Wired doesn’t seem to care about anything musical unless it has the word “mashup” in it. But at least they get this right: Jamaican musicians understood the mashup long before Wired editors did. DJ Spooky is putting together a compilation to celebrate the 40th anniversary of reggae label Trojan Records, and as he talks to Wired about the landmark, he’s sharp-witted as ever. Spooky manages to reel off his analysis a bit like a rapper or poet: even when you’re not sure what he’s saying, it sounds great. (Wikinomics? Music? Sure!) But this raises a question: will the next music generation in fact be about something other than sampling, remixing, and mashing? With debates raging about open source and intellectual property, music tech pundits may have missed the fact that musicians, as always, move on to new things. And the ones with original visions, like the pioneers of Jamaica, never get old.
DJ Spooky: How a Tiny Caribbean Island Birthed the Mashup
Upgrading Jamaica’s Cultural Shareware: Trojan Records at 40