Kiss and the Commodores Get Mashed Up in ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Until a Reasonable Hour’
Kiss fans have an obvious standby track to go to whenever they feel like rocking and/or rolling all night as well as partying every day. But what about when you have responsibilities to keep in mind, and you can't afford to throw caution completely to the wind that way? Never fear, rockers with less-than-total abandon: The mashup "Rock & Roll Until a Reasonable Hour" is here, and it's an instant classic.
The work of mashup genius DJ Cummerbund, "Reasonable Hour" unites Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite" with "Easy," the hit Commodores single that the formerly Lionel Richie-fronted group recorded for their self-titled 1977 LP. Like all the best mashups, it's utterly preposterous while making perfect sense, and although we're admittedly getting around to hearing it a little late — Cummerbund uploaded it to his YouTube channel in September — the track's unconscionably low view count proves it's yet to find the worldwide audience it so richly deserves.
As some of you may remember, this is far from the first time DJ Cummerbund has raised the bar for the mashup game. Last spring, he made headlines with "Earth, Wind & Ozzys," the clip that proved Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" had been waiting decades to be brought together with Earth, Wind & Fire's "September." More recently, he mashed up Eminem's 2017 BET Awards freestyle with "Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine.
Naturally, any discussion of the Cummerbund creative process is bound to be just as delightfully bonkers as his work. "I spend a lot of time meditating on B major and eating Thai noodles to prepare to work on a piece," he told Odyssey late last year. "I try to surround myself with animals like chickens and crickets while I work on a song to help bring the raw energy out of the songs I'm working with."