so sure, jay makes records at the melody lanes recording complex, but what does he do for kicks? sound and video projects for his own ill amusement, like this mashup of rush and the beastie boys.
now i know what you’re thinking. believe me, i don’t like mashups, either. but jay’s mashup is extraordinary. i can’t believe how well he’s gotten the emcees’ voices to work with neil peart’s drums. a few things underscored by this project:
- peart is a great rap-rock drummer. whether or not they know it, all rap-rock drummers have been attempting to emulate that distinctive peart *ping*,
- there’s something indisputably proggy about the beastie boys. in fact, check your head is probably the only rap-rock album ever made that has legitimate prog overtones. (wes borland only tried to be proggy.)
justin helped put together the video. i particularly like the part where ad-rock says “i’m like god”, and a big rush logo fills the screen. so, yes, this is the first official braun brothers release in forever. jay promises more to come, too. i believe him. his talents seem well-suited to the youtube cultural-blender hijinx that kids (and provocateurs) seem to find so amusing.