drwex | Three tracks, in some depth

I hope there'll be something in here to keep everyone happy. I'm totally jonesing for people to give me feedback on the tracks I list.

http://www.myspace.com/abneypark
Abney Park, the world's best steampunk band, has posted two tracks from their new "Sea Shanties" album. To be honest, I don't think the new stuff is as good as some of their original things (you can also find "Sleep Isabella" and "Airship Pirates" on that page if you're not familiar with the older sound I'm referring to). The new tunes aren't the kind of sea shanties that I listened to as a child of folkies, and they're lacking in the dark intensity that I think really propels Abney Park's sound. Give it a listen and tell me what you think.

http://hypem.com/#/track/962851/Timbaland+ft+SoShy+-+Morning+After+Dark+Chew+Fu+2016+B+Boy+FixXx+
OK, let's see how many names are dropped here. First, there's Timabaland (http://www.timbalandmusic.com/ - warning, starts playing on load) who's a fairly well-known producer. He's done the basic "Morning after Dark" featuring Soshy and Nelly Furtado. If you go to Soshy's MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/soshymusic) you can hear the same track listed as "Morning after Dark feat. Timbaland". Nelly, by contrast doesn't even list this track on her site (http://www.nellyfurtado.com/splash/mi-plan-v3/ - also starts playing on load). Finally the track got remixed by Chew Fu (http://www.myspace.com/chewfuphat) to give it an extra dose of high energy. Both the original and the remix are excellent.

As an aside, remember how I complained about a certain class of performers trying to get by on looks and no talent? Yeah, them. Well all of them should sit down and take some lessons from Nelly and Soshy, both of whom are excellent in their own right. Give a listen to the other tracks on their pages. Whatever else you can say about Timbaland he sure knows how to pick music partners who can bring it!

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=235&Itemid=36
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0BiK__vuSk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwQbPgouUYo
DJ Schmolli brings another awesome hard mix, which I predict people will either love or hate based on the underlying track. Specifically, this "Enjoy Jumping Around" is based on House of Pain's old hit "Jump Around." The base track is very simple 90s-style hip-hop/rap with the insanely catchy riff that has caused the tune to appear over and over. What Schmolli has done is take this old favorite as covered by Old School Players - a more modern, less hardcore rap version - and pushed it to the limits with the Outhere Brothers' track "Enjoy" which I couldn't find a base version of so I've listed the Crookers (who I linked to about a month ago) remix above. That mix is also a lot of fun, but not as good as the DJ Schmolli mash.