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Date: 14/05/14

"Smells Like Bee Gees"

It is said that - in the same way that there are only seven jokes or seven plot-lines in the world - there is a finite number of ways in which all the notes in the musical universe can be combined in different (or, at least, viable) ways.

This was before the coming of technology of course, which has meant that the rules have subtly changed, although it could be claimed that the parlour game of singing one song to the tune of another (still, I trust, a feature of I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue?) was a low-tech precursor to what is now termed the 'mashup'.

A 'mashup', in case you weren't aware, is where two different songs are combined in one piece. This has the potential for tragedy, farce, or both, but done well can be quite the little ear-opener. Here's a case in point.

One can't imagine two songs with fewer points of cultural contact than Nirvana's shouty, raucous Smells Like Teen Spirit and the Bee Gees' smoothy-disco classic Stayin' Alive. Nevertheless...

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There are two remarkable elements to this: firstly, that it works at all; and secondly that it works so well.

(Tip of the hat - not for the first time - to BoingBoing for the link)