If you don't like music you can just skip ahead

I'm only likely to post Mon/Tues this week and I've got a lot of tabs to close out, plus Booty put out the Top 10 for November already. So let's start with five of the tracks from that (http://www.bootieusa.com/blog/2009/11/bootie-top-10-november-2009.html) and then take a digression into teen angst ballads...

http://www.mi-tracks.com/artists/clivester/tunes/DJ_Clive$ter-To_Lose_My_Touch.mp3
Clivester's "To Lose My Touch". I saw this on Mashup Industries and wasn't that impressed. Still not bowled over on re-listen, but I think that's due to my general "meh" response to Phil Collins-era Genesis. The White Lies track he's mashing up against gets nearly completely lost, but if you love Phil you'll love this track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc
It's possible there are friends of mine who haven't seen this video, which has been majorly viral for a couple months now. A gentle backbeat remix of various bits of Carl Sagan, mostly from the show Cosmos, with vocoded bits contributed by Stephen Hawking. You can find the other Sagan track also over at http://www.symphonyofscience.com/

http://audioporncentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/kleptones_voodoosabotage.mp3
The Prodigy backing up the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" - what's not to like? I'm a little unhappy that they chose to mix against the expurgated radio edit rather than the original, but high energy yeah baby! Unlike a lot of musicians and DJs who home on MySpace, the Kleptones maintain their own blog, at http://www.kleptones.com/blog/ with embedded music links and players. Also check out some of their del.icio.us bookmarks.

http://djlobsterdust.com/mix/lobsterdust--NirGaga_%28Niravana_vs_LadyGaga%29.mp3
This is another one I had passed over on first listen. I'm not a Nirvana fan, nor a Lady Gaga fan. How the hell this mash-up works is beyond me. What I think is happening is that DJ Lobsterdust has hit on a fundamental darkness in both tracks and by mixing down-tempo he's finding parallels you don't normally hear.

http://djsteveboy.com/groovelectric.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31JcPMLkFLk
http://www.bass211.com/mx/Just%20Stop%20Believing.mp3
Confession time: I liked Journey. Cheesy as all hell, teen angst ballady crap. Yes, I outgrew it, thank you. So I was brought up short when I heard the latest DJ Steveboy mix "The Engine of Night." This mix is long overdue because Steve Boyett is out doing an author tour for his novels. He posted this with a warning that it's darker than his usual. Well, in an apparent effort to lighten the mood of the mix he threw in a Journey remix. WTF?

So I went hunting and it turns out there are a TON of Journey remixes, mostly of "Don't Stop Believing" as you'd expect. DJ Steveboy uses the Andy Clockwork remix, which you can find on the YouTube page I linked, and if you go to the Related videos bit you can find... um, a LOT of remixes. Of this tune. Apparently I wasn't the only one who used to like them. The Clockwork mix is mid-tempo and doesn't really give in to Steve Perry's vocals until about 2/3 through.

And then the Lady Gaga vs Journey mash-up by DJ Tripp showed up. And as Arlo said, three people doing it is an organization. The Tripp mix is an OK addition to the list; I suspect if I liked Lady Gaga better I'd rate this one higher.

If you don't like music you can just skip ahead

I'm only likely to post Mon/Tues this week and I've got a lot of tabs to close out, plus Booty put out the Top 10 for November already. So let's start with five of the tracks from that (http://www.bootieusa.com/blog/2009/11/bootie-top-10-november-2009.html) and then take a digression into teen angst ballads...

http://www.mi-tracks.com/artists/clivester/tunes/DJ_Clive$ter-To_Lose_My_Touch.mp3
Clivester's "To Lose My Touch". I saw this on Mashup Industries and wasn't that impressed. Still not bowled over on re-listen, but I think that's due to my general "meh" response to Phil Collins-era Genesis. The White Lies track he's mashing up against gets nearly completely lost, but if you love Phil you'll love this track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc
It's possible there are friends of mine who haven't seen this video, which has been majorly viral for a couple months now. A gentle backbeat remix of various bits of Carl Sagan, mostly from the show Cosmos, with vocoded bits contributed by Stephen Hawking. You can find the other Sagan track also over at http://www.symphonyofscience.com/

http://audioporncentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/kleptones_voodoosabotage.mp3
The Prodigy backing up the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" - what's not to like? I'm a little unhappy that they chose to mix against the expurgated radio edit rather than the original, but high energy yeah baby! Unlike a lot of musicians and DJs who home on MySpace, the Kleptones maintain their own blog, at http://www.kleptones.com/blog/ with embedded music links and players. Also check out some of their del.icio.us bookmarks.

http://djlobsterdust.com/mix/lobsterdust--NirGaga_%28Niravana_vs_LadyGaga%29.mp3
This is another one I had passed over on first listen. I'm not a Nirvana fan, nor a Lady Gaga fan. How the hell this mash-up works is beyond me. What I think is happening is that DJ Lobsterdust has hit on a fundamental darkness in both tracks and by mixing down-tempo he's finding parallels you don't normally hear.

http://djsteveboy.com/groovelectric.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31JcPMLkFLk
http://www.bass211.com/mx/Just%20Stop%20Believing.mp3
Confession time: I liked Journey. Cheesy as all hell, teen angst ballady crap. Yes, I outgrew it, thank you. So I was brought up short when I heard the latest DJ Steveboy mix "The Engine of Night." This mix is long overdue because Steve Boyett is out doing an author tour for his novels. He posted this with a warning that it's darker than his usual. Well, in an apparent effort to lighten the mood of the mix he threw in a Journey remix. WTF?

So I went hunting and it turns out there are a TON of Journey remixes, mostly of "Don't Stop Believing" as you'd expect. DJ Steveboy uses the Andy Clockwork remix, which you can find on the YouTube page I linked, and if you go to the Related videos bit you can find... um, a LOT of remixes. Of this tune. Apparently I wasn't the only one who used to like them. The Clockwork mix is mid-tempo and doesn't really give in to Steve Perry's vocals until about 2/3 through.

And then the Lady Gaga vs Journey mash-up by DJ Tripp showed up. And as Arlo said, three people doing it is an organization. The Tripp mix is an OK addition to the list; I suspect if I liked Lady Gaga better I'd rate this one higher.

Music 2 - stay weird

I normally leave the weird stuff for the end of these posts, but this time we'll invert it, starting off with five things that make me go "wtf" or "wow" and ending with a nice safe dance mix.

http://hypem.com/#/track/956511/Crookers+-+Gypsy+P
Anyone read Russian and care to tackle this one? The first track was blogged here: http://raketa4000.ru/2009/11/15/gipsy-kings/ and I've got no idea what it says. The track is probably mislabeled on Hypem - I think it's by the Gipsy Kings (http://raketa4000.ru/2009/11/15/gipsy-kings/), and not Crookers (http://www.myspace.com/crookers) who are a pretty hard-core house DJ outfit. Except, um, listen to the track. If gypsy polka music was going to be interpreted for a hardcore dance mix it probably would sound a lot like this. And it's... um, distressingly GOOD! All you circus/oompah/klezmer folk - give this a listen and tell me what you think.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=234&Itemid=36
In addition to my other weaknesses, I have a fondness for cheesy 70s badly lip-synched kung fu B movies, and the iconic Carl Douglas single "Kung Fu Fighting." I distinctly remember playing my 45rpm disc of it to death and then my parents refusing to buy me another copy. (It was called a 'record player' and it was used for something other than scratching, you whippersnappers. Now geddoffamylawn!) This mix, by CJR, is an homage to that era, using both the Douglas track and Survivor' "Eye of the Tiger", with guest vocals by Madonna and Break Machine. Unorthodox, but effective!

http://hypem.com/#/track/960230/Ellie+Goulding+-+Under+The+Sheets+Kids+At+The+Bar+Remix+
I'm not normally a fan of mixes that use a lot of rapid stutter-scratching. Most of the time it's a cover for the mixer's lack of beat-matching skills. But sometimes it's an interesting counterpoint to more conventional vocals, and that's what Kids at the Bar have done here. Ellie Goulding's "Under the Sheets" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Navl4fYI-Zk) is an unremarkable track on its own, though it does contain the seeds in its own use of stutter and the remix livens it up considerably.

http://hypem.com/#/track/956137/Lady+Gaga+-+Bad+Romance+Hercules+Love+Affair+Mix+
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/21/video-lady-gaga-befo.html
Lady Gaga is just all OVER my intartubes lately. Here we've got another stuttery remix of the very popular "Bad Romance" track. It's not bad, but I'm mostly using it as an excuse to get you to go read boingboing's reposting of a video showing Stefani Germanotta (aka Lady Gaga) performing as chicksinga+piano in a very different style, at the NYU talent show. You can also watch the un-remixed official video for "Bad Romance" if you want. I'm still not a Gaga fan, but it's nice to know she really does have singing and songwriting talent, and isn't just cruising on someone else's material.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=232&Itemid=36
Somehow I managed to miss this Dan Mei mash-up when it posted to Mashup Industries; props to MizA for pointing me back to it. NiN's "Hand That Feeds" is one of their best tracks in recent memory and a big favorite of mine. So good is it that you can drop an entire Britney Spears track on top of it and not soil the awesomeness. It's been a couple months since I noted Dan Mei and his stuff hasn't inspired me much in the interim. This? This is a brilliant collision of sounds that really ought not to mix but that taste great together.

And finally to close out with a more conventional piece...

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Sammy_Bananas/track/Bag_Raiders_vs_Sammy_Bananas_-_Fun_Punch_feat_Carrie_Wilds
Sammy Bananas seems to be trying to give Deadmau5 a run for weird stage costumes. RCRD LBL put up three of his tracks. The first two are OK, but the one you want to remember is the third, his take on "The Stepper." Those of you who actually read these silly entries may remember that about a month ago I blogged a pointer to Ini Kamoze's "Here Comes the Hotstepper" which is just one of the rockingest tunes I've heard, and you really should go back and re-listen to it. Sammy does justice to the original, mixing in a bunch of samples and playing with the tempo to give it a highly danceable feel.

Music 2 - stay weird

I normally leave the weird stuff for the end of these posts, but this time we'll invert it, starting off with five things that make me go "wtf" or "wow" and ending with a nice safe dance mix.

http://hypem.com/#/track/956511/Crookers+-+Gypsy+P
Anyone read Russian and care to tackle this one? The first track was blogged here: http://raketa4000.ru/2009/11/15/gipsy-kings/ and I've got no idea what it says. The track is probably mislabeled on Hypem - I think it's by the Gipsy Kings (http://raketa4000.ru/2009/11/15/gipsy-kings/), and not Crookers (http://www.myspace.com/crookers) who are a pretty hard-core house DJ outfit. Except, um, listen to the track. If gypsy polka music was going to be interpreted for a hardcore dance mix it probably would sound a lot like this. And it's... um, distressingly GOOD! All you circus/oompah/klezmer folk - give this a listen and tell me what you think.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=234&Itemid=36
In addition to my other weaknesses, I have a fondness for cheesy 70s badly lip-synched kung fu B movies, and the iconic Carl Douglas single "Kung Fu Fighting." I distinctly remember playing my 45rpm disc of it to death and then my parents refusing to buy me another copy. (It was called a 'record player' and it was used for something other than scratching, you whippersnappers. Now geddoffamylawn!) This mix, by CJR, is an homage to that era, using both the Douglas track and Survivor' "Eye of the Tiger", with guest vocals by Madonna and Break Machine. Unorthodox, but effective!

http://hypem.com/#/track/960230/Ellie+Goulding+-+Under+The+Sheets+Kids+At+The+Bar+Remix+
I'm not normally a fan of mixes that use a lot of rapid stutter-scratching. Most of the time it's a cover for the mixer's lack of beat-matching skills. But sometimes it's an interesting counterpoint to more conventional vocals, and that's what Kids at the Bar have done here. Ellie Goulding's "Under the Sheets" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Navl4fYI-Zk) is an unremarkable track on its own, though it does contain the seeds in its own use of stutter and the remix livens it up considerably.

http://hypem.com/#/track/956137/Lady+Gaga+-+Bad+Romance+Hercules+Love+Affair+Mix+
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/21/video-lady-gaga-befo.html
Lady Gaga is just all OVER my intartubes lately. Here we've got another stuttery remix of the very popular "Bad Romance" track. It's not bad, but I'm mostly using it as an excuse to get you to go read boingboing's reposting of a video showing Stefani Germanotta (aka Lady Gaga) performing as chicksinga+piano in a very different style, at the NYU talent show. You can also watch the un-remixed official video for "Bad Romance" if you want. I'm still not a Gaga fan, but it's nice to know she really does have singing and songwriting talent, and isn't just cruising on someone else's material.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=232&Itemid=36
Somehow I managed to miss this Dan Mei mash-up when it posted to Mashup Industries; props to MizA for pointing me back to it. NiN's "Hand That Feeds" is one of their best tracks in recent memory and a big favorite of mine. So good is it that you can drop an entire Britney Spears track on top of it and not soil the awesomeness. It's been a couple months since I noted Dan Mei and his stuff hasn't inspired me much in the interim. This? This is a brilliant collision of sounds that really ought not to mix but that taste great together.

And finally to close out with a more conventional piece...

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Sammy_Bananas/track/Bag_Raiders_vs_Sammy_Bananas_-_Fun_Punch_feat_Carrie_Wilds
Sammy Bananas seems to be trying to give Deadmau5 a run for weird stage costumes. RCRD LBL put up three of his tracks. The first two are OK, but the one you want to remember is the third, his take on "The Stepper." Those of you who actually read these silly entries may remember that about a month ago I blogged a pointer to Ini Kamoze's "Here Comes the Hotstepper" which is just one of the rockingest tunes I've heard, and you really should go back and re-listen to it. Sammy does justice to the original, mixing in a bunch of samples and playing with the tempo to give it a highly danceable feel.