Art imitates life. But what about when art imitates art? It’s a long-running tradition for artists to look to their peers for inspiration, and this is no different in music. But it’s when musical acts step beyond samples, and integrate previously unrelated worlds of sound that things really heat up. Here are ten examples of superior genre mixes that have forced us to reexamine the boundaries of a song.
1975 · “Kashmir” · Led Zeppelin
Cited by Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones as the “definitive Led Zeppelin song,” the epic 8-½ minute “Kashmir” finds the legendary band integrating Middle Eastern strings into their classic rock motif. Inspired by what Robert Plant referred to as “the waste lands” of Southern Morocco in the Sahara Desert, the song actually gets its name from the Indian subcontinent Kashmir.
1999 · “Natural Blues” · Moby
Here, Moby mixes a capella American folk singer Vera Hall’s track “Trouble So Hard” with his own brand of emotive electronica. Moby helped introduce the talents of Alabama-native Hall, who was not previously well known outside of folksong enthusiasts, to a younger generation of listeners.
1999 · “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)” · Jay-Z
Jay-Z achieved his first successful single thanks to the musical Annie. On his track “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” he took the lament of orphaned girls and applied it to life on the streets.
1999 · “Bonfire” · Lamb
Trip-hop pioneers Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes—the duo that comprise the now defunct Lamb—nearly gave Portishead a run for their money in the late ‘90s with their fractured beats, unusual time signatures, and prominent usage of upright bass. They outdid themselves when, in 1999, they seamlessly incorporated C. P. E. Bach’s “Cello Concerto” into their own austere palette for their brilliant track “Bonfire,” found on their sophomore effort, Fear of Fours.
2001 · “El Tango De Roxanne” · Moulin Rouge!
Integrating genres is one thing, but in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!, popular songs were entirely reconfigured to fit the tone and era of Luhrmann’s unforgettable musical. Perhaps the most unlikely rethinking came in the form of this down and dirty tango version of The Police’s “Roxanne.”
2004 · “Rich Girl” · Louchie Lou and Michie One, Gwen Stefani
Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, writers of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, never could have imagined that nearly thirty years after its creation, their song “If I Were A Rich Man” would be turned into a raggae track titled “Rich Girl” by Louchie Lou and Michie One. The song was covered by Gwen Stefani in 2004, and it became one of the biggest hits of her career.
2005 · “One” · U2 and Mary J. Blige
Stadium rock and R&B aren’t typically mentioned in the same breath. Unless you’re talking about U2 and Mary J. Blige’s dramatic rethinking of U2’s 1992 topten hit “One.” The re-recording, which features Blige’s spirited, soulful vocals front and center, occurred after U2 invited the dynamic singer onstage to perform “One” for an NYC audience.
2005 · “Portland, Oregon” · Loretta Lynn and Jack White
Detroit garage rock king Jack White and country queen Loretta Lynn seem like an unlikely pairing, but Lynn’s 2004 album Van Lear Rose debunked that theory with force. Not only did White produce the album—which features his guitar work on every track—he even wrote an original track for Lynn. Here, Lynn and White play out a one-night stand steeped in “sloe gin fizz” with a “pitcher to go,” seamlessly blending White’s brand of shambolic rock with the bone-deep sincerity of Lynn’s confessional brand of country music.
2006 · “Just Like Me” · DMC featuring Sarah McLachlan
Making excellent use of the chorus to Harry Chapin’s folk classic “Cats In the Cradle,” hip-hop master DMC (of Run DMC) employed Sarah McLachlan to cut a song designed to give hope to adopted children around the world. It also gave DMC a chance to confront his past: “They say that life is a mystery/And I just want to know my history.”
2006 · “Daydreamin’” · Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott
Leave it to Chicago’s effortlessly cool Lupe Fiasco to infuse his own brand of deep-thinking hiphop with Belgian chamber pop (Wallace Collection’s “Daydream in Blue”) as well as music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Add neo-soul legend Jill Scott to the mix and it’s no wonder the track went on to win the 2008 Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.
