If you’re up on the so-called web 2.0 discussions(see my discussion about Technology for the Masses, and anything at all by Clay Shirky), there is a term that comes out, from Lawrence Lessig, in his seminal TED speech. In it, he talks about mashup culture. About how people take whats been made before, and make something new out of it. An excellent example is a remake of “Video Killed the Radio Star” for our times.

What I realized, listening to random music videos on Youtube, is how some of these incredibly iconic songs, like I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls are used in mainstream media, in a fashion that is similar to mashup culture! They use the song, or bits of it, with their own video, for their own purposes. Use the last four minutes of any Smallville episode, or the OC as an example. The big media does the same as us.

So, why the hate?