The fight for diverse and conscious voices

I've had some music things stacked up for a while, none of which were quite coherent enough to make a post. But I really want to improve my mood, so here I lay these bits and baubles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agA7ITuJn6k&feature=youtu.be
I was just going to link to yet another of the new Abney Park tracks. As I mentioned last time, the band's musical wanderings have landed them in a place where I'm starting to like their dark energy again. This track (The Casbah) has some fun dancing going on in it - there's definite tango bits and I love the violin parts. The video comes with its own outtakes/gag reel which is pretty funny to watch.

So I'm playing this in the computer room, and Pygment says, "Wait I know that!" Sure, I say, it's a pretty common tango... no, wait, it's something specific. I forget the precise back-and-forth, but she eventually digs up that it's "Hernando's Hideaway." Give it a listen, I'll wait.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC05YwDUmVg

Now I totally want to write to Captain Robert and ask if this was deliberate on their part or just coincidence.

https://soundcloud.com/beatsantique/bassnectar-so-butterfly-beats-antique-remix-ft-sorne
This is Bassnectar's remix of a Beats Antique tune and I link it not just because of its beauty but because I think it illustrates the problem I was talking about in my review of their show last fall. To wit, I think B.A. are still writing interesting music but they've been letting the stage show overshadow that. I was first attracted to them by the sounds that flowed into my headphones (via Pandora, iirc) and this Bassnectar remix is a lot like that - I just want the sounds to flow and yes, I can totally imagine Zoe Jakes dancing to this and it would be just exactly what I want.

https://soundcloud.com/fugged/wham-bam-hot-hands-darius-vs-ying-yang-vs-yung-wun
"Fugged" is a self-professed amateur who has produced a sort of interesting turbo-funk-laced mix that I'm enjoying. This three-way mash is bouncy and energetic and it's also pretty with lovely vocals intermixed into the hip-hop rhyming. It kind of slips in places - feels like it could use a polish pass from an experienced producer - but it's fun enough to be worth tagging.

https://soundcloud.com/djschmollimusic/american-uptown-funk
Very little can beat James Brown funk so here have DJ Schmolli doing a phat dance-tastic mashup of the master (Ow!) with Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars. There's also an extended mix you can grab if this is your sort of thing. Which if it isn't you can probably stop reading this entry right here, because...

https://soundcloud.com/ghettofunk/howla-b-side-sleazy-teacher
https://soundcloud.com/glitchhop/howla-silent-river-ft-jesse-royal
Here's a funky double-shot from Howla. The first track, done with B-Side, is pretty bangin' ghetto funk. It's heavy on the fuzz and high BPM but hey the whole point here is to pick you up out of the dumps and get you dancing. I don't care if I look like an idiot on the dance floor so long as it's stuff like this that's playing.

The second track is listed as "glitch hop" which is true but it's also very funky in its core beats. By the drop at 0:40 you could easily think you were listing to an electro-funk track with some nice reggae lyrical stylings overlaid on it. It's hot and dirty and dammit, this is what moves me.

I doubt I'll be posting music on Friday, and I just had both my afternoon meetings cancelled AND it's the end of year so I'm going through a bunch of "best of" tracks, so let's clear the decks shall we?

https://soundcloud.com/ando-tutnixx/dj-schmolli-farbenkarussell-she-moves-the-sun
DJ Schmolli is back with a pleasant and fairly sophisticated mash. He's got four tracks including two versions of "She Moves" by Alle Farben (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC1MmjPu3Xo) a lovely vocal dance piece that has some obvious swing influences. Schmolli skips his usual metal componentry in favor of more subtle beats and horn accompaniments. Using other vocal bits from "La La La" as counterpoint works very well. If it wasn't December I'd say this was a great summer track.

https://soundcloud.com/frail-limb-purity-1/sets/xoxo-the-glitch-mob-the
This is an oldie but somehow I failed to notice it. Back in 2012, dj bahler and Frail Limb Purity sat down with their friends from the Glitch Mob and put together a full mixtape of mashes using mostly music from Glitch Mob and The Weekend. The set tones down and mixes nicely with Glitch Mob's usual bombast. I'm on my fourth listen-through and I think my favorite is still the opening track "Unspoken" which uses five tracks in a mash that is at once innovative, surprising, and intimate.

https://soundcloud.com/killmrdj/you-oughta-beg-banks-vs-alanis-morissette-vs-stevie-nicks
https://soundcloud.com/killmrdj/wake-up-down-under-avicii-ft
https://soundcloud.com/killmrdj/wicked-london-grammar-kylie-minogue-chris-isaak-madonna
A triple-pack from a new-to-me remixer who goes by kill_mr_dj.

The first one, I am not quite sure what to make of. It is clever and it makes me listen to Alanis Moreupset again, which I generally try to avoid. The mix is definitely arranged as a point/counterpoint with a strong transition starting about 2:30 in. I confess that "Edge of Seventeen" is one of my weaknesses, having come into my hearing when I was about that age, and feeling some of those feels. I don't know if it'll appeal to anyone else, though.

The second is a straight up A|B mash using Men at Work and Avicii. It, too, is clever and more pop-appealing than the previous track.

The third one, well you can like or not. It's using London Grammar's cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" which I think is as haunting and even more beautiful than the original.

https://soundcloud.com/chasing_planets/i-see-firethugz-mansion-ed-sheeran-ft-nas-tupac
Speaking of clever, ChasingPlanets has built a nice combination using guitars from "See Fire" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fngvQS_PmQ) a track off the previous Hobbit movie soundtrack. This is overlaid with some of the lyrical poetry that made Nas and Tupac famous. It's haunting and beautiful in ways wholly different from the original, but similar in spirit.

https://soundcloud.com/madmixmustang-1/wanna-get-up-and-start-being-a-sex-machine-long-version-1
James Brown mixes are easy to do wrong. You end up with something spastic or something that just recapitulates what everyone who followed Brown sampled and took from him. Here MadMixMustang shows us exactly that by using Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" with Brown. WBSS is very clearly a direct descendant of Brown's work and pairing the two is a nice Master-and-pupil duet. A bit too much Michael for my tastes, but that's just me.

Half my meetings today have been cancelled, so while I wait for the gaps to fill let's have some sounds. A couple of different things, a couple you'll be expecting.

https://soundcloud.com/thegoldenpony/the-sound-of-silence-the
I forget exactly what wandering took me to this remix from last year. It is, as the name says, The Golden Pony's remix of "The Sound of Silence". So if you're me get ready for a huge rush of nostalgia. It's wrapped up in modern electro-funk but very respectful of the original. I really like it.

https://soundcloud.com/nickraymondg/of-monsters-and-men-little-talks-thomas-jack-remix-free-download
I've mentioned Thomas Jack a couple times in the past. Each time he's brought gentle beats and a lighter tone to my day and this is no exception. It's his take on "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I), toned and quieted, but still bouncy fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCiQ7Lm8Jag
I found this one in a DJ Steveboy mix and liked it enough to pull out and blog separately. The is The Beatangers doing "What's That Sound." The first commenter (at least as of this writing) has it mostly - the track relies on the classic Rapper's Delight and a lyrical couplet from "Stop Children What's That Sound"?" though it's the Les Rythmes Digitales version, not the original.

https://soundcloud.com/djschmolli/insomnia-rhythm-satisfaction
DJ Schmolli has been uploading some of his older mixes. This one just went up a few weeks ago, but it's from 2011 and highlights some of the great dance tracks that were popular around then. It's a little bit of a trainwreck but the source materials are great and it's fun to remember them.

https://soundcloud.com/steyoyoke/skena-waiting-in-the-wings
I remain not a huge fan of Italian nu-disco but the electronic scene there has spawned some variations I do like. This, Skena's "Waiting in the Wings" is one such. It's darker and more ethereal, taking disco beats and looping them into a driving vibrato.

https://soundcloud.com/looandplacido/house-of-pain-x-gta-x-dj-kool-x-fatboy-slim-x-chardy-x-dooze-jackers-loo-placido-bootleg
https://soundcloud.com/looandplacido/tjr-vinai-x-ac-dc-x-metallica-x-lluke-diplo-loo-placido-bootleg
Here's a double shot of Loo & Placido multi-mashes in similar but different styles. The first one is a "Jump Around" moombahton mash with a number of scratch-based styles built around it. The intro is a little longer than I'd like but once it gets going it's a lot of bouncy fun.

The second one is a bounce-metal combo, which seems appropriate today since Nicky da B died this week. RIP Nicky. Twenty-four is way too soon.

A couple new items appeared in the stream today prompting me to do this overdue post. We've got a couple of things you don't hear often and some long-form listening to get you over these rains (or whatever the weather is doing when you read this). There's also a lot of really good old-style funk in here.

https://soundcloud.com/dj-moule/good-love-good-rock
For a while Joan Jett was a popular remix source then she kind of fell out of favor. DJ Moule brings her back in a mash against Led Zeppelin that hovers on the edge of trainwreck but ends up holding together. This comes out of the Fissunix Whole Lotta Mix set, linked below.

https://soundcloud.com/father-funk/get-up
Father Funk gives us an old-school style of ghetto funk with this "Get Up!" remix. This track is about a year old and they've got a bunch more stuff up on Soundcloud now that I plan to check out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_bVp0S9LoA
https://soundcloud.com/slynk/stickybuds-bouncy-bouncy-slynk
Speaking of funking, it doesn't get a lot better than this. The original is at the first link: "Bouncy Bouncy" by Stickybuds & South Rakkas (featuring Rage). One of the best hard-edged electro-funk tracks I've heard since the style hit the dance floors. Lots of fuzz, some scratching, and some definite reggae influences. The second link is Slynk's remix, which is surprisingly toned down. It's a little faster and a lot more melodic, with less of the hard edge that the original has.

https://soundcloud.com/pimpdaddysupreme/bubble-bottom-girls-queen-vs
It's been WAY too long since I heard a really good "Fat Bottom Girls" remix. It's one of my favorite ignored Queen tracks. Mashing that up with Major Lazer is surprising, and it works, though I wouldn't necessarily listen to this outside of headphones at work. I know Lazer isn't to everyone's taste but I think it really works here. Fast-paced rap, Queen's harmonies, and... yeah, it's a concept I found myself grinning along with.

https://soundcloud.com/djschmolli/land-of-sonic-numbers
If you ever thought to yourself "I wonder what it would sound like if Phil Collins sang for Kraftwerk" then you are not me. Also, you're not DJ Schmolli who has produced this brilliant weave of two sources that don't get mashed approximately ever. Bonus points for choice of media samples that all us geeks will recognize.

https://soundcloud.com/reset-1/reset-x-holi-dance-festival-x-zero
RESET did this summer festival dance set and it's a pleasant surprise. It's less turbofunk than some of their previous efforts, but it's got definitely funky moments. Italy is kind of ground zero for nu disco and you can definitely catch some of those influences here but damned if this isn't some seriously great wailing horns.

http://www.djsteveboy.com/childrenoftherhythm.html
It's been a while since I linked one of DJ Steveboy's Groovelectric mixes. He's been experimenting with a lot of different styles and like any experiment there are some good and some bad. It's hard to recommend an entire set that's sort of 50-50. Steveboy also does a lot of his own mixing and alteration to the tracks he puts into his sets. You can usually pick up the originals on Beatport (and I urge you to do so - it pays the artists) but that's not necessarily going to be the exact sound that you get in the mix. Here, however, Steve has gone back to Groovelectric's "new old funk" roots and this one really rocks along.

https://soundcloud.com/fissunix/whole-lotta-mix
Fissunix has assembled ten tracks, all of which are based off of "Whole Lotta Love". There are some really good takes on this - I pulled out the Joan Jett mix above but you can sample for yourself. Of course, if you don't like the base track I advise skipping this one entirely.

Busy is as busy does. Managed to fit this set of mash-up gems in between meetings.

https://soundcloud.com/djschmolli/pirate-nation-vol5
DJ Schmolli's latest Pirate Nation collection is a return to what he does best - take modern and well-known pop and mash it up with hard rock and metal classics. I've only listened to it twice so I don't have a specific favorite to point to, yet. I will say that it is NOT my fault if you get earwormed by Bon Jovi after you listen to this.

https://soundcloud.com/roxy-emotions/here-comes-the-pride-again-eurythmics-vs-barry-harrisroxy-emotions-mashup
I was not exactly looking for a Eurythmics mash-up but they're rare enough that seeing one in another search caught my eyes and I gave this a whirl. Roxy Emotions is the DJ name of a Greek producer I've not heard before. I plan to check out more of their stuff. This track doesn't knock my socks off, but it's a fine house interpretation of the classic.

https://soundcloud.com/jack-the-video-ripper/supermode-vs-usher-tell-me-why-im-without-you-jack-the-video-ripper-quick-mash
Another side-effect of that same search was this mash. Supermode's "Tell Me Why" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTDeEJyCmNA) was one of my favorite night-driving tracks for a long time. Here Jack the Video Ripper has blended the dancy elements of that tune with some soulful Usher and I like the combination. It still feels like summer night music, but that's probably my preconceptions at play again.

https://soundcloud.com/djdreamport/dj-dreamport-mashup-our-party
https://soundcloud.com/mashupgermany/mashup-germany-top-of-the-1
A double-shot of "top of the pops 2013" mash-ups. One by the new-to-me DJ Dreamport, and one by the fantastic Mashup Germany. Yes, I know I'm a bit late with these things, but that's the way it goes. As you'd expect, these are mega-mashes that jump around in barely controlled fashion. The Dreamport version seems to be more dance-centric and comes across as its own dance tune. The M.G. version is hilariously head-spinning - listen up to 0:50 to see what I mean if you don't want to take the whole thing. Both are quite good, though I remain convinced that Mashup Germany is the true master of this art form. It's also interesting to compare their source lists side-by-side. I'd guess there's about 60% overlap, which is much smaller than I'd've guessed.

https://soundcloud.com/eternalendeavor/tritonal-colors-remix
Finally, I'll leave you with this remix of Tritonal's Colors, which I blogged about a month ago. This remix is a fun and relaxed, almost trance-y, take on the tune. I'm hard-pressed to say that it's "better" than the original; I think I'd go with "interestingly different" which is often enough if the original is this good.

Meeting cancelled, can I sneak in a music post? With the business of work lately I haven't had time to listen to a lot of things, but still there are some tabs. Several of these tracks are

https://soundcloud.com/londongrammar/london-grammar-devil-inside-1
I'm hoping to see London Grammar this Friday and I'm stoked for the show, so let me share with you a cover they posted a few weeks ago of my favorite INXS tune, "Devil Inside". This is so different from the original it's startling. But beautiful. What made INXS work for me was Michael Hutchence's voice, and here Hannah Reid takes it on beautifully. The music is mostly transposed to piano, as you'd expect from London Grammar and if I have any quibble it's that they wait too late (3:30 or so) to bring in the full orchestration.

https://soundcloud.com/mashupgermany/mashup-germany-i-am-who-i-am
Another brilliant track from Mashup Germany. Seven tracks, largely built around Mark Morrison's "I am what I am". It's smooth and gentle, as befits the component tracks. He even manages to throw in some Ke$ha without it spoiling things.

https://soundcloud.com/djschmolli/upgrade-the-casbah
DJ Schmolli starts off with a fairly basic "Rock the Casbah" mix and then starts pulling in other things. Around 2:00 he grabs some Ofra Haza to float over the bongos, which works surprisingly well. Unfortunately it then swaps back to Beyonce, which doesn't do her much credit in the comparison.

https://soundcloud.com/scottscottscott/do-it-again
Scottscottscott pulls together five tracks in a mix that I kept thinking was going to go off the rails as a trainwreck but he manages it brilliantly. It's got good energy but never goes off into frenetic.

https://soundcloud.com/sebwax/indochinevsgossip
Sebwax - a French DJ I had not heard before - does something awesome here. He's taken Beth Ditto's vocals from "Perfect World" - which I really like - and laid them over a the instrumental track from French rockers Indochine's "College Boy" (I was going to link to the video, but it's pretty disturbing; find it if you must).

https://soundcloud.com/djmightymauz/dj-mighty-mauz-your-blessed
DJ Mighty Mauz turns in a fully respectable house dance mash-up, using one of the few Christina Aguilera tracks I like and the Avicii standard "Blessed". As with most of these mash-ups the question is "has the mix improved things?" and in this case I think the mix is an improvement on both the originals. This is my kind of "dance around the room when I need to get stuff done" music.

https://soundcloud.com/neash-sddbmusic/slynk-vs-soundboy-tom-vs
You call something "The Funk Mash-up" and you know I'm there. This is labeled "ghetto funk" which as far as I can tell involves mixing up classing funk tracks with some of the more contemporary rap/hip-hop tracks that were inspired by the original funk masters. This mix ends up being a little more disjointed than some of the smooth mixes I've linked to here, but it's a good effort using some of my favorite music.

https://soundcloud.com/thomasjackmusic/israel-kamakawiwoole-1
I mentioned Thomas Jack a few months ago - back then for a beautiful symphonic house track. Here he's got a huge winner of a remix. The original is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's famous ukelele rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World". This track has been used in at least half a dozen movies and it's hard to see how it could be improved on. What Jack does is something he calls "Tropical House" and that's just the right fit. It keeps Iz's gentle vocals and uke work but gives it an up-tempo feel and house touches. Gorgeous.

They cancelled my midday meeting so you get some music links instead. There's not been much these past few weeks that appealed all that strongly, but give these a spin.

https://soundcloud.com/mixesandmashups/beyonce-vs-paramore-brick-halo
I had to listen to this a couple times for it to catch me. DJ Schmolli replaces his trademark metal components with Paramore's "Brick by Boring Brick" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A63VwWz1ij0) which isn't per-se metal but has the same urgent drum-driven sound. That goes underneath Beyonce's gentle puppies-and-sunshine "Halo" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig). Having heard a lot more Beyonce since that track came out four years ago it's remarkable how obvious the auto-tuning there is now. Part of what makes this mash work is that it feels like un-smoothing Beyonce improves her sound.

https://soundcloud.com/theyoungpunx/harlem-breakdown-rocoe
You'd think something called "Turbofunk" would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, most of what they put out has too much electro-disco for my ears. That touch is obvious here as well. Unfortunately the Punx have only released a "teaser clip" so I can't do a full compare, but it seems like what Rocoe did is keep the original rich horn sound, but speed things up and give it a stronger beat.

https://soundcloud.com/nickraymondg/static-revenger-back-off-bitch
So there's this singer who goes by "Kay" and she did a track called "Back Off, Bitch!" with producer Static Revenger (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2whHOeZ9ygQ) and it's a decent club house dance. Kay seems to want to be/compete with Azalea, a throwdown I suspect she'd lose, but anyway. This is Taco Cat's dub remix and I think it's a big boost on the original. It's hard to quantify exactly why I like one better than the other, but there you are.

https://soundcloud.com/rac/let-go-ft-kele-mndr-cherry-cherry-boom-boom-remix
In the past RAC has done notably good work with other peoples' vocal tracks. Here is one of his original tracks, "Let Go" that has been jazzed up by Cherry Cherry Boom Boom. The original is pretty standard vocal electro-pop; the remix has the electro turned up and the pop turned down - though it keeps the nearly naked vocals and snare drum I liked in the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBkGUW4wnvw
Groovefunkel (http://www.groovefunkel.com/) is a new name for me. He seems to specialize in remixes of classic 70s tunes. When you lay hands on something that many people grew up listening to it's always dangerous. I can still picture the place I first heard "Rocket Man" (though I'd have to think about how old I was - maybe 11?). Groovefunkel seems to be aware of this and applies a light and dextrous hand to it. Excuse me, I have a nostalgia bus to catch now.

Work has kept me super-busy, so I've done less listening and much has slipped by. Here are a few things I've had time to tag - 80s nostalgists in particular rejoice. More links to come, but I've no more time today.

https://soundcloud.com/djschmolli/dj-schmolli-final-record-spin
DJ Schmolli does a nice job combining the 80s hit "You Spin Me Round" - another track I have a lot of sentimentality for - with some more modern MGMT. I particularly like that he's pulling from both the original "Kids" and a remix. That remix (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb1jBn0uEOc) by Soulwax is worth a listen on its own. It's a high-pitched electronica piece that is way more experimental than you'd expect.

https://soundcloud.com/tronikyouth/health-safety
Our next installment in the 80s nostalgia train is a mostly instrumental nu disco piece by Tronik Youth that riffs on "Safety Dance". I think you really need to have loved the original to appreciate this the way I do. The remix isn't all that novel, but it's just a fun song to riff on.

http://audioporncentral.com/2013/07/heartsrevolution-kill-your-radio.html
Here's a new voice with a retro sound I'm liking. HEARTSREVOLUTION (apparently it's all caps, one word - http://heartsrevolutionrideordie.tumblr.com/) are putting out their first EP and this single, "Kill Your Radio", sounds like electronic, punk-influenced, rockabilly, if that even makes sense. You probably want to listen and judge for yourself.

http://audioporncentral.com/2013/07/riva-starr-ft-carmen-consoli-no-mans-land-riva-starr-santos-rmx.html
Riva Starr, who I mentioned last month turns in a gorgeous deep house track in collaboration with Carmen Consoli, another new name for me. Consoli (http://www.carmenconsoli.it/ - warning, site loops music on entry) is an Italian singer-songwriter whose traditional style is much closer to opera house than club house but she can also turn in some gentle nightclub-style vocals that Starr uses to great effect.

https://soundcloud.com/lobsterdust/get-blurred-blurred-lines-x/
Lobsterdust is not known for traditional A|B mashups, but he turns in one here that totally kills it. He's mashing "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke/Pharrell Williams (http://www.vevo.com/watch/robin-thicke/blurred-lines-unrated-version/USUV71300526?syndicationid=bb8a16ab-1279-4f17-969b-1dba5eb60eda&shortlink=W0OCcA&country=US for the unrated official video - features boobs) and Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6FBfAQ-NDE). Both are modern pop confections so the joy is in hearing how Lobsterdust weaves them with side notes and grace samples.

http://audioporncentral.com/2013/07/budo-hollis-open-rhye-cover.html
Budo and Hollis turn in a brilliant and beautiful cover of "Open" by Rhye. The original (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sng_CdAAw8M&feature=youtube_gdata) is a gentle love track in which the singer pleads for her partner to "stay open." The cover is more of a duet and as APC says, it's very "XXXish" and I like the treatment. I find myself singing along more with the cover than I ever did with the original.

Because it's been a while and because a couple things crossed my mind and because I had these unclosed tabs there's enough for two posts. First up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rWUSh9VG5M
Putting this one first in case you're like me and the goddamn song earworms you. This is a video mash-up in that it's using the unaltered C-R J but as the soundtrack to an edited World Order video. So you really need to watch it to get the fun. I found this because someone had an animated GIF of a World Order bit and I went to link them to the awesome World Order in NYC video that I found to a couple years back and by the miracle of YouTube... well, here you go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gH7dMBcg-gE
Another one you want to watch. David Bowie and Tilda Swinton doing a sexy, creepy, gender-bending little movie-let to Bowie's new track "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)". I wasn't that fond of the previous Bowie single for his new album but this one has a better feel to it - urgent and energetic. And who wouldn't want to see Bowie and Swinton together, really?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UJWvdy0t28
This is a crazy-people-doing-insane-stuff-and-not-killing-themselves video for DJ Schmolli's "Atom Wild Thing" off his "80s NOW!" compilation. This one features the unforgettable Tone Loc and Nari & Milani's "Atom" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVpVRAbfFsk) a high-BPM techno track from early last year.

http://official.fm/tracks/v65P
DJ Y alias JY turns in a sweet and moving mash of Ellie Goulding's "Lights" and Yes's "Owner of a Lonely Heart". I heard this and thought - wait, haven't I blogged this before? Not quite. Turns out last time was a couple years ago, and it was Yes vs LCD Soundsystem. Like the earlier effort, this one does a great job of respecting both the original tracks but the mash is something new.

http://official.fm/tracks/2px5
To close out we'll return to DJ Schmolli again, whose brilliant St Patrick's Day mash manages to combine "99 Problems" with Boston's own Dropkick Murphy hard-thrash guitar cover of the classic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg_rf2d894k). It's a brain-bender, but it works amazingly well.

Lots of things I've listened to lately haven't impressed me, but there are a few gems. This time we have a couple of mash-ups, a couple interesting voices, and one visually AWESOME thing.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/07/bat-for-lashes-laura.html
Bat For Lashes's singer Natasha Khan still has the power to melt me in my seat. This track, "Laura", is hauting and sad - essentially vocals and piano. She carries the emotion in her voice but it feels effortless, which is both a tribute to her and to whoever produced this track.

http://bootiemashup.com/blog/2012/07/bootie-top-10-july-2012.html
Bootie posted their July top 10, and I found four tracks worth grabbing, though I was sad that the usually excellent DJs from Mars only turn in a so-so mash. The first item is a Michael Jackson remix, "Beat It Freaks", which is pretty good. It's a four-way of Jackson against Yuksek, The Noisy Freaks, and Richard Cheese. I like the variation in pacing, and the use of Jackson's vocals over different backing music.

The big winner of this list is "Skrillex Rock". I continue to like Skrillex much better in mixes than on his own and here he's got stand-out backing from Daft Punk (Robot Rock), Queen (We Will Rock You), and House of Pain (Jump Around, of course, did they do anything else?). The whole track thunders along and I can't help dancing.

I also liked the Party Ben entry, "We Are Young", which is more of an electro-disco remix than a mash-up. Basically it's three different takes on the same track, woven together. It's dancey, hoppy-happy and a good antidote to the gray outside.

The DJ Schmolli entry, "Rock of Ages", is a near-trainwreck in places. It's an 8-track mega-mix that gets noisy and almost slips out of control but pulls it back in. It's good to see Schmolli stretching his skills more - he relies on his standard heavy metal favorites but takes things in a different direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mYkv2O1Wyuw#!
This one you have to watch. No, really, you want to watch this. The Knocks (http://www.theknocks.com/) are an electronica duo who have teamed up with Fred Falke for this track, called "Geronimo". And look, the video features a Native American... who is AWESOME. Oh my god can that kid dance. The video credits list him as "Nakotah Larance" but I think they mean Nakotah LaRance, because see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKg8RQSv4LE&feature=youtube_gdata - this guy is a six time World Champion Hoop Dancer. Wow. Just, wow. By the way, it's a great track but the dancer really steals the show.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/07/burns-lies.html
http://www.factmag.com/2012/07/31/enjoy-rusties-glass-swords-youll-be-over-this-skream-remix-of-burns/
Burns (http://www.facebook.com/thisisburns) has a new EP coming out. Lies is the first single and it's a tight vocal electro production. I can't seem to find out who the singer is on the track, sadly. There are hints of trance buried in the track, and Skream picks up on those and goes in a whole new direction with his remix, giving us a chop-paced mix that feels experimental. Love it or hate it, it's another case of an established name trying something new rather than repeating the same old formula.

http://www.nme.com/news/deadmau5--2/64986
Deadmau5 remixes Nine Inch Nails. Either you like these two and will appreciate this remix, or you don't and won't. I can't say much more about that.