The fight for diverse and conscious voices

The reason I wanted to clear the decks yesterday was to talk about the hour-long best-of mix I've been listening to much of the past week.

http://soundcloud.com/darkmorgoth/dj-morgoth-muyb-best-of-2011
DJ Morgoth gives you 61 minutes of good-to-awesome. This is a best-of set, but unlike most of the others I've listened to in the past couple weeks it's got a number of things I hadn't heard yet or hadn't appreciated on first go-round. Twenty-two tracks in all, and if you've been reading me this past year you'll know most of the names. My picks for the best of the best are:

http://soundcloud.com/mashmike/sak-noel-vs-eminem-vs-yello
MashMike builds a Sak Noel mix that stands out from all the others for inventiveness. It helps if, like me, you actually like Eminem when he's not being a raving asshole. Extra bonus points for the Yello samples.

http://hulkshare.com/gkmc77wan14n
DJs from Mars are (in my book at least) the best in the business right now at producing fun party banger mixes. And I've been tagging Mashup Germany all year as a great mega-mixer. So put the two of them together and you can guess what you get - a long-form banging mega-mix with lots of great samples and hair-turn transitions. I've listened to this at least half a dozen times and I can't help bopping along each time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H4YG7BFdws
Kap Slap puts together a fun and funny mash that makes me think about giving Britney the Bad Touch and how awesome that would be. And yes, it's another Journey-covering mash and yes I'm still rocking out to it 'cause I'm an ancient fogey who saw them way back when, not when Glee re-made them popular.

http://vimeo.com/27691758
Finally, this is a Skrillex mix called "Dubsex" so you've got to have at least some wub tolerance here. But it's not too heavy on the wub, and really it's mostly a Nero/Alana Watson remix. I really liked the original track and it's kind of fun listening to 3LAU and Skrillex dub up Daft Punk.

A couple fun things and then some selected mashes from the Bootie top-N list. More of those probably next week.

http://audioporncentral.com/2011/11/duran-duran-girl-panic.html
http://www.duranduran.com/wordpress/
Duran Duran are still around and kicking, with approximately the same sound as ever. This is linked mostly for the video which is a self-parody. The band got several of the models they're friends with, and who have appeared in earlier Duran Duran videos, to make this piece with the models playing the parts of the band members. Each model mimics certain of the affectations and attitudes of the band members in mock interviews that are woven around the basic "Girl Panic" tune. The Duran Duran blog linked above has some background and making-of material if you think that sort of thing is fun, which I do.

http://audioporncentral.com/2011/11/the-good-natured-skeleton.html
http://www.myspace.com/thegoodnatured
The Good Natured are a UK-based electronica trio fronted by a young singer/guitarist named Sarah McIntosh. They self-identify as goth but the couple of tracks I've heard of theirs - "Be My Animal" a while ago and now "Skeleton" - are brighter and more upbeat than your typical minor-key/downtempo electro-goth productions. When I first blogged them last year I noted that McIntosh's vocals were better than the electronic production was showing. The live performance of Skeleton doesn't kill the way I think she's capable of, but it gives you a much better feel for her.

http://bootiemashup.com/top10/nov2011/Titus%20Jones%20-%20Bad%20Things%20Will%20Roll%20With%20The%20Devil.mp3
Another spectacular mega-mash from Titus Jones. Start with Marily Manson and go to Mike Oldfield. Yes, really. Along the way, sample at least four top pop divas and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, plus one unforgettable movie line (am I the only one who recognizes it instantly?)

http://bootiemashup.com/top10/nov2011/The%20ECC%20-%20Stairway%20To%20Britney.mp3
Evolution Control Committee was doing mash-ups before the term was even invented. I remember them as culture jammers and as the authors of "Rocked by Rape" (http://www.myspace.com/video/the-evolution-control-committee/rocked-by-rape/515952). This tune, "Stairway to Britney", has been a staple in their live shows for years.

http://bootiemashup.com/top10/nov2011/davicii_guetta_where_dem_levels_at_djsfrommars_mashup.mp3
DJs from Mars remain one of the best acts in the remix business. They're not as technically proficient as a Lobsterdust or Titus Jones, but they have an instinct for what makes a fun dancefloor tune good. Listening to this tune you can hear their influence in three clear stages: 0 to 0:50 is 'ok here are two pop tunes'; 0:50 to about 1:35 is 'here are some pop tunes with some clever mixing'. And at about 1:35 it's like "OK, now get out of the way and let us show you how it _should_ be done".

Yeah, I know, I just did a music post, but there are a bunch of 'best of the year' things out so I'll be putting up a bunch today and hopefully another bunch before the week is out.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/12/dj-earworm-united-state-of-pop-2010-dont-stop-the-popdj-earworm-united-state-of-pop-2010-dont-stop-the-pop.html
I don't think you can do one of these without pointing to DJ Earworm's (http://www.facebook.com/Earworm) United State of Pop mix. His 2009 mix was awesome and really set a high bar for every mix last year. Earworm doesn't just mix a few tracks against each other - he samples at the word/phrase level and blends the results. Unfortunately (imo due to inferior source material) this year's mix isn't as good as last year's. His skills are still evident, but the 24 tracks represented here are more concerned with trying to sound like they are their own party than anything else.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2010/
Also like last year, Bootie turns in a few surprises in their top of the year picks. For one thing, the page now has a Soundcloud stream so you can listen to the set all together. I do wish Soundcloud would implement a "forward one track" feature, though. Bootie did something interesting this year, producing two lists. The first are in the mix - 23 tracks that fit together. Then they added 10 bonus tracks that they thought were good mixes, but that didn't fit the set for one reason or another. I didn't think much of the main set (the good tracks were ones I'd already blogged) but there are some real gems in the bonus tracks. Let's see:

http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2010/Best%20of%20Bootie%202010%20%28Unmixed%29/Mashup-Germany%20vs.%20Faroff%20-%20Everybody%20&%20Ray%20Speaks%20No%20Americano.mp3
Mashup Germany hit a home run with this one, called "Everybody & Ray Speaks No Americano". As you can guess from the title the popular Yolanda B Cool track is the backbone for this, and it's cut up and mashed with some great bits including some classic Ray Charles vocals that I just adore. Ray Charles was such an innovator in his time I regret he's not around to collaborate with some of today's best.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2010/Best%20of%20Bootie%202010%20%28Unmixed%29/Titus%20Jones%20-%20I%20Wanna%20Bulletproof%20Dancer.mp3
Titus Jones turns in another hot dance track putting together four female vocalists, pitting La Roux and Robyn against Whitney Houston and Taylor Swift. As pop female vocals go, each has something interesting to add and the result makes the best of each one's style.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2010/Best%20of%20Bootie%202010%20%28Unmixed%29/LeeDM101%20-%20%28Find%20Myself%29%20A%20Heap%20Of%20Love.mp3
LeeDM101's "(Find Myself) A Heap Of Love" brings a melancholy note using mostly Florence & the Machine with a helping of Depeche Mode and some Imogen Heap.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2010/Best%20of%20Bootie%202010%20-%20Bonus%20Tracks/DJs%20From%20Mars%20-%20Love%20The%20Way%20You%20Lie%20In%20Paradise%20City.mp3
DJs from Mars remain some of the most brilliant creators in the scene and this track proves it. Take the problematic Eminem/Rihanna track and fold in some stereotypical 80s hair rock - that can't possibly work, can it? Uh, yeah. It works. Seriously, this ought not to be possible but these guys are that good.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2010/Best%20of%20Bootie%202010%20-%20Bonus%20Tracks/DJ%20Fox%20-%20Come%20See%20About%20Down.mp3
What could possibly make one overplayed Jay Sean tune interesting again? How about a BIG helping of Motown superstars The Supremes. This one may be more hit-or-miss for those of you who didn't grow up loving Motown the way my pre-pubescent past self did. The elegant style and beautiful harmonies of the Motown ladies were magical then and they're magical now. Props to DJ Fox for this blast from the past.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/bestofbootie2010/Best%20of%20Bootie%202010%20-%20Bonus%20Tracks/Mashup-Germany%20-%20Imagine%20One%20Day%20So%20Far%20Away.mp3
Mashup Germany also take an overused track (Lennon's "Imagine") and reinvigorate it with contributions from a selection of more modern male vocalists. The combination of Matisyahu and Bob Marley is particular brilliant - an obvious pairing retrospect but so far as I know nobody's done it before.

The joy of having the last meeting of the day canceled is that I can try to close out a few more music tabs and share with you the most ROCKING mix to hit my headphones in a while.

http://viprhealthcare.typepad.com/files/linkin-park-vs.-carl-orff---the-catalyst-vs.-carmina-burana-djs-from-mars-remix.mp3
Rather than make you wait I'm just going to start off with the best and hope you aren't disappointed. So, go load that up, listen and if it doesn't move you then I do not know what to say. DJs from Mars remain my new heroes as this mix does things that should be impossible and gods does it rock.

First of all, Carmina Burana is overdone. You'll find classicists who hate it - it's bombastic and it mixes (dare I say mashes up) orchestral and choral styles in ways that set some people's teeth on edge. It has also been used by rockers from Ray Manzarek to lesser lights. But the way it's blended here with Linkin Park's "The Caralyst" turns bombast to thunder. Really, guys, play this one VERY loud.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=334&Itemid=27
Also in the realm of things designed to be played loud is Clivester's latest "Hello DJ." It's a heavy thump house mix of Martin Solveig's "Hello" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Na85fPGYCM) with Alphabeat's "DJ (I Could Be Dancing)". Solveig is a French DJ and the tune is pop-dance style; Alphabeat contributes more dance and disco stylings. Clivester plays up the scratch, speeds things up a bit, but mostly lets the underlying tracks carry things.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/10/wax-audio-maiden-goes-to-bollywood.html
I'm certain I blogged "Maiden Goes to Bollywood" before, and my memory says that I couldn't identify the Bollywood bit before. Well, now Wax Audio has given us a video mash-up to go with the MP3 track, and I've pinpointed the Bollywood source. I feel so much better now. Oh, you want to see it? It's "Crazy kia re" from the flick Dhoom 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0smZGU2VxA). That's nice (especially the eye-candy) but I prefer the mash-up to the original song.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/caged-bird-video-unkle.html
UNKLE sounded familiar to me - they've been around for 15+ years - but I had to go look it up to remember that DJ Shadow used to be with them. This track, "Caged Bird", features Katrina Ford, who is somewhat known for doing cabaret-style rock. I can hear the influences, but they're buried in what I'd call a pretty classic eerie trip-hop style. Ford's voice is lovely, though I can't tell whether the backing is her, redubbed, or another singer.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Groove_Armada/track/History_feat_Will_Young_Still_Going_Remix_
This is not your typical Groove Armada; in my mind the duo is always associated with some heavy funk influences and the three tracks here are mostly funk-free, but still excellent. The first one is a high-BPM dance number, but it then segues into a moodier, more down-tempo backing track that features the throaty and wistful vocals of Bryan Ferry. The final remix is straight-up riddim house number, which I reviewed back in January. "Crank it op!" yeah.

All three tracks are from Groove Armada's upcoming release of remixes, and this bodes extremely well.

Not much preamble here - busy, not much time to organize a post.

http://www.madmixmustang.nl/
http://www.madmixmustang.nl/mp3/You%20Rock%20My%20Rock.mp3
http://www.madmixmustang.nl/mp3/Dont%20Stop%20Bromancing.mp3
http://www.madmixmustang.nl/mp3/Fat%20Bottomed%20Girls%20Come%20Together.mp3
http://www.madmixmustang.nl/mp3/MMM%20-%20We%20No%20Can%20Dance.mp3

Mad Mix Mustang has appeared in a few places I've noticed lately so I went to check out the site. There are a lot of mashups here. Like any other big collection, you'll find winners and losers here, and a wide variety of styles. I've pulled out the direct links to a few I think are particularly good, mostly because they mash together things that you don't usually hear mashed at all, or in combinations.

"You Rock My Rock" is Queen/Michael Jackson/Joan Jett. The only weak part of this is where he pulls out Jett's vocals to use MJ's, but I'm not much of an MJ fan to start with.

"Don't Stop Bromancing" is another Journey mash, but put up against someone I've not heard before: Tim Berg (http://www.facebook.com/timbergmusic, http://beatport.com/artist/tim_berg). The base "Bromance" track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChzbYiYHOUU) is being mixed all over Europe it seems, and I can see why. It's a high-powered electro-house dance track with a simple riff and lush musical sweeps that just beg for soaring vocals. Paging Steve Perry!

"Fat Bottomed Girls Come Together" is an example of MMM's unusual pairings. The Queen track is a popular remix component, but here we get a guest appearance by John Lennon on behalf of The Beatles. This one really has to be heard to be believed, because it works really astonishingly well.

"We No Can Dance" is another good mix of components you don't hear all that often. I would be remiss in passing it up, though, after my musical adventures around We No Speak Americano. Here we have Phil Collins (*) singing over the jazzy riffs of the Yolanda tune. It works. And I swear he's sub-sampling just one tiny bit of "Chica Bomb" near the end there as well as one very clear "unh hunh" from "Da Da Da".

(*) I was amused to discover that MizA and I fall into the group of people who consider "Genesis" to be things done by this group while Peter Gabriel was a member. After he left it's all "Phil Collins" regardless of what's on the album cover.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/08/illegal-sunday-pheugoo-all-that-she-hides.html
Pheugoo, who I last noted as doing something awesome pulls off another brilliant musical juxtaposition by putting together Ace of Base and Kosheen. I don't like either of the base components, so not linking them, but this mash is smooth and funky-danceable.

http://viprhealthcare.typepad.com/files/lady-gaga-ft.-beyonce-vs.-metallica---enter-telephone-djs-from-mars-club-rmx.mp3
I'm reasonably certain I asserted I was done with Gaga mash-ups. I am reasonably certain I shall now eat my words. My new heroes DJs from Mars took not just Gaga but also Beyonce and threw them to the heavy metal wolves. Metallica adds just the right kind of hard edge and thunderous bass that makes this the kind of thing I want to play VERY LOUD.

There's a particular moment where the mash shifts from the slower pace to the faster and you'd expect something to fall apart, but instead it just kicks up another notch.

OK, most of it is still "meh" but there are a few gems in here, mostly things based on tunes I like.

http://bootiemashup.com/top10/mp3s/tripp-papawasaghost.mp3
DJ Tripp mashes up "Poppa Was A Rolling Stone" - the Temptations classic - with a Deadmau5 track that I'll be damned if I can identify. It's beautiful and danceable with Deadmau5's trademark electronic riffs. If you're a Temps fan, by the way, you should definitely see if you can find the cover/update of "Poppa" done by Was (not Was).

http://viprhealthcare.typepad.com/files/mashup-germany---imagine-one-day-so-far-away.mp3
Mashup Germany does an amazing piece of work here, mixing five different vocalists' work in a mix I wouldn't mind slow-dancing to. (Matisyahu, John Lennon, Blink 182, Gentlemen - http://www.myspace.com/rockfromgentlemen - and Bob Marley.)

http://www.madmixmustang.nl/mp3/Take%20Me%20On%20The%20Crazy%20Train.mp3
Madmixmustang (http://www.madmixmustang.nl/) puts forth a scary tour-de-force by mashing up two acts with very different styles that anyone who listened to music in the 80s will recognize. And no, I'm not going to spoil it by telling you who. It's been a long time since I linked a brain-blending mix and you should enjoy it unspoiled.

http://viprhealthcare.typepad.com/files/major-lazer-vs.-harold-faltermeyer---pon-de-foley-ludachrist-remix.mp3
Ludachrist (http://www.myspace.com/worshipludachrist) takes two different decades' electronic performers and mixes them up with a special helping of his own weirdness. It's ridiculously catchy.

http://bootiemashup.com/top10/mp3s/Come%20See%20About%20Down%20%28Jay%20Sean%20vs.%20Supremes%29.mp3
Have I confessed to loving Motown yet? Yes. In this post? Oh, yes. Well, OK then. The Supremes were beautiful and their silky vocals with their R&B and gospel influences are still beautiful today. DJ Fox (http://www.foxsounds.net/Fox_Sounds.html) clearly feels the same way as he's putting those vocals up with Jay Sean's 2009 smash pop hit "Down". I like the way the mix treats them as equals rather than trying to make the women into backing vocalists.

http://viprhealthcare.typepad.com/files/kesha-vs.-queen---radio-tik-tok-djs-from-mars-bootleg-remix.mp3
The question still remains - is it possible to make something good from a Ke$ha tune? Here my new heroes DJs from Mars give it their honest best, putting "Tik Tok" against Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" which has to be one of the worst catchy tunes Queen ever released. Even Keith Richards' guitar licks make a guest appearance. The result is certainly danceable, but the basic question remains unanswered.

Finally closing out the last set of music tabs so I can open new ones for next week.

http://www.kleptones.com/blog/
Let's start with the good and ugly. The Kleptones' latest, "Shits and Giggles" is out and it's amazing. Densely packed with all kinds of throwback goodness and modern fun. They've mixed it as a CD-length track with some obvious transition points between tracks so you can lift items and put them into mixes without having to chop things up too horribly.

And then there's the image they picked for the cover. Ugh. I just... sorry, that's fail. Awful doesn't begin to describe it.

http://belgabootlegs.be/audio.php
I confess I'm still working my way through this HUGE collection of mixes. There's so much here it's nearly impossible to pick out individual winners and losers. And I'll say up front that Ben Double M both has too much ego (OK, stop putting your name into every mix, we got it already) and an oddly quirky talent. He produces "enh" mixes from some great source and then he goes wandering off into Britney Spears of all things and produces really good mashes. I'm also liking his Bob Marley mixes, but when you start with source material that good you'd expect something good on the other side. But Britney? Impressive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDxTriWlYiY
Speaking of Britney, one of my guilty pleasures is Eminem. I realize that he's problematic in all sorts of ways, from mere annoying egotism to grossly misogynist and offensive lyrics. But man can he sling a line and he's worked with some of the best producers in the business. Here we have DJs from Mars putting Eminem up against not one but two Britney tunes. And gods help me, it moves. So excuse me while I shut off the critic-brain and just dance.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Matthew_Dear/track/Soil_To_Seed_
http://ghostly.com/releases/pom-pom
Usually when RCRD LBL is pimping an artist they give you links and downloads for each individual track in the stream. Sadly that's not the case here. Matthew Dear (http://www.matthewdear.com/) has a large body of work over a wide range of styles. I was just listening along, being entertained but not hugely impressed, when the stream hit "Pom Pom (The Juan Maclean Mix)." It's a very smooth disco-house mix that lifts one small vocal sample and builds around it. The result is haunting and not at all what I expected. A little Web searching led me to the Pom-Pom release page and samples from five mixes Juan Maclean... excuse me The Juan Maclean (http://www.myspace.com/thejuanmaclean) has done. These mixes are bloody brilliant, and well worth the time to hunt down. The fact that he's stealing riffs from P Funk did not influence me at all :)

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/08/bynar-broken-by-angels.html
Rob Dougan burst into my consciousness with his "Clubbed to Death" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt-NvcuDVBc) track that featured so prominently in the climactic scenes of The Matrix. About 3 years later he released his "Furious Angels" CD and then promptly vanished. While Clubbed has been remixed dozens of times there are far fewer remixes of Angels. Now Bynar (http://www.djbynar.com/) gives us this luscious mix that includes two versions of Angels, two Leftfield (another under-appreciated band in my opinion), and some other samples. You can read the details on Bynar's page. Or you can just close your eyes and let this gorgeous, lush, and very slightly creepy mix wash over you.

Most of these tabs have been open for a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d1cz16pAIc
I'm putting this one first because if I put it last you'll have the damned song stuck in your head for days. Like, say, me. DJs from Mars do their thing on Katy Perry, with the help of some seriously hair-era Van Halen. Further warning: a couple of people have found the video to be even more annoying than Ms Perry, which is going some. Personally I ignore the video in favor of imagining just where David Lee Roth would like to "put his hands up."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uozmvb3yPLc&feature=player_embedded
Toddla T (pronounced a lot like "Todd latte" - http://www.myspace.com/toddlat) is a young UK DJ who lays down here a serious boom-skank tune. High-speed, reggae-rapping courtesy of Wayne Marshall's (http://www.myspace.com/truwaynemarshall) Jamaican sounds. The video is silly but you don't have to watch it; just get up and dance.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/07/dj-earlybird-everyones-on-cocaine.html
DJ Earlybird (http://fairtilizer.com/users/DJVU) puts out an unusual mash-up by combining two older tunes. The famous Clapton "Cocaine" lyrics go with the sounds of Hot Chocolate's 1978 disco hit "Every 1's a winner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-GkwIRbLw8 - check out the PANTS!) What's interesting about this is that re-listening to the Hot Chocolate track, which I haven't heard in probably 25+ years, it sounds a lot like the guitar riffs Clapton used in Cocaine. It's worth remembering that Clapton didn't write Cocaine originally - it's a cover of a 1976 JJ Cale song, recorded in 1977 by Clapton.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/07/ben-double-ms-summer-double-pack.html
Ben Double M (http://belgabootlegs.be/) is a European DJ with some definitive ideas on what's a remix versus what's a mash-up. This here is a double sampler of his work. The first one is a slow, electro-trance feeling mash using Massive Attack's "Teardrop" and some contributions I can't identify from Waterspark (http://www.myspace.com/infynitwaterspark) an Eastern European trance DJ. Ben speeds things up a little bit and adds a beat track to give the tune a house edge that works surprisingly well below the vocals and electronic instruments.

The second track is much more "meh" - I'm not a jazz/soul fan and wrapping disco beats around it doesn't really help.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/07/the-glitch-mob-fistful-of-silence-eskmo-remix-the-remix-it-like-you-stole-it-competition.html
A much better set of beats comes from Glitch Mob (http://www.theglitchmob.com/) who have been running a remix competition to benefit Haiti. They've got an instrumental album out and have invited remixers to go at it; most put vocals on top, which is cool, but here Eskmo (http://www.myspace.com/eskmo) lays down some old-style electro and heavy sounds - shades of Jan Hammer.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/07/sunday-girl-%E2%80%93-self-control-video-and-azari-iii-remix.html
Laura Branigan's early-80's hit "Self Control" gets a very modern makeover here from Sunday Girl (http://www.myspace.com/wearesundaygirl). The single came out early this month in several remixed versions, with this one having an etherial and haunting electro texture courtesy of Azari and III (http://www.myspace.com/azariandiii). The a capella version on Sunday Girl's page is pretty thickly produced, which is a shame. I think her voice sounds better with the effects turned down and instead laid over the Azari beats.

Yeah, I've got a lot of open tabs. Let me see how many I can bang through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVlV7GO2_Bc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYDTcY2MCRc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X72mm-lgPWU
DJs from Mars put out these three remixes with accompanying remixed videos and all are excellent and worth talking about.

The first one is Christina Aguilera Vs. Mike Oldfield. Back when I blogged the new C.A. video I figured it would get some attention. This, however, is... wow. Mike Oldfield (http://www.mikeoldfield.org/) is probably best known for his three-volume magnum opus "Tubular Bells." It's concept album writ large, with sweeping 24-minute piano pieces, orchestral arrangements and of course the famous tubular bells themselves. Unless you're a fan you probably have only heard one part of Tubular Bells One, and you may recall that particular bit was made famous by a certain movie. Yeah, so... um, watch this video only if you want to see Christina Aguilera in a whole new light. Otherwise, just rock out with the remix.

The second one is Tinie Tempah Vs Bomfunk MCs. Tinie Tempah just appeared last week in Dunproofin's Rihanna remix. Here they're up against some seriously heavy house freestyling from Bomfunk MCs (http://www.myspace.com/bomfunkmcs). This mix shows off the Martians' skills, as they skate back and forth across the mixes. I particularly like the way the beats change up around 2:00 in and then back and then back again. In baseball there's the notion of a 'clean-up batter' who appears in a certain order in the line-up with a certain job to do - this here is a clean-up batter mix for a good house DJ set.

Finally there is Stromae Vs Dance All Stars. I feel like I've reviewed "Alors on Dance" from Stromae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2gRSTofDsk) before but I can't find it in the tags. This is a really nice mix, because it's pulling in not just the Dance All Stars bits, but several samples. The "Funkytown", Benny Benassi, and Daft Punk bits are easy to identify but I'm not sure what some of the others are.

http://www.djspooky.com/arizona_download.html
Here's a free remake from two of the most thoughtful and influential political rap/hip-hoppers. Chuck D and DJ Spooky have remade the "By The Time I get To Arizona" track that was originally written to respond to Arizona's failure to acknowledge the MLK birthday holiday. In this case they're responding to the new immigration law. I love DJ Spooky's characterization of their work as "...progressive, non knucklehead hip hop."

http://www.myspace.com/rachidtaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DbFYsi9iSg&a=2kVQulx-jTw&playnext_from=ML&shuffle=239
I think I'm indebted to sunstealer for reminding me both of the north African confluence of traditional styles with modern hip-hop, and for the pointer to Rachid Taha, one of the best-known players in this style. Taha's MySpace page mix leads with "Barra Barra", probably his best-known tune in the west because it was used in the movie Blackhawk Down - it's got an excellent feel for his vocal stylings and a thundering beat. I really enjoy the live videos of him that I've found on YouTube; linked above is him covering "Rock El Casbah", the Clash track.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1098277/The+White+Panda+-+Praise+Outkast
The White Panda (http://www.thewhitepanda.com/) push together Fatboy Slim and Outkast, which is kind of an amusing concept. The mix is more understated than you'd expect, which I think is why it works.

Sorry folks, this one is full of Gaga and disco. If that makes you cringe just skip on. But I do have to talk about a couple things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbQHvUObMbA&feature=player_embedded
I'm certain that I'll be inundated with Gaga remixes for the rest of this year, too, and most of them will suck as much as the original or worse. This, however, just WORKS. It's disturbing, really, when you think about it. How DJs from Mars (http://www.myspace.com/djsfrommars) managed to mix up Metallica's classic heavy metal anthem "Enter Sandman" with Gaga's ultra-pop "Telephone" hit is completely beyond me. The video isn't bad, either, but what really works is the underlying hard thunder that made Metallica famous which somehow pushes this track to the next level. (h/t to 'Song for the original pointer to this one.)

http://www.vevo.com/watch/christina-aguilera/not-myself-tonight/USRV81000022
Gaga's vid is not only heavily remixed and heavily played, it's getting responses. This here, the latest from Christina Aguilera, is not a mere shot across the bow - it's a direct slap back at Gaga from C.A. First, she's using the same production team as did the "Telephone" video. Then there are some very direct copies of dance moves, and a not-at-all-subtle use of a telephone and serious digs at Gaga's cheap product placements. Then there's the content - C.A. is basically all over the latex thing, and ALL OVER several men and women (take _that_ ambiguous bisexual Gaga). The blonde wigs are also a pretty out-and-out "Yeah, you did it but I was here first and I am way nastier than you" get-your-freak-on challenge.

The song? It's OK. Uses the f word somewhat gratuitously. It's danceable and I like C.A.'s voice somewhat better than Gaga's. It'll be remixed, too, but I don't think this is going to de-throne the queen of the moment. There will, as DJ Purple said to me, be war. Should be interesting; I'm reminded of the way male rappers dis each other - taken to a whole new level. Who was it said women always fight nastier than men?

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=281&Itemid=27
OK, disco. I don't do... sigh, I can't say that anymore, can I? I mean, I really don't generally like disco. But damned if KrazyBen hasn't put together something altogether likeable out of two disco tracks overlaid with the reggae-rhyming Dizzee Rascal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUPleuj42w0). Arabesque's "In the heat of a Disco Night" are to blame for starting this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcEssAf1cXE - if you can bear to listen) and it somehow has mutated from godawful to... y'know, not bad. Not bad at all.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/04/einmeier-ovenbrod-i-feel-o.html
And if you're going to do disco you probably can't overlook the queen of disco herself. Here Einmeier & Ovenbröd (http://mimu.eu/) turn out an acoustic electro-disco stutter-mix using Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TBmeK9Abg). The track does a great job of taking the floaty bits from Summer and layering them over hard, high-BPM house rhythms.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=283&Itemid=27
The latest Clivester mash, which is another synthpop confection I have to confess I like. (Synthpop is the disco of the last 15 years, trust me on this.) The beats of the mash are pretty standard club stuff, built around German boy-pop-band Polarkreis 18's "Allein Allein". And I had to close with this one just so you could marvel with me at how this guy manages NOT to explode into flames: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsHV4i59RaM

Seriously, watch that vid. I swear they had a brace of techs standing just off camera with extinguishers in hand.

Next time, I think, we'll be back to more usual stuff.