If you have not yet discovered the delightful strangeness of mashups, then let me introduce you. This is the art form whereby a performer (DJ, singer, instrumentalist, etc.) combines two distinct songs into one. Mashups provide a sound case against the absurd contention that electronic musicians are not artists, since most mashups are done with original recordings.
Mashups Can Be Art
Clever mashups are impressive because they require that the masher have not only a basic comprehension of musical forms, but also that she can find common elements among very different pieces. This isn’t “Electronica 101: Putting a Beat Under Beethoven’s Fifth.” It’s making Rick Astley rock out to Avicii. It involved syncing beats and chord progressions, or sometimes threading a melody over a completely different chord progression.
A fine example of such an effort is Kimbra’s combination of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” with Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels.” You may recognize Kimbra from her presence on Gotye’s nearly ubiquitous 2011 hit song “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Impressed by her singing on that gem, I sought more of her music out on YouTube, and found the subject of today’s post. Give it a listen.
Breaking Down “Two Weeks/Head Over Heels”
As it opens, Kimbra does her signature dance and sounds like she’s being possessed by the ghost of the immortal (and, to be clear, very much alive) Annie Lennox, as a synth swirls like mist around her throaty cries. Turning to her trusty effect box, Kimbra starts layering her own voice, adding echo-chamber weirdness to the mix, when suddenly the instruments break into that familiar plunking of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks,” albeit a tad faster than we’re used to. The beats, both synthetic and primal, keep the strangeness alive over lines of longing and ennui (like the unforgettable “routine malaise”). Then, just as she finishes a chorus and we think we’re headed into another verse, the beats drop out, leaving only the chords.
“Something happened,” she affirms; “and I’m head over heels.” It may be only a slight adjustment of the lyrics (the original used the present tense “happens”), and a little extra speed on the beatbox, but we’ve entered another song, one likely even more familiar than the first. And just as the percussion comes back in, she drops a bluesy bend into the melody, telling us not to get too comfortable. And again, there’s a little breakdown in the bridge, injecting some funk into an old pop standard; when the beat picks back up we get that same cascading riff from the original, only with little electronic glissandos twinkling underneath it all. And as she comes out of the chorus it’s back to a punchy round of percussive “ohs” as the band winds down over chords that could have come from either song.
Reprise and variation
Such a shining example of the mashup. The art lies in finding the common thread that ties two seemingly disparate elements together. Kimbra and her band took two songs, released 24 years apart, and found harmonic resonance. And, it turns out, lyrical consonance, as well. Both songs speak of a distance, a reticence on the part of the other.
Save up all the days[…]Just like yesterday
I told you I would stay
Would you always, Maybe sometimes
Make it easy; Take your time.
This failure to connect resonates with the earlier song:
I wanted to be with you alone[…]
You keep your distance with a system of touch
And gentle persuasion[…]
Oh, you’re wasting my time.
Both songs touch on the impatience of waiting on someone, over insistent beats that bear testimony to the ineffable march of days into years, on into oblivion. (Note: her shortened version of “Head Over Heels” omits the lines quoted above. However, the essence of the song is preserved, in my humble opinion.)
As it turns out, both original pieces had wonderful music videos, both worthy of review.