Boulevard of Broken Songs
Encyclopedia
Boulevard of Broken Songs (also known as Wonderwall of Broken Songs or Wonderwall of Broken Dreams) is a popular mash-up
mixed by San Francisco, California
DJ
and producer
Party Ben
in late 2004. The mix consisted of elements from Green Day
's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams
", Oasis
' "Wonderwall
", Travis
' "Writing to Reach You
" and Eminem
's "Sing for the Moment
" which itself samples Aerosmith
's "Dream On
". "Sing for the Moment" was used solely because Party Ben did not have "Dream On" on hand and was on deadline for his "Sixx Mixx" radio show. Later versions (see below) used Aerosmith's original.
The mash-up first appeared as the finale of Party Ben's Sixx Mixx radio show on LIVE 105
on Friday, October 1, 2004. It was posted as a standalone mp3 on his website a few days later. The track began receiving radio airplay and was eventually aired on hundreds of radio stations worldwide, despite having no official release. It eventually landed on many stations' lists of the most played tracks of 2004 and 2005. The mash-up was a popularly downloaded
track on the Internet
and received moderate critical applause. Canada's Music Critics Poll proclaimed it the #3 download of 2004, while Billie Joe Armstrong
of Green Day thought that the mix sounded "cool".
A new version of the mash-up was later created with the original of Aerosmith's "Dream On" instead of "Sing for the Moment" and was included on "Best Mashups in the World Ever Are from San Francisco". A third version with the Aerosmith ending and a sample of Missy Elliott was included on the American Edit
, a full-length mash-up album of American Idiot
, produced by Party Ben and Team9
under the name "Dean Gray". The album also contains a dance version of "Boulevard of Broken Songs".
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
mixed by San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Party Ben
Party Ben
Party Ben is a DJ in San Francisco who spent many years working at local radio station Live 105 and is one of the more notable figures in the mashup scene.-Mashups:...
in late 2004. The mix consisted of elements from Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day song)
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the second single from their seventh album, American Idiot. The song was written by Green Day, with lyrics by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong...
", Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
' "Wonderwall
Wonderwall (song)
"Wonderwall" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by the band's guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher. The song was produced by Owen Morris and Gallagher for their second album, Morning Glory?...
", Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
' "Writing to Reach You
Writing to Reach You
"Writing To Reach You" is the first single taken from Indie band Travis' second studio album, The Man Who.-Background:The song was written by Fran Healy, who admitted that he took the guitar chords from Oasis' "Wonderwall"; as an overt acknowledgement of this, the song contains the lyric ""What's a...
" and Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
's "Sing for the Moment
Sing for the Moment
"Sing for the Moment" is a song by American rapper Eminem from the album The Eminem Show, released in 2002. It was released as a music single in 2003.-Song information:Eminem samples the song "Dream On" by rock group Aerosmith...
" which itself samples Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's "Dream On
Dream On (Aerosmith song)
"Dream On" is the first single by Aerosmith from their 1973 debut album, Aerosmith. Written by lead singer Steven Tyler, this blues-influenced power ballad became their first major hit and classic rock radio staple...
". "Sing for the Moment" was used solely because Party Ben did not have "Dream On" on hand and was on deadline for his "Sixx Mixx" radio show. Later versions (see below) used Aerosmith's original.
The mash-up first appeared as the finale of Party Ben's Sixx Mixx radio show on LIVE 105
KITS
KITS is a San Francisco, California, USA-based radio station broadcasting at 105.3 MHz. The station is owned by CBS Radio and programs a modern rock format. The station also broadcasts on HD channel L2, locally on Comcast cable channel 986, and is streaming online.-Hot Hits:The station's...
on Friday, October 1, 2004. It was posted as a standalone mp3 on his website a few days later. The track began receiving radio airplay and was eventually aired on hundreds of radio stations worldwide, despite having no official release. It eventually landed on many stations' lists of the most played tracks of 2004 and 2005. The mash-up was a popularly downloaded
Uploading and downloading
In computer networks, to download means to receive data to a local system from a remote system, or to initiate such a data transfer. Examples of a remote system from which a download might be performed include a webserver, FTP server, email server, or other similar systems...
track on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and received moderate critical applause. Canada's Music Critics Poll proclaimed it the #3 download of 2004, while Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American rock musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, main songwriter and lead guitarist for the American punk rock band Green Day...
of Green Day thought that the mix sounded "cool".
A new version of the mash-up was later created with the original of Aerosmith's "Dream On" instead of "Sing for the Moment" and was included on "Best Mashups in the World Ever Are from San Francisco". A third version with the Aerosmith ending and a sample of Missy Elliott was included on the American Edit
American Edit
American Edit is a mashup album released by Party Ben and Team9 under the shared alias Dean Gray. Its primary basis is the Green Day album American Idiot — the name "Dean Gray" is a spoonerism of "Green Day." If the name "Dean Gray" had been spelled as "Dean Grey," it would have been an anagram of...
, a full-length mash-up album of American Idiot
American Idiot
American Idiot is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on September 21, 2004 through Reprise Records and was produced by longtime collaborator Rob Cavallo. In mid-2003, the band began recording songs for an album entitled Cigarettes and Valentines...
, produced by Party Ben and Team9
Team9
Team9 is the work of the English-Australian producer Neil Mason. Most of their work are unauthorized mashups.Team9 formed in 1997 as a five piece band and released two albums, Gas and Air in 1999 and My Tape Machine in 2002. Originally playing guitar based pop, by 2002 Team9 were incorporating...
under the name "Dean Gray". The album also contains a dance version of "Boulevard of Broken Songs".