
Jay-Z & Linkin Park - Collision Course
Mash-ups -- two songs stuck together that were never meant to be stuck together -- have their roots in the bedrooms and basements of computer-savvy music geeks who spend countless hours sticking Christina Aguilera's vocals over the Strokes' chugging backbeat or Missy Elliott's raps over George Michael, Joy Division, the Cure, and about a thousand others. MP3s were the medium of choice, white-label 12"s a distant second. It seemed like it was time to put a fork in the pranky genre when collections like The Best Bootlegs in the World Ever and Soulwax's As Heard on Radio Soulwax series exposed the mash-up to a wider audience, but then Danger Mouse came along. His headline-making Grey Album -- Jay-Z's Black Album vs. the Beatles' White Album -- inspired a ton of spirited imitations, and most likely the MTV-spawned, artists-involved Collision Course. The fact that the artists are involved with the project totally goes against the mash-up philosophy, but luckily Linkin Park -- who are revealed as the main architects of the EP -- have that pop-loving prankster spirit and don't let their high-profile, well-funded life ruin it. The liner notes talk of a "once-in-a-lifetime performance" and "music history," but Collision Course is just plain old fun and all the better because of it. Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" sits nicely on top of Linkin Park's "Lying from You". The Z-man -- who's "retired" from the rap game while being busier than ever -- has had his excellent "99 Problems" rocked up before, so the version here with Linkin Park's "Points of Authority" and "One Step Closer" isn't so much the revelation the liner-note hyperbole makes it out to be, but it's got an awesome beat and you can still dance to it. It's doubtful mash-ups will survive corporate handling this well again, and to paraphrase a post-show Linkin Parker, Collision Course is awesomely fun.
White Colored Vinyl
1.1 Dirt Off Your Shoulders / Lying From You 4:04
1.2 Big Pimpin' / Papercut 2:36
1.3 Jigga What / Faint 3:31
1.4 Numb / Encore 3:25
1.5 Izzo / In the End 2:44
1.6 Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer 4:55
2.1 Dirt Off Your Shoulders / Lying From You 4:28
2.2 Big Pimpin' / Papercut 2:36
2.3 Jigga What / Faint 4:08
2.4 Numb / Encore 3:29
2.5 Izzo / In the End 2:40
2.6 Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer 7:47