I think I've mentioned my love for crossover music numerous times before. In fact, I'd even go as far as saying, crossover is the BEST style... or at least it has the most potential. When two distinct styles are combined, or a well-known piece of music is played in a different rhythm, or on instruments considered atypical to that piece, it raises it all to a whole new level of listening experience. Of course, whether it is a successful crossover depends on the musicians, their performance, and ultimately on the listener.
Combining Tastes, Just Like in the Kitchen
I like to compare crossover music to cooking. Apply the technique of mashed potatoes to cauliflower, and you'll have given a well-known vegetable a familiar texture, which in turn is so new that it can completely revolutionize your kitchen. Don't believe me, go ahead and try it yourself! The same thing goes for putting jam on your Brie cheese, or spicy sauce on your mango. YUM!
Crossover All Around Us
Sure, at this moment you could say: "But wait, I already eat my mango with chili sauce." or "I always put jam on my Brie." How is that a crossover? And you are absolutely right! These examples only work for people who are not used to the given combinations. Same thing goes for music. By now we are so saturated with crossover between rock and pop, blues and country music, or hip-hop and electronic, that we don't even notice. In fact, I'd even argue that musicians have enjoyed mixing styles for as long as music has been around! So, just like our genes, everything is a big mix of pre-mixed mixes. And out of this big swirling mixture, occasionally a truly amazing combination emerges.
Famous Combiners: The Grateful Dead
There is one band I have come to enjoy specifically for their crossover style: The Grateful Dead. Ironically, I first heard about them when I first came to the US in 1995, the year their famous vocalist / guitarist Jerry Garcia died. But their music was alive and well. I remember one day enjoying the song Cumberland Blues greatly, when I noticed that it was totally like country music! Of course it was, and quite appropriately so, since its lyrics dealt with Appalachian coal miners! At the same time it had a fast and powerful blues rhythm to it, unlike the whiny tunes you'd hear on the Country station. Later I noticed how most of The Dead's music was a combination of folk, blues, bluegrass, country, rock, with traces of a few other elements.
More Spices to Cook With
Thus I would seek out other artists who were known for combining styles. The obvious next one was Phish, who included a wider range of styles into their list of cooking ingredients. While in theory this sounded super exciting, for some reason Phish didn't have the same impact on me as The Grateful Dead. This just goes to show how important the artists' interpretation is. However, there was one song that struck with me as the most obvious example of crossover: Their bluegrass interpretation of Gin and Juice, made famous by hip-hop artist Snoop Dog. In this example it's the crazy juxtaposition of the hillbilly music with the gangbanger lyrics that I get a kick out of.
Adding an Extra Edge to Classical Music
I grew up with Classical Music. That is, my parents enjoyed listening to it a lot, so there are a huge number of pieces I recognize, even if I don't always know its title or composer. Later, I discovered Heavy Metal, and liked it for its hard sound, fast, overpowering drums and screaming guitars. It was much later, that I came across the occasional gem of a heavy metal artist playing a classical piece, such as Seree Lee performing Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart, or Rossini's Barber of Seville performed by Arachnes. There is so much power in these interpretations!
Of course, the same works the other way too, such as in the case of Apocalyptica, a group of classically trained cellists, playing famous Metal hits on their cellos. They manage to maintain the songs' original impact, but the sound of the cello elevates it into a completely now light. Here is their interpretation of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters:
The List Goes On
At first I was going to mention entire styles that crossover has brought forth, but soon realized that this would open up the proverbial can of worms, wriggling into a psychedelic kaleidoscope that eventually encompasses all music genres. It seems like pop has made its way into almost every other style, while Reggae seems to be the music that every other genre wants to get into, adopting its heartbeat rhythm to give their known songs new feel.
What About You?
So instead, I would like to ask you guys: What's your favorite crossover song? And in case the styles are unfamiliar to some, what are the genres it combines? I'd be quite curious to hear. Oh, and should you be a musician yourself, and feel like presenting a personal interpretation of a famous tune in your own style, I'd love to hear it! Right now I'm thinking of @mipiano, who once alluded to playing Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash on her harpsichoard. (Okay, I just looked at that post I had in mind, and I guess it was just me who imagined it.) Still, would you be up for it, @mipiano? 😉 Let me know, and my vote is yours! The same thing goes for any other musicians, of course.
Take a Look at the Previous Posts in my Monday Music Series:
The Sound of the Hungarian Zither
Obligatory Line-Dance at Mexican Parties - El Payaso del Rodeo
Floating Into the Night by Julee Cruise
Classic Canadiana - Stan Rogers
Party Like There's No Tomorrow, Cry Like Everything Is Lost - Hungarian Gypsy Music
The Harder Sound of the Middle Ages - Corvus Corax
The First Hip-Hop I Actually Liked - Things Fall Apart by The Roots
No Prophets in Their Own Land - Rodrigo y Gabriela
Beyond the Boundries of Styles and Genres - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Accordion-Rock You May Not Know (But Really Should) - Los Tabascos
Songs of the Mexican Revolution - La Adelita
Memorable Weirdness - What Do You Want A Japanese To Do Again?
Gloomy Sunday - The Hungarian Suicide Song
Party Tunes from the Wild East - The "Russendisko" Experience
Folk Songs from Your Home Village - Hungarian Regional Sound Archives
Polynesian Salt Water Music
Images Conjured up by Tom Waits' Music
In Country: Folks Songs of Americans in the Vietnam War
Somebody Tell Me - Translating a Hungarian Song Into [EN] and [SP]
Somebody Tell Me - first trial & live performance [HU] [SP] [EN]
Horst Wessel in Mexico
Playing for Change - Old Favorites Played Around the World
Soothing Tunes and Gentle Rhythms of Mali Music
What Is It About Music? [Ecotrain's Question of the Week]
Halász Judit, Memories from my Childhood
Discovering Rocksteady
The New Generation of Banda
Horrible Music From Hungary: Dáridó or Wedding Rock
[ENG - ESP] 3 Songs From My Youth / 3 Canciones De Mi Adolescencia
Surfer Tunes from the 60's: Dick Dale
Tiny Desk Concert with the Kronos Quartet
Ghymes, Palmetta, Deep Forest: The Love-Hate of Hungarian Crossover