The New Bootlegging

The latest rage in internet underground music is ‘bootlegging’. No, it’s not what you think it is. This new form of beauty is the remixing of existing (and often seemingly incompatible) tracks by ‘amateur’ mixers, and making them available on line, on the web and through P2P progs like AudioGalaxy or Kazaa. Check out this fab Aaliyah vs Leftfield ‘Try Another Phat One’ mix by ‘Skandal’. Obviously, there’s nothing new about remixing. But it’s having its 15 minutes right now, and it’s having it large.

These ‘mashed up’ tracks are now finding their way into the mainstream. George Michael, for example, wanted to put the Kurtis Rush booty ‘George gets his freak on’ as an extra track on his latest single, but apparently the rapper’s mother ‘didn’t want her daughter to be associated with homosexuality’. Charming. Anyway, the Guardian covered bootlegging recently, if you want to know more about it.

Boomselection is a weblog keeping track of the latest bootleg news, and it’s via them we found “dsico” who are featuring “U too in a Bottle?” featuring: Christina Aguilera – Genie in a Bottle | vs | U2 – Desire. You’ll find the link to the mp3 in the righthand column on their site. Let’s know if you find any other ‘U2 bootlegs’ of the same kind, cause we like ’em.

38 thoughts on “The New Bootlegging

  1. thre is nothing new about this as it has been going on for many a year now… being a big dance fan as well as a u2 fan i have heard enough of these hybrids to last me a life time… 9 times out of ten they really dont work at all and all you end up with is what was a decent tune savagely destroyed by an ill fitting vocal taht is stretched to the point of breaking… some will say that is breathes new life into a track but really a track if it is any good can do without some ripped vocal forced over the top of it… corse the classic example is fragma’s toca mia with had thrust upon it the old i need a miricle vocal… very first time i heard it you could see how ill fitting it was… corse then a few months later it gets an offical release and goes to number one still sounding as bad as it always had… these kinda things turn up every other week in records shops on badly pressed white labels and only once in a blue moon does one rise up from the crowd… it really is a sad state of affairs how ripe this has become in the dance scene as at its heart is a dj trying to make easy money on a tune that is popular at the time… alas this practice is here to stay for some time yet as is the record companies trick of taking a popular tune and adding a one line vocal to it so it will get radio air play and people with know know what to ask for when they go in to a record shop instead of trying to hum it to the poor guy behind the counter…. the list of these is to long to mention but one example would be dj jeans the launch tho i am sure you get the idea… do feel free to call me cynical if you wish 🙂 take care

  2. thre is nothing new about this as it has been going on for many a year now… being a big dance fan as well as a u2 fan i have heard enough of these hybrids to last me a life time… 9 times out of ten they really dont work at all and all you end up with is what was a decent tune savagely destroyed by an ill fitting vocal taht is stretched to the point of breaking… some will say that is breathes new life into a track but really a track if it is any good can do without some ripped vocal forced over the top of it… corse the classic example is fragma’s toca mia with had thrust upon it the old i need a miricle vocal… very first time i heard it you could see how ill fitting it was… corse then a few months later it gets an offical release and goes to number one still sounding as bad as it always had… these kinda things turn up every other week in records shops on badly pressed white labels and only once in a blue moon does one rise up from the crowd… it really is a sad state of affairs how ripe this has become in the dance scene as at its heart is a dj trying to make easy money on a tune that is popular at the time… alas this practice is here to stay for some time yet as is the record companies trick of taking a popular tune and adding a one line vocal to it so it will get radio air play and people with know know what to ask for when they go in to a record shop instead of trying to hum it to the poor guy behind the counter…. the list of these is to long to mention but one example would be dj jeans the launch tho i am sure you get the idea… do feel free to call me cynical if you wish 🙂 take care

  3. You know what would be cool? that U2 would release the original samples from their recording and letting U2 fans who are into mixing play with them. U2.com could run on a contest like Depeche mode and Erasure did with SoundForge site. Through Soundforge site you could download the original samples from ‘Dream On’ for example, and amateurs could download it and come up with some bright remixes.
    U2.com could offer prices for those cool remixes, even including the best ones in the single or release a fans remixes CD, etc. It’d be nifty

  4. You know what would be cool? that U2 would release the original samples from their recording and letting U2 fans who are into mixing play with them. U2.com could run on a contest like Depeche mode and Erasure did with SoundForge site. Through Soundforge site you could download the original samples from ‘Dream On’ for example, and amateurs could download it and come up with some bright remixes.
    U2.com could offer prices for those cool remixes, even including the best ones in the single or release a fans remixes CD, etc. It’d be nifty

  5. Are you people kidding me? It’s Christina Aguler…whatever…

    Someone please tie me up, cover me in dung and shoot me. Then when I’m dead, shoot me again. PLEASE.

  6. Are you people kidding me? It’s Christina Aguler…whatever…

    Someone please tie me up, cover me in dung and shoot me. Then when I’m dead, shoot me again. PLEASE.

  7. Pretenders v. Contenders, imitators v. originators, etc. Robbery is the peskiest form of flattery.

  8. Pretenders v. Contenders, imitators v. originators, etc. Robbery is the peskiest form of flattery.

  9. Gazza don’t all djs make easy money from other peoples stuff? Isn’t that what djing is about?

  10. Gazza don’t all djs make easy money from other peoples stuff? Isn’t that what djing is about?

  11. Man being a DJ isn’t just pressing play at Joey Schwatrz’s Bar Mitzvah… there’s a real technique to the good ones. I think remixes, if done well, are really cool. Funny how no one complains about Oakenfold when he “robs” U2 of a song….

  12. Man being a DJ isn’t just pressing play at Joey Schwatrz’s Bar Mitzvah… there’s a real technique to the good ones. I think remixes, if done well, are really cool. Funny how no one complains about Oakenfold when he “robs” U2 of a song….

  13. to answer a few points… yes sampling is an integral part of dance music but this goes way beyond that in so many ways… like i say almost every week i go to my record shop there is a new one floating about and the bulk of them are just plain rubbish… lost count of how many there are using paul van dyks for and angel… also i am more than aware what techniques dj’s use as i have lost count of how many weekends i have spent dancing away to the wee small hours to the likes of sasha, digweed, deep dish, tony humphries and so on… not to mention the fact that i do a bit myself and have friend that run and dj at clubs themselves…. all i am saying is that most these tunes are done with the express intent on getting the most cash for the least amount of effort and not out for a love of the music…. like i said also once in a while one does really work well… best one i heard recently was one that used the beats from leftfields phat planet and put the vocal from the doors tuen the end… and as for mr oakenfold.. well thats a whole different discussion …. all i will say is just listen to the perfecto mix of ebttrt and how ill fitting the guitar solo is :)…. and yes mike remixes if done well are good but what we are talking about aint a remix its just laziness

  14. to answer a few points… yes sampling is an integral part of dance music but this goes way beyond that in so many ways… like i say almost every week i go to my record shop there is a new one floating about and the bulk of them are just plain rubbish… lost count of how many there are using paul van dyks for and angel… also i am more than aware what techniques dj’s use as i have lost count of how many weekends i have spent dancing away to the wee small hours to the likes of sasha, digweed, deep dish, tony humphries and so on… not to mention the fact that i do a bit myself and have friend that run and dj at clubs themselves…. all i am saying is that most these tunes are done with the express intent on getting the most cash for the least amount of effort and not out for a love of the music…. like i said also once in a while one does really work well… best one i heard recently was one that used the beats from leftfields phat planet and put the vocal from the doors tuen the end… and as for mr oakenfold.. well thats a whole different discussion …. all i will say is just listen to the perfecto mix of ebttrt and how ill fitting the guitar solo is :)…. and yes mike remixes if done well are good but what we are talking about aint a remix its just laziness

  15. Paul Oakenfold is a god. All my favourite U2 remixes are by him! The guy managed to take Lemon – already a perfect song – and make it even better. How many other people can improve on perfection?

  16. Paul Oakenfold is a god. All my favourite U2 remixes are by him! The guy managed to take Lemon – already a perfect song – and make it even better. How many other people can improve on perfection?

  17. Gazza, you are missing the point. We’re not talking about commercial releases. We’re talking about amateurs mixing up crazy stuff and releasing them as mp3s.

  18. Gazza, you are missing the point. We’re not talking about commercial releases. We’re talking about amateurs mixing up crazy stuff and releasing them as mp3s.

  19. I bought some U2 remixes because I EXPECTED to hear something I hadn’t heard before…and I did…because U2 gave the mixers/djs/whathaveyou their unedited tracks of vocals and stuff. So I technically hear Bono BETTER and there are some NEW vocals on some of them…I think…call me crazy if you want. The point is…that I did not buy the remixes to hear the original recording chopped up and then spit out in a different tempo. Don’t ya need special equipment to produce mind-blowing mixes anyway? How many people have that equipment? Should a guy win a grammy for mixing an album in his bedroom?

  20. I bought some U2 remixes because I EXPECTED to hear something I hadn’t heard before…and I did…because U2 gave the mixers/djs/whathaveyou their unedited tracks of vocals and stuff. So I technically hear Bono BETTER and there are some NEW vocals on some of them…I think…call me crazy if you want. The point is…that I did not buy the remixes to hear the original recording chopped up and then spit out in a different tempo. Don’t ya need special equipment to produce mind-blowing mixes anyway? How many people have that equipment? Should a guy win a grammy for mixing an album in his bedroom?

  21. i am not taking about commerical releases either …these are presses on whitelabels/bootlegs call them what you will…they are in no way an offical release and the person who has stuck them together hasnt gotten permission from the original artists to use the tunes so all the money goes straght to them….. and let me say that these so called mash ups are in no way a remix as they are just taking the vocal from one tune and pasting it over another…what karaoke is on about are remixes… i myself have many a remix of u2 and many others… in fact most the viynl i buy has one or more remixes of the original tune.. in fact they are the reason for buying them as they are better than the original… one obvious example of this would be armand van heldens remix of tori amos’s proffesional widow.. hehehe dont think most peolpe would have heard the original version but most poeple will know the remix… so please i have nothing against the art of remixing at all in fact i love it but what we are talking about here are not remixes … hehee i would be so easier to get the point over if i took you to my record shop and made you listen to these awful tracks as i am sure you’s would get the point… madonnas holiday over the top of stardust music sounds better with you…..i rest my case 🙂

  22. i am not taking about commerical releases either …these are presses on whitelabels/bootlegs call them what you will…they are in no way an offical release and the person who has stuck them together hasnt gotten permission from the original artists to use the tunes so all the money goes straght to them….. and let me say that these so called mash ups are in no way a remix as they are just taking the vocal from one tune and pasting it over another…what karaoke is on about are remixes… i myself have many a remix of u2 and many others… in fact most the viynl i buy has one or more remixes of the original tune.. in fact they are the reason for buying them as they are better than the original… one obvious example of this would be armand van heldens remix of tori amos’s proffesional widow.. hehehe dont think most peolpe would have heard the original version but most poeple will know the remix… so please i have nothing against the art of remixing at all in fact i love it but what we are talking about here are not remixes … hehee i would be so easier to get the point over if i took you to my record shop and made you listen to these awful tracks as i am sure you’s would get the point… madonnas holiday over the top of stardust music sounds better with you…..i rest my case 🙂

  23. there is a mix of eminem’s slim shady (I think that’s the name of the song, it goes, “would the real slim shady please stand up,” you know the one) over britney spears’ “hit me baby one more time” that improves hugely on both songs. it’s really incredible and teaches you the value of production- how it can make pop out of anything.

  24. there is a mix of eminem’s slim shady (I think that’s the name of the song, it goes, “would the real slim shady please stand up,” you know the one) over britney spears’ “hit me baby one more time” that improves hugely on both songs. it’s really incredible and teaches you the value of production- how it can make pop out of anything.

  25. Check out http://www.soulwax.com

    They have been doing this kind of thing for some time and it sounds great. I heard a mix of Nirvana’s Teen spirit and Dest. Child’s Bootylicious (?) and more of that. Really cool.

    Personally I don’t like Oakenfield. His remixes aren’t about the songs itself. I mean, his Beautiful Day remix only contains Bono’s voice a few times. That’s all. The bass, drums and guitar are gone and so is the original melody. That’s not a remix, that’s a complete new songs which has little to do with the band 🙁

  26. Check out http://www.soulwax.com

    They have been doing this kind of thing for some time and it sounds great. I heard a mix of Nirvana’s Teen spirit and Dest. Child’s Bootylicious (?) and more of that. Really cool.

    Personally I don’t like Oakenfield. His remixes aren’t about the songs itself. I mean, his Beautiful Day remix only contains Bono’s voice a few times. That’s all. The bass, drums and guitar are gone and so is the original melody. That’s not a remix, that’s a complete new songs which has little to do with the band 🙁

  27. Hey Glad you guys enjoyed the U2 mixup.

    and by the way I’d just like to say, I did it for a laugh.. and a bit of web noteriety, there has been no money in it for me.. etc.. blah blah..

    Dsico

  28. Hey Glad you guys enjoyed the U2 mixup.

    and by the way I’d just like to say, I did it for a laugh.. and a bit of web noteriety, there has been no money in it for me.. etc.. blah blah..

    Dsico

  29. The Music Industry has been ripping us off for years, it’s about time we took something from them and had a laugh with it. So who cares about royalties? The Industry NEVER pays their dues.
    Does This seem relevant;
    “True I Have Raped History, But What Beautiful Offspring” – Alexander Dumas 1844 AD

  30. The Music Industry has been ripping us off for years, it’s about time we took something from them and had a laugh with it. So who cares about royalties? The Industry NEVER pays their dues.
    Does This seem relevant;
    “True I Have Raped History, But What Beautiful Offspring” – Alexander Dumas 1844 AD

  31. hi. soulwax,are truely the best. They are unique. original and unafraid of diversity, deviance from normality and prefer to provide an excelent mix set that never is boring in any place unlike nearly evry other DJ. (hang the dj to name one example). anyway I havea group called spirrit. Crazycruntus@hotmail.com is my email address and if you add me to msn I would like to hear whatyou think of my material. Not up to soulwax standards.

  32. hi. soulwax,are truely the best. They are unique. original and unafraid of diversity, deviance from normality and prefer to provide an excelent mix set that never is boring in any place unlike nearly evry other DJ. (hang the dj to name one example). anyway I havea group called spirrit. Crazycruntus@hotmail.com is my email address and if you add me to msn I would like to hear whatyou think of my material. Not up to soulwax standards.

  33. much as i love dsico, soulwax/2manyDJs, osomyso, etc, i gotta say that The KLF/The Timelords/The JAMMs did this stuff _way_, _way_ back with “Gary Joins the JAMMs”, “Doctorin’ the Tardis”, even the whole “Chill Out” Album (hehe.. it’s got Elvis…)

  34. much as i love dsico, soulwax/2manyDJs, osomyso, etc, i gotta say that The KLF/The Timelords/The JAMMs did this stuff _way_, _way_ back with “Gary Joins the JAMMs”, “Doctorin’ the Tardis”, even the whole “Chill Out” Album (hehe.. it’s got Elvis…)

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