Lev Manovich provides a bit of history of the remix culture, along with definitions of important terms such as “remix”, “appropriation”, “collage”, “montage”, and “mashup”. Manovich highlights the introduction of multi-track mixers as the biggest trigger in the origin of remix. He details the evolution of remix from slightly readjusting elements of a song to abruptly putting into contrast (or meshing) elements form different songs. Now the term is used not only in music but also across different cultural mediums. Interestingly, Manovich points out that “while in the realm of commercial music remixing is officially accepted, in other cultural areas it is seen as violating the copyright and therefore as stealing”. Why this double standard? What is it that makes a remix a completely new piece in music, but a stolen material in other mediums? I think it might be something about the format of music itself, the ability to discretely add different tracks to the point where the original source is sometimes not immediately recognizable. Although even when it is, there is a sense that the appropriator has cleverly used this material. Another reason is that perhaps songs are more detached from their authors than visual works of art are from artists.

In the last section of the article Manovich presented the question what comes after remix? I was partly disappointed by the lack of hints he dared to give as to what is next. He did suggest we might get tired of the remix culture. I honestly do not think this is a likely possibility. Each generation seems to be more in tune with the high-speed information-sharing world of the Internet. And with this they are better equipped to access cultural objects and make them their own. Anybody can make a meme in matters of seconds. Thousands of covers are being uploaded everyday. Anybody can use Photoshop to redesign an image. Similarly, music editing software comes with computers nowadays. Of course, this might mean that the quality of remixes will decrease, and perhaps high-level artists will actually have to strive for a new, different aesthetic.