Feb 3, 2020

Digital Remix versus Mashups

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera” ~ Dorothea Lang.

Upon, seeing this quote the first thing that came to mind was “digital remix”. Digital remixing has a lot to do with technology. The reason that this quote resonates with "digital remix" is because with the use of technology other ideas start to emerge. When it comes to remixing and mashups one must understand two things. The understanding of genres and the audience response are two factors that every digital remix and mashup should incorporate. Kerry Dirk says, “knowing what a genre is used for can help people to accomplish goals” (Dirk,253).  To, successfully meet the requirement of a good digital remix or a mashup one must fully understand what the original genre is used for so they may accomplish their goals in the remixing version. Another, technique that either makes or breaks your digital remix or mashups is “audience responses”. This technique is important because “rhetorical action meant to bring about a specific response” (Dirk,254). The reason that Kerry said this is because when you know your audience you become rhetorically aware and that method helps your digital remix and mashups being more successful. The two videos I will be analyzing are “Trump’s al-Baghdadi speech and Obama’s Bin Laden speech” by Jimmy Kimmel and “Olivia and Fitz – Helium”. Both of these videos share the element of technology in producing the remix version. However, Trump’s al-Baghdadi speech and Obama’s Bin Laden speech” is more of a mashup than a digital remix.  A digital remix is “an alternative mix of a recorded song that differed from the original taking apart the various instruments and components that make up a recording and remixing them into something that sounds completely different” (Knobel and Lankshear, 22). A good example would be “Olivia and Fitz – Helium”. Oliva and Fitz are two characters from a show called “Scandal” and Helium is a song written by Sia. The artist picked the scenes that were going to coordinate with the song making it into a digital remix. Whereas. the mash-up from Jimmy Kimmel where two speeches that were juxtaposition with each other. It had no element of any alternative remix.    

In recent year’s politics and comedy has started to really emerge together more than before. In this particular mash-up, two different genres interconnect which are politics and comedy. The context of this video is highly political because it is comparing a former president to a sitting president. The comparison becomes extremely Horatian because this level of satire is more humourizing than its biting. In this video, the satirist target is Donald Trump and the informality within his speech. To further, mock the informality of the president, the video juxtaposition with Obamas eloquent and formal speech. Thus, the satirical side is the immediate response of the audience. Kerry Dirk chooses a certain claim made by another author to prove how important the audience's response. The claim was “Picking up a text, readers not only classify it and expect a certain form, but also make assumptions about the text’s purposes, its subject matter, its writer, and its expected reader” (Dirk, 253). This quotation demonstrates that audience response is important not only to the audience but, to the artist or author because it’s a crucial factor for a mashup or digital remixing to succeed. Another example would be, “Olivia and Fitz – Helium” for this remix to succeed the artist has to coordinate the scenes from “Scandal” and “Helium” by Sia so the audience could receive a certain response. In this digital remix, one could see that a lot of audio, technique and other elements were produced into making this remix. The reason is that it was moving from one genre to another. In this case, “Scandal” is categorized to be political. However, the digital remix version changed the genre and romanticized the music video because the words of the song falls under the “romance” section. The reason is that the song describes heartbreak and love”. This also illustrates that understanding the genre is highly important because one might miss the mark and that would not reciprocate well with the audience. Nevertheless, Jimmy Kimmel mashup also demonstrated a similar change of genre from the original to the remix. The original versions of the speeches were political but by juxtaposition it with each other another genre appears which is comedy. Therefore, the audience response was satirical. These two videos also indicate that similar genres could be incorporated with two completely different ideas and perhaps create another existing genre. To sum it all, both videos are a great representation of mashup and digital remix because it contains two important elements, which are the understanding of genres and audience response. These two elements are important because you cannot have one of the factors and not the other. 

Lost in Translation

Dropped two mixtapes in six months

What bitch working as hard as me?

I don't bother with these hoes

Don't let these hoes bother me

They see pictures, they say goals

Bitch, I'm who they tryna be

Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know

She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home

I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets

To carry love, to carry children of our own

My pussy feel like a lake

He wanna swim with his face

I'm like okay

I'll let him do what he want

He buy me Yves Saint Laurent

And the new whip.

Fighting against all odds

I know we'll be alright this time

Darling, just hold my hand

Be my girl, I'll be your man

I see my future in your eyes

I don't wanna choose

And I'm quick, cut a nigga off

So don't get comfortable

I have faith in what I see

Look, I don't dance now

I make money moves

Now I know I have met an angel in person.

I make bloody moves

And she looks perfect tonight.

I pay my mama bills

I don't deserve this

Said little bitch, you can't fuck with me

If you wanted to cause

Darling, you look perfect tonight

Side Note: The two artists that I decided to mash up lyrically is “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. For this mashup, I named the title “Lost in Translation” because the two artists are completely different from each other. Not only as a musician but lyrically also. 

Work Cited

“Cardi B – Bodak Yellow.” Genius, 16 June 2017, genius.com/Cardi-b-bodak-yellow-lyrics.

Dirk, Kelly. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Vol 1. 2010. P249-62. Web. Accessed 13 January 2020. https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces1/dirk--navigating-genres.pdf

“Ed Sheeran – Perfect.” Genius, 3 Mar. 2017, genius.com/Ed-sheeran-perfect-lyrics.

Knobel, Michele, and Colin Lankshear. "Remix: The Art and Craft of Endless Hybridization." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 52, no. 1, Sept. 2008, pp. 22-23. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1598/JAAL.52.1.3. Accessed 20 Jan. 2020.

YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vpLA1yUjKA&t=148s.

 YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsBOWSjOLsE.