New Music: "Hung Up on Soul" / Party Ben

With DJ Danger Mouse off experimenting with Damon Albarn and MF Doom, the throne of mash up king has been left unoccupied. With a string of high profile mash ups, San Francisco DJ Party Ben seems poised to take over that seat. In January Ben gained notoriety for his American Edit internet album - after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Green Day's label (oh they're so political!). Brilliantly turning Death Cab for Cutie's "Soul Meets Body" into a sexy, dance floor anthem, courtesy of Madonna's "Hung Up," Ben manages to somehow outdo those infamous mash ups. "I'd been wanting to make a dancey remix of 'Soul Meets Body' for a while," he writes on his website. "Its 120 BPM tempo and jaunty melody made it seem the Alt Rock hit ripest for a dance mix since '7 Nation Army.'"

I like "Soul Meets Body," but it has a bit of an "adult contemporary" feel that just makes me yearn for their earlier work. It was certainly in need of a hip makeover, and fits perfectly with "Hung Up." "Hung Up" is catchy as a motherfucker, but was suffering from a bit of MTV overkill. "Hung Up on Soul" (listen) rescues both songs from their respective issues, creating something new, original, and just plain fucking awesome. My faith in mash ups continues to be renewed time and time again.

4 STARS (out of 5)

::Other Party Ben Mash Ups Include::
1•"Pump Up the Doorbell" / The White Stripes vs. Eric B & Rakim
2•"Computer Talk" / Coldplay vs. Kraftwerk