We can order Chipotle, check our email, play with a lightsaber, and post a blog about it all from the comfort of our iPhones and Blackberries. So why limit yourself to listening to one song at a time? Trying to listen to two songs at the same time probably isn’t going to get you far, there’s too much to focus on, and mostly you end up hearing a bunch of noise. Mashup’s solve this problem by taking the best parts of your favorite songs—sometimes a lot, sometimes you’ll barely notice—from your favorite pop deities and re-creates them into an explosion of sound that will sound that manages to feel very new and refreshing while also very familiar and comfortable. You can expect to hear from the likes of Blink-182, Kanye West, Elton John, and a surprising amount of Coldplay. If Now That’s What I Call Music threw up all over the place, mashups would be the beautiful result.

If we’re going to talk about mashups, though, we have to stop for a second and talk about Jay-Z. In 2004, DJ Dangermouse took Jay-Z’s rhymes from The Black Album and used samples from The Beatles The White Album to make beats, and this fusion would eventually become The Grey Album. This in and of itself isn’t a big deal (well besides the fact that The Grey Album is effing AMAZING), but Sony EMI holds the rights to The White Album and sent Mr. Dangermouse a cease and desist order, trying to make the album disappear into the annals of time. Instead, hundreds of websites banded together and announced on February 24, 2004 it would be “Grey Tuesday” and that they would put the album up for download for 24 hours. Over 100,000 copies of the album were downloaded, and a genre was suddenly brought to life. Hova, meanwhile has always been friendly to the mashup community, and the popularity of The Grey Album has made him the poster boy for the genre, with projects including Mick Boogie’s Viva La Hova (Jay-Z vs. Coldplay), Max Tannone’s Jaydiohead (Jay-Z vs. Radiohead), and who could forget MTV’s Jay-Z vs Linkin Park Collision Course mashups?

If DJ Dangermouse was the one to usher in this Mashups renaissance, then Gregg Ellis, better known by his stage name Girl Talk, is the Michelangelo of this Golden Age. While DJ Dangermouse gave us a different perspective on an album we all knew and loved, Girl Talk strives to create a very different, almost manic experience that puts the pedal to the floor and refuses to let up. With his 2006 release, Night Ripper got the world hooked with the mind boggling (but so, so perfect) Elton John/Notorious B.I.G. mashup. On 2008’s Feed The Animals DJ Girl Talk throws everything—yes, even the kitchen sink—at you in an attempt to recapture that lightning in a bottle, and while he never quite reaches that peak, the album as a whole is tighter, smoother, and more explosive than anything he’s released to date; and with his fame and success still on the rise , and an never-ending supply of hits begging to be sampled, it’s safe to say that we haven’t heard the last from Girl Talk.

And if you just can’t get enough mashup goodness in your life, never fear! Girl Talk has helped to bust the doors off the genre, and now you have a plethora of options to satiate all of your mashup needs. If Girl Talk just isn’t getting your heart going fast enough, then L.A. based Super Mash Bros. (http://www.myspace.com/sprmshbros) should be right up your alley. Self-described as sounding “like Girl Talk’s Hot Cousin”, their 2008 debut Fuck Bitches. Get Euros. is everything you love about Girl Talk’s, but even more ridiculous. Their 2009 follow-up, All About The Scrillions, isn’t as consistent as FBGE, but start the CD at “NPH FTW”—or “Fixies & Ferraris” if you’re in a time crunch—and you’ll be sure to be dancing for the rest of the night. If all of this high octane madness is a little too much for you, then perhaps the more refined sound of DJ Earworm (http://www.djearworm.com/) will soothe your weary soul. While even the most ambitious of mashups typically only feature a hand of songs, DJ Earworm turns the genre on its ear (no pun intended. No, seriously.) with his epic mashups featuring as many as 25 (!!!) of your favorite hits mashedup into a five minute explosion of music. Most famously, he has taken the billboard top 25 from 2007 and 2008 and mashed them up into five minute songs, dubbed the “United State of Pop”. Earworm’s sounds are a bit more subdued than some of his contemporaries, but you’re sure to be mesmerized by his unusual song choice and smooth transitions. And if you’re looking something ringing a little closer to home for most of our RCA readers, then The Legion of Doom (http://www.the-legion-of-doom.com/) has been waiting for you. Dashboard vs. Brand New, Funeral for a Friend vs. Saves the Day, Taking Back Sunday vs. Senses Fail… and it’s a wet dream for anybody who’s still trying to live 2002.

With pop songs having as short of a lifespan as they do, what’s better than finding creative ways to make them fun and fresh again? They take out all of the fluff and keep your favorite parts and guilty pleasures perfectly intact (there’s a reason EVERYBODY uses “Throw Some D’s” at some point). Try listening to the radio again after listening to a bunch of mashups. You just can’t do it. The silky smooth transitions and the killer beats will come you coming back time and time again. Once you’re hooked on mashups, go listen to “Viva La Vida” and NOT get a little disappointed when you hear Chris Martin instead of Twista and Kanye West.