Produced tracks 1 (“Kid Blue”), 6 (“Na”), 9 (“Redesign Your Vyzee”), 11 (“TREBLE”), 13 (“Junk King”), 18 (“for fun, war, and weed”), and 21 (“Who knows what would’ve happened?”)

This album is a collaboration with mothbeanie and Cheryl Stelli. Check out their music:
Cheryl Stelli: https://starspire.bandcamp.com/
mothbeanie: https://mothbeanie.bandcamp.com/

A commentary, or something.

  1. Allison Fleischer - Kid Blue:
    • Allie’s notes: All 3 of us (me, mothbeanie/shiny, and Cheryl) knew we needed to bring our A game for this album, since we individually had less tracks to play with and didn’t want to let each other down. Under those circumstances, doing the opener for this album was pretty stressful, but I’m really happy with the result. Conceptually it’s like a more amped-up and chaotic version of “Some Asshole Slams His Desk”, the opener to my older mashup album Care. I’ve done tracks with even more excessive vocal layering than this before, but I don’t think I’ve done it in this style where you’re often ambushed with many layers all at once in a fast-paced track. The whole thing feels like it’s riding the border of complete incomprehensibility, which is uhh certainly one way to begin an album.
    • moth’s notes: probably one of favorite mashups of all time!!! it’s both chaotic and organized, both funny and emotional, and I love it to bits.
    • Cheryl’s notes: I LOVE THIS TRACK its very good this is my professional consensus go stream care by allison fleischer also bdg is top tier
  2. mothbeanie - Paralyzed:
    • Allie’s notes: I really like how this track balances decompressing from the previous track but also serving as a strong introduction to mothbeanie and his style. The moment when Paralyzer comes in is a really striking key change!
    • moth’s notes: the Paralyzer intro is so iconic so I extended it as a “gotcha.” gotcha!!!
    • Cheryl’s notes: i got this track confused with new that might old when shiny first made it but i think both are great in their own regards. also use paralyzer more in mashups its a good song
  3. Cheryl Stelli - Watch My Back:
    • Allie’s notes: During production Cheryl and I were basically in a largely-unspoken mini-war with her trying to make the album longer and me trying to make it shorter. Because of that I should hate this track that was literally conceived of to make the album longer, but I can’t bring myself to because it whips ass and doesn’t feel like a filler track in the slightest. The explosive energy coming off of this thing is incredible, and the samples fit together beautifully.
    • moth’s notes: sonic nae nae
    • Cheryl’s notes: i think this was the last one i made for the album, i made it just to get to 59 minutes i think LOL regardless i do like it a lot
  4. mothbeanie - Tower Swift:
    • Allie’s notes: Somehow this track creates a smooth, gliding feel out of a chiptune track, Peanut Butter Jelly Time, and a Smash Mouth track. Mashups that make you feel deeply ashamed for enjoying them are the best mashups
    • moth’s notes: it’s peanut butter jelly time! Home by Smash Mouth plays really well with Luna Ascension, and Taylor Swift (the song not the person) adds a percussive layer that keeps the track going. I’m proud of how this one came out!
    • Cheryl’s notes: i dont know any of the sources in this one other than the patricia taxxon song but it is very pleasing on the ears and the smash mouth song works very well, top marks for not just sampling all star or walkin on the sun
  5. Cheryl Stelli - Keep Your Skates Off My Turf!:
    • Allie’s notes: Watch My Back is cool, but this is my favorite track of Starspire’s on the album. It’s more developed than Watch My Back, and something about the “Easy Breezy” sample on this track is just so fucking powerful. In general Cheryl’s tracks here all have this loud, bright, in-your-face production/mixing style that even much of her solo work doesn’t have. It’s good shit basically
    • moth’s notes: I love the second half where Teknopathetic comes in, it adds so much oomph.
    • Cheryl’s notes: i made this cuz one of my friends was really into easy breezy and i thought itd be good mashup material and it turns out it is cuz this track BOPS
  6. Allison Fleischer - Na:
    • Allie’s notes: Some of my friends like to do concept-heavy tracks like this but I always find it difficult because if you approach from that angle then there’s no guarantee everything will fit together musically. Case in point: I really really wanted to put the Katamari Damacy theme in this but it just wasn’t going to happen. Despite this tragic loss I still think this track turned out pretty good and funny. (Also the “BIG” at the end was Cheryl’s idea blame her)
    • moth’s notes: …Chungus
    • Cheryl’s notes: every time i hear this track i think of the tony zaret big chungus song and then remember thats literally the joke in the last part of the song LMAO
  7. mothbeanie - CLOUD MUSIC:
    • Allie’s notes: I adore this track! It’s my favorite of mothbeanie’s tracks on the album, and also probably my favorite mothbeanie mashup ever? Negotiating multiple key changes in a mashup without feeling sour or discontinuous is already impressive, but the really amazing part comes in the second half. The nightcore bit is so funny but also I unironically love it so much! The treatment drastically heightens the psych-pop mood of the original sample. It’s hard to articulate exactly why CLOUD MUSIC hits so well for me but I seriously think this track is really special.
    • moth’s notes: the title gives away the climax a little, doesn’t it? the “CLOUD” part comes from how dreamy and airy this ended up sounding—originally, the Bazzi part was from an idea that never got finished, but when I put it in it basically made the track.
    • Cheryl’s notes: the fucking nightcore bazzi is so goddamn powerful also stan grubbin
  8. Cheryl Stelli - Funk Story:
    • Allie’s notes: It says a lot that I find this track the least memorable of Cheryl’s tracks and yet it still hits hard and it’s still filled with intricate progression. The super dry saw wave in the Cave Story sample kinda stylistically clashes with everything but I especially like the low-key interlude with the Big Chungus song; very tasteful.
    • moth’s notes: I love the cave story main theme, and the sources in this track complement it well. I love the final part.
    • Cheryl’s notes: i can never decide if this is one of my best or worst mashups. i made this one for a friend as well cuz she told me to use the cave story main theme and i was like “okay” also i got an excuse to sample Whoah which is this obscure song nobody knows about (its a good song)
  9. Allison Fleischer - Redesign Your Vyzee:
    • Allie’s notes: This is a simple track but I’m very proud of it. With this album I started getting serious about putting effort into avoiding muddy mixes in my mashups. This track still has its problems and I still have lots to learn but it feels unusually crisp and clean, especially compared to my earlier stuff. It’s especially important for a percussive banger like this where preserving the samples’ intensity is paramount. Also, this is one of the least choppy mashups I’ve ever made, playing out very long samples and focusing more on how they layer together rather than making a new progression.
    • moth’s notes: i really like this one, especially with how Redesign Your Logo and Temperature is such a silly combination and it just… Works
    • Cheryl’s notes: this is the most un-allison track ive heard from her but i do like it, mostly because redesign your logo is like, the third best song on spirit phone (do not quote me on this)
  10. Cheryl Stelli - Super Pizza:
    • Allie’s notes: Another loud, hard-hitting track from Cheryl. This one is slower, but makes up for it in how heavy it sounds; it basically feels like an intense mashup fever dream from start to finish, and one that isn’t matched in intensity until near the end of the album.
    • moth’s notes: THIS TRACK ABSOLUTELY SLAPS
    • Cheryl’s notes: okay its been like 3 months since the album came out as of writing this and im STILL not sure how i made this track
  11. Allison Fleischer - TREBLE:
    • Allie’s notes: Tracks 11-16 serve as a break, allowing the listener to decompress and get ready for the finale. Since my track is directly after Super Pizza I open with a brief ambient segment (sampling two ambient segments from the same Sophie and PERTURBATOR tracks I sampled the beats of later), then transition into a rhythmic section with lots of silly one-shot samples. I can’t believe I didn’t think to include the “Dig!” adlib from “Groove is in the Heart”, but otherwise I’m happy with this track.
    • moth’s notes: this track is absolutely hilarious. Adam Neely’s Treble Lessons
    • Cheryl’s notes: if there was a sample list for the full album instead of individual tracks im like 99% sure that 50% of the samples would be from this track alone, and its FUCKING GLORIOUS
  12. mothbeanie - soap:
    • Allie’s notes: This is the clean version. Hehehehehehehehehehehe
    • moth’s notes: this actually samples a live version of Improvise. it really didn’t need to but it does
    • Cheryl’s notes: i’m eternally mad that shiny put improvise in ANOTHER mashup i hate that song so much
  13. Allison Fleischer - Junk King:
    • Allie’s notes: There’s not much to say about this track, it’s just fun. Originally the intro was longer and included more of the “King Kunta” sample than just the last minute, but I cut it because I thought it wasn’t interesting enough. It’s important to remember that you’re not obligated to include the entirety of your main sample in a mashup; sometimes just having a segment is better for pacing.
    • moth’s notes: I heard you was conflicted… well listen to THIS
    • Cheryl’s notes: i dont actually like any of the samples in this one but uhhhh it sounds like a JSR song which is cool also “by the time you hear the next pop” is a funny long-running joke
  14. mothbeanie - Drop It:
    • Allie’s notes: Funny thematically-connected rap and spoken word samples over a banger instrumental. It’s simple but I really like it! The sentence mixing in the intro is ball-twistingly awesome
    • moth’s notes: I love this one. the opening to this track is one of the funniest things I’ve done in a mashup and the transitions into it and out of it are perfect.
    • Cheryl’s notes: this may be my favorite track on the album despite the fact that everything ive ever made should point to the fact that i should hate this track
  15. Cheryl Stelli - Punk Life:
    • Allie’s notes: This is Cheryl’s most low-key track here, which fits this section of the album. Most of it is a simple instrumental+acapella deal but it’s a really nice listen regardless, and avoids feeling played-out because it’s really the only track on the album of its type.
    • moth’s notes: Get Lucky with Harder Better Faster Stronger had to happen eventually.
    • Cheryl’s notes: looking back on it this is probably my least favorite track of mine on the album. its so boring. guess it works as a calm before the storm tho
  16. mothbeanie - N.Y.B.P.:
    • Allie’s notes: This is just a really lovely, positive-sounding track that feels like the previous segment of the album is coming to an end.
    • moth’s notes: this actually stands for “New York Baby Photos” which spoils most of the samples. I’m incredibly happy with how this turned out, New York Cheesecake sounds amazing at this tempo and the track manages to be both relaxing and exciting very easily.
    • Cheryl’s notes: i described this as “vaporwave stormclock” which shiny said was the intention i think so i guess he succeeded. also this introduced me to protodome
  17. mothbeanie - People are feeling hungry:
    • Allie’s notes: This is the first in the gauntlet of four tracks we nicknamed “finality5” (previous Starspire and mothbeanie albums featured “finality1-4”). Most of moth’s tracks on this album have this great expansive feeling to them, and that’s really exemplified in the drop right after the intro here. It feels (in a good way) like going outside and being blinded by the sun while a huge festival is going on
    • moth’s notes: when I made the intro to this track I knew it was going to be amazing. hopefully the rest of the track lives up to that for you! it did for me. the transition to the next song is also super smooth and I’m very proud of it.
    • Cheryl’s notes: nothing will ever go as hard as the drop at the start of this track what the fuck did you DO shiny
  18. Allison Fleischer - for war, fun, and weed:
    • Allie’s notes: I was worried about fatiguing the listener, so for my portion of finality5 I kept it relatively restrained. It still needed to have a climactic vibe though, so I went for some really iconic samples in the first half to make it feel more special. The second half gets more intense so the following track doesn’t feel too abrupt. In general I’m really happy with how elegantly this track fits together; if you didn’t know the samples it would aaalmost sound more like an original track than a mashup.
    • moth’s notes: I’m a big fan of the sample choices here, and it acts as great downtime between the halves of the three-part “finale.”
    • Cheryl’s notes: wait no this track is a better calm before the storm than punk life i have no reason to like that track lol. anyway this track kinda gets more complex as it goes on before transitioning into the last part of the album so i DIG that
  19. Cheryl Stelli - with a side of unbreakable burnt models:
    • Allie’s notes: Cheryl has the last two (full) tracks in the album and she took that as an excuse to go absolutely feral. I love how this track just escalates and escalates, constantly heating up further when you think it’s going to back off.
    • moth’s notes: the second half of this track is awesome. it really feels like the climax of the album! also, the transition from this track to the next is genius
    • Cheryl’s notes: this song was originally two separate tracks but i fused them into one then extended it since they were both just really short 50 second tracks originally. also originally golden love password 3 was part of this song which is why i consider it part of the finality arc of the album
  20. Cheryl Stelli - Golden Love Password 3: Luluco’s Last Galaxy:
    • Allie’s notes: The first half of this is rly simple, but the second half is an excellent way to finish out the album. I like that instead of an ambient closer there’s one last surprise intense part to end with a bang.
    • moth’s notes: I think this is a great ending track. it’s kind of a running joke that either cheryl or me will include the homebrew rap when we collaborate, but it sounds perfect here.
    • Cheryl’s notes: i have a strong fucking distaste for the first half of this track because its LITERALLY just golden from care but with the sonic forces song and like. WHY DID I DO THAT THATS SO DUMB? anyway the second half of this track bops hard
  21. Allison Fleischer - Who knows what would’ve happened?:
    • Allie’s notes: Cheryl’s track Golden Love Password 3 is the proper closer; this is just an outro. I really like having bookends on my solo albums so I wanted to do that here too by bringing back the Kid Blue intro sample.
    • moth’s notes: we put them on bandcamp
    • Cheryl’s notes: i sure don’t