As I mentioned yesterday, a really good mashup goes farther than slapping the vocals over the top of an instrumental track. And like most art, or any idea for that matter, for every thousand or so half-assed attempts to slap something together, there arises one piece of brilliance that makes the rest of the crap worthwhile. Phil Retrospector's brutal distortion of Marvin Gaye's classic is one of those shards of brilliance.Phil takes Marvin's sexually charged funk staple and forces it deep into the dark bosom of Wendy Carlos' electronic soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange. Not only does this pervert the entire meaning of the song (have you seen the movie?), it creates a damn spooky tune.
Somehow, probably through pitchshifting or AutoTune, he manages to cast Marvin's vocals into a decidedly minor key such that they perfectly fit the eerie, almost frightening, soundscape Wendy created. In addition, Phil has Marvin cooing to himself in the background like some ghostly, whispering backup singer. The result is clearly something new, freaky, yet engrossing, and a strong argument for the legitimized existence of mashup culture.
Naturally, you can't purchase this mash anywhere, but you can purchase the original "Sexual Healing" on Marvin's 1982 release, Midnight Love. Wendy Carlos' soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange is available on CD as well.[You can listen to Phil Retrospector's mash of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" by navigating to the post "Song084" and clicking or right-clicking on the title or the link.]
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