Everyone loves a good remix. Hell, some artists make careers out of them. But if there was one artist whose name seemed incongruous in the realm of remixes, it would have to be Bob Dylan. A mumbling folk icon being remixed just didn’t seem to add up. That was until a few weeks ago, when Sony, via Facebook, announced a new contest in which you could remix the classic Dylan track “Subterranean Homesick Blues”. That contest is now online.
Giving it all the remarkably uninspired name The Remix Project, Sony is providing you the chance to use Dylan’s basic track segments (guitar, drums, bass, etc…) to create your own version of the song. What’s more, indie pop darlings The Ting Tings and newcomers 2AM Club supply their own takes on certain elements, such as the bass and a synth line. Musicians can also upload their own tracks, and entrants can pick and choose their favorites to fill four verses.
Yes, remixing Bob Dylan might border on blasphemy. But, what if we told you the prize for the top voted version was an all-expense-paid trip to the South by Southwest music festival? Suddenly the idea seems a lot less ungodly, doesn’t it? Though none of the artists involved in the contest will be at SXSW (as far as we know), the winner will. Those musicians featured in the winning remix will receive Dylan’s The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 and The Original Mono Recordings box set.
If the prizes clean the bad taste of remixing an icon from your mouth, then head over to the contest’s website to enter. Sony will reveal their top 10 remixes on Facebook on January 24th, at which point fans will vote for the winner.
