Word: mash-up
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Forget American Idol. Mash-ups, as these musical shotgun marriages are known, are the real road to success for today's harmonically challenged pop wannabes. The expertise required would make Beethoven blush. If you have ever listened to a mash-up and thought, I could do that, you're absolutely right. The necessary equipment: a PC, your CD collection and a pair of ears. No cash required, at least not until you're ready to unleash your motley mix upon an unsuspecting world...
What really matters is your choice of mixing software. Even semiserious mashers should consider splurging on the Plasma 2003 ($39.95 with registration at cakewalk.com or the superior Acid Music 3.0 ($69.97 at sonicfoundry.com) But you don't need either of these programs to flex your mash-up muscles. Sonic Foundry also offers a serviceable stripped-down, free version called Acid Xpress. And if you know how to finger-paint, you know how to make...
...course, making a mash-up that anyone other than its creator would want to listen to requires a little finesse. You need to interlace the lyrics judiciously and learn subtleties like crossfades. But it's hard to go wrong mixing the a capella version of one song and the instrumental of another. It doesn't hurt that for years the music industry has been creating instrumental tracks on CD singles for the DJ market. If you can't find them, there's a piece of free software called Vocal Remover (at analogx.com that achieves the same effect; it's also...
Here's where you could wade into murky legal waters. Keeping a copy for personal use is O.K.; distributing it requires the permission of every artist you have sampled. Don't hold your breath. It took mash-up duo 2ManyDJs a whole year to clear the rights for an album that took a week to make. Meanwhile, at least you'll have something better than American Idol to pass the time with...