Pop stars like Ke$ha and Lady Gaga keep talking about bringing rock "back from the dead," as if it needs it. They're wrong, of course.
Then we stumbled across a Ke$ha and Lamb of God remix, and you know what? It sounded pretty good, for a Ke$ha track. So we decided to dig around on YouTube for other pop and rock remixes, and it wasn't the only good one.
Sure, remixes can go hideously wrong, but the fairest thing to do was round up a selection and present them to UG readers to see what happens. After all, we might have to see more of this 'pop meets rock' style in the charts over 2012, if the aforementioned pop princesses are to be believed.
So here is a list of popular YouTube remixes for you to explore. Let's find out what happens when two worlds of music collide.
Lamb of God vs Ke$ha
Believe it or not, this is pretty awesome. Unlike many of the following remixes which rely on taking the pop vocal and overlaying it on the rock track, this takes Randy Blythe's roar and sticks it straight on the club track. Not bad.
Rating: 4/5
Iron Maiden vs Bob Marley
This is one of the best mixes, purely for enlightening us to the wonders of hard rock and reggae when they are united. The reverb-laden vocals fit Maiden's live arena vibe nicely. There's some real magic happening here, and if you're not feeling something special between 1:20 and 2:00, you are a cold, dark being. Go back to your cave.
Rating: 5/5
Korn vs Michael Jackson
Everyone's favourite deceased pedophile (allegedly, of course) joins the wonky 90s nu-metalers in what could be the most unlikely collaboration in history - but wow, does it work. The choruses are a little jaunty, but those verses still sound super dark and dystopian. Thumbs up.
Rating: 4/5
Slipknot vs Justin Bieber
It's not to our taste, but the structure and key of both songs seems to fit like a glove. What a mix of emotions - we want to give credit to the remixer for making it fit, but we are completely ashamed to see such a heavy track destroyed by that Bieber kid. Let's just never play it again.
Rating: 3/5
Behemoth vs Lady Gaga
The weirdo pop princess probably should move into rock, because compared to her synth heavy disco pop we think her theatrical voice kind of works with metal. The breakdown at 3:20 is pretty dark too.
Rating: 3/5
Rage Against The Machine vs Shaggy
Anyone remember this guy? If you don't know who Shaggy is, he's basically an ageing Jamaican guy who has a big hit, retires to his homeland to allegedly spend his winnings on women, then returns a few years later to do the same again. Maybe he should give Tom Morello a call about hooking up officially.
Rating: 2/5
Guns N' Roses vs Jay-Z
Much like Rage Against The Machine, the solid funky beats make a comfy bed for rap vocals. It's times like this that it's easier for us rockers to recognise Jay-Z's effortless flow and talent - and as you can see in the video, both artists share a penchant for scantily clad women shaking their bits. Sure, it's a bit sexist, but it proves the pair were a match made in heaven.
Rating: 3/5
Turmion Kätilöt vs Katy Perry
The music sounds great, but Katy's vocal has been pitched high enough to make glass shatter. Actually, it's unbearable.
Rating: 1/5
Meshuggah vs Lady Gaga
Not quite as tight as the previous Gaga mashup, and her vocals could really do with re-pitching to fit the key of the song, but it reminds us that we haven't listened to Meshuggah in far too long. Those double icks and guitars are heavy enough to crush Gaga even while she wears a robot outfit.
Rating: 2/5
Slipknot vs Eminem
Eminem replaces Corey Taylor's fast and frantic rapping from the original, and it just about works, but considering it's based on one of the most accessible tracks from the Slipknot album, it was never going to be too hard.
Rating: 2/5
Slayer vs 1960s
Alright, it's not a typical mashup per se, but this edit of 60s dancers grooving to Slayer still has that internet spirit of looking at media in a new way. Best of all, there's no silly pop singers ruining the original classic - just great video editing. Enjoy!
Rating: 5/5, because Slayer are incessantly badass.
It's interesting to see instances where certain styles sound great together - we're going to play the Bob Marley version again in a minute - but for the most part, we think metal is better off sticking to its roots and rocking hard with screams.
Eminem replaces Corey Taylor's fast and frantic rapping from the original, and it just about works, but considering it's based on one of the most accessible tracks from the Slipknot debut, it was never going to be too hard.
As much as UG posts about Corey Taylor, it highly disappoints me that they think Psychosocial is from their debut album.
Eminem replaces Corey Taylor's fast and frantic rapping from the original, and it just about works, but considering it's based on one of the most accessible tracks from the Slipknot debut, it was never going to be too hard.
As much as UG posts about Corey Taylor, it highly disappoints me that they think Psychosocial is from their debut album.
Fair point, but I understand that the band consider 'mate/feed/kill/repeat' to be a demo rather than debut album. Many of the same songs appear on the self-titled record. But still, you're right that the demos came out first.
Eminem replaces Corey Taylor's fast and frantic rapping from the original, and it just about works, but considering it's based on one of the most accessible tracks from the Slipknot debut, it was never going to be too hard.
As much as UG posts about Corey Taylor, it highly disappoints me that they think Psychosocial is from their debut album.
Fair point, but I understand that the band consider 'mate/feed/kill/repeat' to be a demo rather than debut album. Many of the same songs appear on the self-titled record. But still, you're right that the demos came out first.
No, you don't get it. "Psychosocial" is from their fourth album, not their debut album.
Eminem replaces Corey Taylor's fast and frantic rapping from the original, and it just about works, but considering it's based on one of the most accessible tracks from the Slipknot debut, it was never going to be too hard.
As much as UG posts about Corey Taylor, it highly disappoints me that they think Psychosocial is from their debut album.
I can see where you're coming from, but after reading it a couple times I think they are saying "the Slipknot album" meaning the album from the band Slipknot and not their self-titled album. I believe they were implying that its "on of the most accessible tracks off the Slipknot album [All Hope is Gone]".
... or it could just be that once again UG shows how ignorant they really are.
These are all pretty comical but I had some kid in school tell me he actually like the bieber Slipknot one... Dumb. For some reason people get excited when two songs happen to be on the same beat
so i'm probably wrong but wasn't it shabba ranks and not shaggy w rage against the machine? both are before my time so i'm most likely wrong but i'm just curious. That was my favorite mash up btw
The Slipknot/Justin Bieber and the Kesha/Lamb of God are the same person, and he's DAMN GOOD. His name's Isosine and his EP Mashup Manifesto was amazing. He's got a really good A7X/Modest Mouse one, too.
Eminem replaces Corey Taylor's fast and frantic rapping from the original, and it just about works, but considering it's based on one of the most accessible tracks from the Slipknot debut, it was never going to be too hard.
As much as UG posts about Corey Taylor, it highly disappoints me that they think Psychosocial is from their debut album.
Fair point, but I understand that the band consider 'mate/feed/kill/repeat' to be a demo rather than debut album. Many of the same songs appear on the self-titled record. But still, you're right that the demos came out first.
I really don't mean to point out your errors so much, but they're up there, so why not?
I really don't like Slipknot. They have a few okay songs, but I rarely, rarely listen to anything from them.
The wording in the article could have been argued for the point that i_am_metalhead made, if it weren't for your rebuttal. Your response to threedaysgrace9 makes it sound as if you're under the impression that Psychosocial comes from their debut album, as he implied.
Now, being the non-Slipknot fan that I am, and only having heard that song possibly less than twice (all thanks to the radio), even I know that that song comes from their most recent, fourth studio album, All Hope Is Gone.
Also, the fact that Randy Blythe's vocals fit so seamlessly onto that Ke$ha song should make any fans of that style question its integrity.
It's a completely different style of music, a completely different chord progression, and yet it fits nearly perfectly, regardless of those differences.
That just goes to show you that what those types of singers do is much closer to growly rap than it is to singing, of any sort. The melody doesn't matter because there is no melody to it. Well... there is, but it's basically monotone, and it doesn't conflict with any of the music. It's like how you could take a non-melodic rap verse and paste it onto any other song in the same tempo and time signature and make it work without any sort of conflict.
Some of these were pretty good BUT... what the hell UG!?!? This is supposed to be my place to escape from all that pop stuff, please don't go the way of hot topic and start going all pop on us
How can you say you don't like Psychosocial Baby? It rivals Ghostbusters/Thunderstruck as the greatest mashup ever. It's hilarious. It isn't supposed to be taken as a serious song. Corey Taylor said he loves it.
The Bieber/Slipknot one deserves a 5 for effort and effectiveness. It works better than some of the others with higher ratings.
Actually, I think the Lamb of God/Ke$ha and the Slipknot/Bieber ones are both improvements.
I really don't like electronic music, and I really don't like Lamb of God or Slipknot's style, but together, their sum is worth more than their individual parts.
"It's times like this that it's easier for us rockers to recognize Jay-Z'slack ofeffortless flow and talent."
That's how that part should have read.
"5/5, because Slayer are incessantly badass."
Yeah, I guess, if you're 14 and have extremely religious parents. Other than that, I can't think of any scenario where they would be considered badass. They give metal guitarists, vocalists, lyrics, and imagery a bad name.
They are essentially the Ke$ha of metal, or rather, Ke$ha is the Slayer of pop music.
I know it aint really rock/pop but has Anyone heard korn/coldplay - coming undone/scientist? It's really mind blowing. I think YouTube took it down last time I checked.
a user on UG called Odirunn has a pretty epic remix of Katy Perry's "Extraterrestrial". i dont wanna get slammed for some advertising rule so im not gonna post a link but you should look it up.
These are all very interesting and there are indeed a few good ones on here (the Shaggy/RATM mix and the Marley/Maiden one in particular), and while the Bieber/Slipknot is still the most hilarious, none of them hold a candle to Stevie Wonder/Metallica 'Sad But Superstitious'
I'm a huge Stevie Wonder fan and used to be a Metallica kid, but neither song sounds as good as the remix anymore...
What a sad topic UG, For shame .. Rock is dead, The sooner you realize that the better. We don`t need any pathetic attempts to resurrect (Like this one) to come in and attempt to try and walk on the same dirt as our fourfathers. People need to understand that our fourfathers have created an untouchable movement in the history of music and for someone or something to come and try what you have posted here today is just like spitting on the monuments of what rock is all about. This is`nt recreating, This is just another insult to us rock fans.
Certainly tookin yourself down a few pegs there UG.
Most of these are jst insults. At least metal covers, or rock covers, are way better than these pop covers. You me at six's cover of poker face? I would say it is better than the original. Eternal september's cover for just dance? funnier, but not good musically (watch live performance with lady gaga). But taking awesome songs and putting pop melodies or w/e on it? It makes me angry. Phscosocial is already sick. Any cover from a guy with no balls makes it awful. Sorry, it's ok, but it makes me sick personally... Soon, the kid with no balls will say he's better than corey. Come the day he gets a facepalm... Eminem cover was sht aswell. too many words with 'baby' in it.
Why is the Slayer one even on the list if it isn't a mash-up? You can't just give it a 5/5 because you think Slayer are bad ass when all the other ones have been rated on how well they work as mash-ups. What the hell, UG?
TheRes also one with willow and kreator, which works disturbingly well. And ofcourse the classic "never gonna give you up" mixed with smells like teen spirit. Scary thing is that its actually a decent song worth listening to.
There's some real magic happening here, and if you're not feeling something special between 1:20 and 20, you are a cold, dark being. Go back to your cave.
wow just awful...it shows what bad taste in music UG has.
laday gaga looks like a guy and is just a terrible music maker. she has brain dead music, **** she even said her music is brain dead.
Most of these are jst insults. At least metal covers, or rock covers, are way better than these pop covers. You me at six's cover of poker face? I would say it is better than the original. Eternal september's cover for just dance? funnier, but not good musically (watch live performance with lady gaga). But taking awesome songs and putting pop melodies or w/e on it? It makes me angry. Phscosocial is already sick. Any cover from a guy with no balls makes it awful. Sorry, it's ok, but it makes me sick personally... Soon, the kid with no balls will say he's better than corey. Come the day he gets a facepalm... Eminem cover was sht aswell. too many words with 'baby' in it.
Uhmmm....they aren't covers. The artist/s have had nothing to do with these songs. They are remixes made by people on YouTube.
Although..Corey knows about Psychosocial Baby...and he thinks it's hilarious.
Most of these are jst insults. At least metal covers, or rock covers, are way better than these pop covers. You me at six's cover of poker face? I would say it is better than the original. Eternal september's cover for just dance? funnier, but not good musically (watch live performance with lady gaga). But taking awesome songs and putting pop melodies or w/e on it? It makes me angry. Phscosocial is already sick. Any cover from a guy with no balls makes it awful. Sorry, it's ok, but it makes me sick personally... Soon, the kid with no balls will say he's better than corey. Come the day he gets a facepalm... Eminem cover was sht aswell. too many words with 'baby' in it.
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0, you are a cold, dark being. Go back to your cave. 
As much as UG posts about Corey Taylor, it highly disappoints me that they think Psychosocial is from their debut album.