Wu-Tang meets the Beatles in a beautiful mashup
January 22nd, 2010 § 1 Comment
Yesterday I followed a link to a Wu-Tang Beatles mashup in the spirit of Grey Album and Girl Talk. It was the work of artist Tom Caruana under the perfect album name: Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers. I listened to a few clips. Amazing. I bookmarked the link.
When I went back to listen to the album in its entirety today, it was gone. Why, I don’t know – although I suspect a lawyer had something to do with it. Maybe the Beatles’ lawyers. Maybe Wu-Tang’s, although Wu-Tang did get rights to use a Beatles sample in a new song.
Labels and artists raised in the golden days of the music industry have a distinct suspicion of giving anything away. Those of us that grew up with the internet and computers as the primary vehicle for listening to and creating music feel differently. Or at least that’s been my experience.
Very few musicians I play with or know truly expect to make a living off of selling CDs. Live performances are the only way I’ve made money playing music and the only way I ever expect to. Recorded music is part of marketing. You give it away to get something in return – loyalty. The lawyers can try, but they won’t keep up with technology. Somehow, Magical Mystery Chambers will find its way back on the Internet. And when it does, I’ll link to it. In the meantime, I’ve learned my lesson: download potentially illegal albums the second you find them.
[...] you enjoyed Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers, try Jaydiohead on for size. Max Tannone threw Jay-Z (a favorite of mashup artists) and Radiohead [...]