For the better part of a decade now, a musical mastermind has been working his magic on YouTube. Bill McClintock seems to have developed an ear for songs that can be mashed up to form things that should not exist. Yet despite this, they often combine in astoundingly catchy and earwormy ways. Of course, music taste will vary from person to person. Even though we think these are his five best creations, we encourage you to check out his YouTube channel and comb through his work.
“Burn” – “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps and “Dragula” by Rob Zombie
One of his earlier creations, this unholy match-up effortlessly takes the chorus from “Dragula” and inserts it into the main instrumental melody from “Disco Inferno.” It’s bizarre how extremely fitting it is to hear “Dig through the ditches and burn through the witches…” punctuated by the horns and bass of the disco classic. The verses of “Disco Inferno” remain unchanged but now segue into Zombie telling us to “Do it baby/Burn like an animal.” One listen to it and you will not be able to separate the two songs from each other ever again.
“Hip to Be the Sandman” – “Hip to be Square” by Huey Lewis & The News and “Enter Sandman” by Metallica
As a completely unabashed fan of Huey Lewis & The News, this was always going to make my list. But even putting personal bias aside, it says something that this makes Bill’s personal top 10 list on his YouTube channel. “Hip to be Square” was Huey at the height of his hit-making era and had refined pop-rock performances to a science. The musical hooks are all there from the transition to the chorus, the horn section, and the drum fills from Bill Gibson. McClintock inserts James Hetfield‘s threatening vocals and lyrics against this in virtually seamless fashion. He did have to edit the verses down since “Enter Sandman” has fewer lyrics than “Hip to be Sqaure” but the fact that it flows so well overcomes this. Maybe Metallica should’ve had a horn section all this time.
“I Heard it Round and Round the Grapevine” – “Round and Round” by Ratt and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye
This is an example of a mashup that actually can make you appreciate an original song even more. Anyone who heard the voice of the late, great, Marvin Gaye knows how talented he was. It’s just undeniable how much power, soul, and control he had over his vocals. Hearing those vocals over R&B instrumentation emphasizes those sonic qualities. But when you hear them over the driving guitar rock of Ratt, you hear even more so how commanding they were. His brand of soul was so arresting that it even pairs exceptionally well with the louder, hard rock of the ’80s. It could’ve been overwhelmed by the louder drums and grinding guitar riff but somehow they just elevate Gaye to even greater heights, even though its the same performance.
“Chemical Warfare (Don’t It Feel Good?)” – “Chemical Warfare” by Slayer and “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves
Sometimes a mashup can be just as funny as it is melodically pleasing. This is an example of that. Tom Araya‘s distinct vocals belt out descriptions of dead bodies surrounding a battlefield while Katrina Leskanich sings in her upbeat voice, lines like “And don’t it feel good,” “Ooh yeah,” “I feel alive,” all to the relentlessly poppy drums and horns. The maniacal laughter and gutteral shouts from Araya make it all the better in the contrast. McClintock also adds guitar work from Joe Satriani to pepper the instrumental breaks in ways that work astonishingly well with The Waves rhythm section. In a just world the words “chemical warfare” would be shouted during all performances of “Walking on Sunshine.”
“Stuparena” – “Stupify” by Disturbed and “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix) by Los Del Rio
Though this list was not ranked, this would be at the top if it were. Somehow, this has taken two songs that I never much cared for and has made something that I absolutely adore. Again, music taste is subjective and Disturbed has plenty of fans; I’m just not one of them. As for “Macarena,” well, it’s a relic of the 90s for a reason.
What McClintock has done here is strip out all of Disturbed’s hard rock musicianship and put David Draiman‘s vocals over the electronic melody of the latin flavored hit. He then starts trading off with the duo of “Los Del Rio” in a way that makes no sense and yet absolutely works. Extra points for the transition between the two songs with the lyrics “It all starts slipping awa-heyyy Macarena.” I have personally played this song for friends and family who all agree that this is way better than it has any right to be.
Remember to check out Bill’s YouTube channel for more mashups that you will surprisingly find yourself taken with.
