ToTom – “Dylan Mashed”

This album features a selection of Bob Dylan classics mashed-up by French DJ ToToM. The tracks are pretty eclectic – ranging from upbeat power-pop mixes to Kanye West samples. The style he takes on this one isn’t the Girltalk or Jason Forest style of mashing many different songs together, or even the Danger Mouse style of heavy beats constructed from one song that are applied to another. ToToM takes a simpler route by combining two songs in near stock form to build a song that is greater (or at least stranger) than their predecessor (probably greater on the non-Dylan side while stranger on the Dylan side). The whole album is really interesting, though. I must admit that I find that some tracks fall flat (“The Man in Me” mixed with “Eagles of Death Metal”, to count one) but others just reach this weird level of apocalyptic sentimental gushing emotive power that only Dylan on steroids could reach (“Lay Bittersweet Lady”… just guess what that one is a mash up of).

By Joshua Cahan

Editors Note: Download all 17 tracks at ToTom’s website