Redefine. Recycle. Revolutionize.

Everybody's looking for miracles. 

Well, that might be going a bit far. After all, the statement is a complete generalization on the fundamental values of mankind. On the functionality of the human essence. 

What? The human essence? Like a smell or something? 

No, silly. In this case, the human essence serves as an interpretative medium. As a means for an analysis, pertaining to how we define humanity, and all of the goodie bags human beings have to offer. 

Goodie bags? No, I'm not talking about candy. I'm talking about the ability for mankind to create. To offer something new, something fresh. To push the boundaries of human existence. To produce miracles. 

Meet Peter Bull, an aspiring music producer from Aaleslund, Norway. You may know him better by his pseudonym, Norwegian Recycling. 

A mashup artist, Mr. Bull has gained considerable fame through remixing, reworking, and re-engineering music. Singles such as How Six Songs Collide, When 8 Become 1, and his most recent release, Miracles, offer a refreshing perspective on contemporary music, triumphantly defying traditional genre-grounded music in the process. 

Not to mention, these songs are eargasmic. Not listening to this would be a bigger mistake than Napoleon's invasion of Russia. 

"Like collage art and other sample-based artforms, there is the concept of recontextualization," said Bull in an e-mail. "The art of finding pieces of unrelated information, but make them fit together by emphasizing their similarities. In the beginning it was nothing more than finding songs that fitted harmonically, but now I also care deeply about the lyrics I mix too. It can also be a way for me to express my love for certain songs, artists or themes represented in the song."

Bull is an artistic pioneer. His music is not only multi-faceted, but also multi-layered. 


Bull's work is also an extremely interesting semiological case study, as he effectively combines two or more distinct entities--which already have decoded messages within themselves--into a derivative of each. While creating new meaning, his songs also preserve the soul of the original works. 

Take the line, "everybody's looking for miracles," a lyric produced by Bull's newest hit. A fusion of Jason DeRulo's In My Head and Michael Jackson's Black or White, it manages to preserves old meaning while contextually building off both to create something purely new. 

DeRulo's Lyric: "Everybody's looking for love, ain't that the reason we're in this club"

It has a degree of collectivism. Dancing in a club, one may feel strangely isolated. Amidst a crowded pack of diverse human beings, one often has never spoken a word to the person they are dancing next to prior. This lyric asserts that this doesn't really matter, as you are both there for the same reason. Providing common ground emits the notion that we're all in this together. 

Jackson's Lyric: "I believe in miracles, and a miracle has happened tonight"

A miracle is defined as "an extraordinary event, manifesting divine intervention in human affairs." Not only does Jackson acknowledge that he thinks this type of emotional and spiritual transcendance is possible, but he also confirms its incidence. 

New lyric: "Everybody's Looking For Miracles" 


Preserves the collectivism of Derulo's statement by offering the possibility that Jackson's declaration could apply to everyone. In an entirely new meaning, the lyric suggests that we are all united in the pursuit of the extraordinary. 

"Mashing helped me rediscover the magic wonders of "the creative process," When I started mashing I experienced the same feeling of being creative that I had when i played with lego as a kid (which was my favorite toy)." 


"If you think about it, mashing is much like lego. You deconstruct original items, mix them with other legobricks from other items, and build something new out of those existing bricks. So mashing helped me realize that being creative was the thing in my life that made the kid in me come alive."

These days, information more readily available than alcohol at a fraternity party. Re-establishing and redefining this information is a crucial component to human progress as a whole. 

"Remix and mashup-culture is touching on some very core values like freedom of expression and copyright, which is about to be redefined because of the internet-revolution. What effect this will have on humantiy as a whole is a subject I will leave open to the academic field to explore, but there is no doubt that we are at a brink of something huge."

Whether it be music, film, literature, community service, sports, of even cooking, everyone has something to offer. Today's technological revolution is not just going to stop at that--we are on the verge of something infinitely greater. In its purest nature, this change is creating something exceedingly ideological.


Here at What Rocks, we challenge to you to mashup your life. To capitalize on this unprecedented ability to share. To collaborate. To inspire. 

To create miracles.