The fight for diverse and conscious voices

I don't feel like posting an update because it's too depressing. Soundcloud was down for a bit last week, which caused me to wander over to Bootie Blog and check out some of their monthly listings. Lots of pop stuff, but it's not bad for all that.

Warning: all of these MP3s tend to start playing LOUD. If that's not what you want, tap the volume slider or download and playback through another device. There's also a ZIP file link that gets you all these tracks and the other Bootie Top 10 for June.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/top10/06-2015/lobsterdust--PlayaDoIt_(MontellJordan_x_AlanRipley%26MikeCandys).mp3
Lobsterdust doing what he does, a technically proficient A|B|C mash with Montell Jordan's classic "How We Do It" updated and modernized with a nu-disco feel.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/top10/06-2015/Maya%20Jakobson%20-%20Lean%20On%20Backstreet%20Boys.mp3
Maya Jacobson who goes as DJMaya is an Israeli mash-up DJ, new to me. Here she's got the Major Lazer ft M0 "Lean On" that I mentioned in last week's music post going up against some old Back Street Boys. My biggest complaint is that the track is short and ends abruptly. Seems like more could be done here.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/top10/06-2015/5.%20Alesso%20Vs%20The%20Temper%20Trap%20Vs%20Afrojack%20%26%20Martin%20Garrix%20-%20Turn%20Up%20The%20Sweet%20Heroes%20(Djs%20From%20Mars%20Club%20Bootleg).mp3
DJs from Mars with one of their standard high-energy dance tracks built around Alesso/Tove Lo "Heroes". It's interesting for the number of styles they mix into it. There's still a basic dance feel but it's got a lot of different tempos and sounds going on.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/top10/06-2015/Kill%20mR%20DJ%20-%20Summer%20Nights%20(Avicii%20vs%20Calvin%20Harris%20vs%20Coldplay%20vs%20Bob%20Marley%20vs%20Royal%20Gigolos).mp3
Kill_mR_DJ has a nice summer nostalgia mix of five favorites. It's bouncy and trippy but also a bit on the short side. I know pop songs aren't supposed to be much over 3:30 but who said mash-ups need to fall into that same creative sinkhole?

http://www.bootiemashup.com/top10/06-2015/Pierce%20Fulton%20x%20Walk%20The%20Moon%20-%20Shut%20Up%20And%20Dance%20Kuaga%20(Cream%20%26%20Gary%20W%20Bootleg).mp3
I keep think I'm going to get tired of the "Shut up and Dance" mixes but it's a damned catchy hook. Here Cream & Gary W use a couple of minor supporting tunes to play around with the basic "Dance" elements but it's still largely the track you expect.

http://www.bootiemashup.com/top10/06-2015/(2015)%20Amoraboy%20-%20Charli%20XCX%20vs%20Antares%20-%20Break%20the%20meteorite%20-%20hearthis.at.mp3
Amoraboy, a French bootlegger, gives us what's listed as a simple A|B mash but I think at a minimum he's using versions of these tracks I haven't heard before. The components are Charli XCX's "Break The Rules" that I heard a lot last fall and an old track by Antares called "Ride on a Meteorite" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA05D5rkHFA I think) but this mash has a level of profanity I didn't hear in either of those source tracks. I'm betting it's someone's remix but I haven't bothered to sort through all the options to figure out which one.

There is some chance that I'm caught up on reading back LJ. If you posted something you wanted me to see and I did not comment on it please note it for me and I shall.

Tomorrow I shall be home from work with children who shall be home from school. Gods willing we will retain power; if not, the basement has a fireplace. Sufficient supplies and medicines are in stock. If I can manage it I'll do a health and mental update - much is brewing there. I am sad that we've made the "mature adult comma dammit" decision to skip the London Grammar show tonight. Driving downtown at 7 might be feasible but driving home at 11 or midnight seems a little crazier than I want to be. The cost of the tickets is a lot less than the cost of even a minor fender-bender if someone skids into me. I'm a little peeved that House of Blues isn't cancelling the show but I guess if you're downtown and can take the T to and fro then it's not a wholly bad move.

Meanwhile, allow me to give you things for when you need help getting moving again.

https://soundcloud.com/featurecast/rockwell-i-need-u-featurecast-wbbl-remix
A little glitchy, a little dance-y, a little bouncy. Featurecast and WBBL remixed Rockwell's "I Need U", a frenetic electro-glitch number that I wasn't very fond of in the original. This remix smooths things out and gives us something you can really move with.

https://soundcloud.com/neash-sddbmusic/portishead-vs-linkin-park-neash-mashup
I have a sort of morbid fascination with mixes that teeter on the edge of trainwrecks but somehow pull through. Honestly, the idea of putting together the intense melancholy of Portishead with the angry energy of Linkin Park is near genius and Neash pulls it together by not overdoing it. It's almost a simple A|B mash, but with subtle timing and tone changes to get the tracks to match up. (Advantages of tagging my music posts - I didn't realize I'd heard anything from Neash before, but there was one thing last year.)

https://soundcloud.com/happy-cat-disco-mashups/0nerepubiic-vs-nora-en-pure-sons-0f-maria-uraguays-love-runs-free-mashup
Happy Cat Disco is the mixer name of an LA-based person who self-describes as a game-sound designer by day. This track takes two versions of one song and mixes them against 0neRepublic (with a zero) or OneRepublic (with an O)'s "Love Runs Out" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-j-n-XJ-Tg). The original is a fun stompy rock-and-roll track that reminds me of the house bands I used to hear in Austin, TX - good vocal harmonies, good piano, and a kick-ass beat. The remix is definitely more dance electronica but it keeps the same fun energy - both are worth your time.

https://soundcloud.com/danihel-offical/zedd-x-victone-heat-spectrum
Danihel gives us another "get up off your ass and move" dance track. There isn't one thing that stands out for me, but the whole thing holds together nicely - vocal bits, drops, builds, beats. It's one of those tunes that I find myself just bouncing along with and wanting to hear again when I need to get myself motivated.

https://soundcloud.com/kill_mr_dj-2/shake-the-scientist-florence-the-machine-vs-coldplay
Following Kill_mr_dj on Soundcloud has produced a number of interesting items. Here he takes a Coldplay track we've all heard a million times and merges it with one of Florence's best. I think it starts off too slowly - the first 1:30 is really just Coldplay slightly modded but once "Shake It Out" kicks in the mash gets more interesting. That may be because I'm way more fond of Florence - you can judge for yourself.