What are your favorite youtube mixes/mashups which feature streams of quotes from tv/movies/news etc. set to music?

October 8, 2009 7:10 AM

What are your favorite youtube mixes/mashups which feature streams of quotes from tv/movies/news etc. set to music? More specifics inside.

I loved this recently posted video in this post . It features clips and quotes from Ghostbusters, Citizen Kane, The Simpsons, 2001 etc. etc. etc. set to a dance backing track, the quotes rhyme and sound like they have been auto-tuned to fit with the music. In a nutshell I am looking for more of precisely the same.

I also am a fan of things like ThePartyParty.com and auto-tune the news.

I would love your favorite videos which feature:
Lots of quotes.
Lots of juxtaposition.
A good dance/rock beat.
Absurdity.
Use of auto-tune possibly (not a deal-breaker).

I am not a fan of Lenny's Dental Plan or clips which originate from sites like YTMND I find them too repetitive. Also for clarity am I not looking for mashups of songs like Eminem mixed with Michael Jackson.

I have tried to find the cream of these myself but 99% of what I find is repetitive crap, so I have come to you. Hope this question is not deemed too slight by the mods.

Why do I want them? I listen to them constantly while I am working I find that they don't distract me, but somehow provide a relief for the boring work I am doing. They move so fast and have so many references in them that I don't get bored. The beat usually helps me to stay motivated.

posted by therubettes to grab bag (26 comments total)

This may or may not be what you're looking for?
posted by MuChao at 7:23 AM on October 8

The Picard Song
posted by nitsuj at 7:27 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]

Is YouTube an absolute requirement? I know of a song from the "Sun City" protest album of some years back, but I doubt they even made a video for it, so I doubt you'd find it on YouTube.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:33 AM on October 8

Thanks nitsju
The Picard Song is 100% what I was looking for.

p.s. I should have placed more emphasis on the audio aspect rather than the video element as I obviously don't watch the videos while working! I guess the reason I specified youtube was that I figured that most of these sort of things would end up on there. But if there are any non youtube of great mp3s of the like I would love to hear those also.

Another 'song' I love is My Name Is RX done by ThePartyParty.com (not available on their site to my knowledge) but downloadable from here. It features lots of quotes from George W Bush set to the Rolling Stones I think it is. I find it hypnotic.


On preview
Is YouTube an absolute requirement?
No it is not and I really shoudnt have said that it was!
posted by therubettes at 7:36 AM on October 8

I stumbled on this crazy rant vs. the Requiem for a Dream theme at YouTube Doubler, where you can make your own as well.
posted by clearly at 7:38 AM on October 8

Captian Kirk is climbing a mountain. Why is he climbing a mountain?
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:08 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]

That boy needs therapy!.
posted by creeky at 8:11 AM on October 8 [2 favorites]

Love the Captain Kirk song thanks!

Also that YouTube Doubler clips is also bang on the money....
posted by therubettes at 8:13 AM on October 8

Also: Adam Buxton's take on The Hours
posted by creeky at 8:14 AM on October 8

Not entirely sure this is what you mean, but:

Carl Sagan - 'A Glorious Dawn' ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed)
posted by Who_Am_I at 8:15 AM on October 8

Ah, very good then!

Well then: the entire Sun City album was a generally great anti-Apartheid protest album coordinated by Steve Van Zandt; rather than it being just one big ensemble single song and being done with it, they had different smaller gatherings doing other songs -- they had the big multi-person ensemble, but then all the jazz musicians they had gathered split off and did their own thing, the rappers all split off and did THEIR own thing, etc.

One of the tracks, "Revolutionary Situation," was a sound collage like this -- a backing music track combined with clips from various news reports, speeches, rallies, etc. They had a clip of a speech Nelson Mandela made in the early 60's (at the time they recorded this -- 1985 -- it was illegal in South Africa to play a recording of Mandela speaking), and they also got Miles Davis in the studio to play a little sax in the background, only during the sessions, he started ad-libbing a spoken-word contribution (he just started muttering, "you can't go in there, you're the wrong color" over and over again).

You can find the album here and there -- the rest of the album is worth a listen as well, happily, but "Revolutionary Situation" is the particular track you're looking for for this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:22 AM on October 8

Some brilliant answers so far thank you all.

Just noticed that I overlooked creeky's suggestion of The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist another bullseye. It is a 100% match for what I wanted!!
posted by therubettes at 8:24 AM on October 8

They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard
posted by Apparently People Like Really Long Usernames at 8:27 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]

This is what democracy looks like! This is what democracy sounds like!
posted by Skot at 8:28 AM on October 8

EmpressCallipygos - just listened to a clip of Revolutionary Situation on Amazon Sampler sounds just the job!

Actually reminded me a bit of 19 by Paul Hardcastle which is another example of the kind of stuff I am looking for. I am going to have an awesome playlist at the end of this.
posted by therubettes at 8:35 AM on October 8

EBN pretty much pioneered this genre in the early 90's.

Also, Auto-Tune the news.
posted by mkultra at 9:02 AM on October 8

Lost: Break Beat Remix

Incredibly trippy and catchy take on Alice in Wonderland (although all of the dialogue is garbled beyond recognition); watch on YooouuuTuuube for extra crazy

If you like old cartoons, my old Cartoon Network post has a few remixes that are heavy on the sampling, including Atom Ant, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd.

A bit out of date by now, but will.i.am's Yes We Can made waves during the Democratic primaries by building a song around Obama's New Hampshire concession speech.
posted by Rhaomi at 9:47 AM on October 8

Rhaomi - What I have looked at in your epic post looks fantastic. Right up my street.
posted by therubettes at 10:46 AM on October 8

The very thing, assuming you like Indian-flavored electronica and have a long attention span. A little messy towards the end but the first 45 minutes or so are excellent.
posted by Methylviolet at 12:56 PM on October 8

Why is the rum gone?
posted by Solon and Thanks at 2:15 PM on October 8

Oh, how could I forget the Slap Chop Rap? It's fantastic!
posted by Solon and Thanks at 2:15 PM on October 8 [1 favorite]

Thinking about it some more, there are also the mashup tracks from Kutiman's thoroughly excellent ThruYOU project (posted previously). The dialogue is from random YouTube videos, not TV/movies/etc., but Kutiman mixes them with incredible style and skill to make some really catchy tunes.

The tracks:

The Mother of All Funk Chords - killer harmonica solo!
This Is What It Became - reggae/rap
I'm New - One of the best tracks
Babylon Band - Middle Eastern vibe
Someday - Relaxed lounge singer feel
Wait For Me - Goes heavy on the vocoder, which gives it an autotune-type feel.
Just A Lady - A nice down-tempo ballad
posted by Rhaomi at 4:03 PM on October 8

Thanks Solon and Thanks I am just home from the pub right now a little drunk and because of you I am watching Slap Chop Rap. Anything else I add would ruin a perfect moment.
posted by therubettes at 4:19 PM on October 8 [1 favorite]

Thanks Methylviolet for the link going to take too long to download before bedtime, but I will check it out tomorrow for sure.
posted by therubettes at 4:20 PM on October 8

One of the very first mashups ever fits your requirement: "The Motorcade Sped On," by Steinski & The Mass Media.
posted by WCityMike at 6:36 PM on October 9

"Hard Times" was the first thing I thought of.
posted by SisterHavana at 8:15 PM on October 10