Nostalgia Part One

Well, 2K8 is quickly coming to a close, and I think it is time to reflect on what we have learned this year, at least musically.  I like making lists to pass the time.  I like remixes.  So, for tonight, I will reflect on the evolution of remixology in the past year.  And by that I mean I made a list of my favorites.  Here they are:

1. MGMT – Kids (Soulwax Remix) – Just when I thought I was so sick of this song and this band’s unbelievable over-hyped popularity, Soulwax stepped in and did what they do best : they took a pretty good song, more or less left the melody intact, and added a host of new cuts, distortions, and effects, leaving us with a brand-new, un-fucking-believable version of this song.  Consider this almost terrifying fact:  this past fall at the HARD Haunted Halloween Fest in Los Angeles, this remix was played no less than four times by Soulwax, 2ManyDJs, DJ AM, and SebastiAn.  Words truly cannot express how good this remix is.

2. Digitalism – Pogo (Shinichi Osawa Remix) – There are remixes that take mediocre original tracks with some appealing element and try to give them life, there are remixes that feed off of already good tracks, and then there are those select few remixes that take great songs and spin them in a new, equally delicious direction.  This remix of Pogo by Japanese DJ Shinichi Osawa, one of last year’s electro-hits, clearly falls into the latter category. You could call this a minimalist remix, in the sense that there is very little alternation of the original sound.  By adding a longer lead-in, looping the drum machine in new places, and a little reordering here and there, this remix brought back Pogo like it was 2007.

3. Feist – 1, 2, 3, 4 (Van She Remix) – Feist has one of those voices that, for whatever reason, just works in remixes.  Last year’s remix of the year (if not the decade) was Boys Noize’s version of My Moon My Man, in which the German dynamo transformed Feist’s feminine charm in robotic bliss.  This year’s choice Feist remix leaves the singer’s voice effects-free, but uses new vocal cuts and an out-of-this-world buildup of robot-rockin’ beats to allow this track to break free of its iTunes-entangled funk.

 4. The Hours – See the Light (Calvin Harris Remix) – This has been the track that I put on when I’m at a party, the dancing is dying down, and the crowd seeks a fresh injection of electro-bangin’ beats they haven’t heard and played out.  This remix is all about the ticklish synth melody that Calvin Harris has implanted into the original song by The Hours.  You will dance when the synth line kicks in, and you will whistle or hum the melody as you stumble back home after the party ends.

 5. Sébastien Tellier – La Ritournelle (Metronomy Remix) – Sébastien Tellier is another one of those artists whose songs are so often amenable to remixes: he routinely leaves a lot of space between his sexy, drawn-out vocal lines, and his instrumentation is layered in all of the right minimal ways.  Crank up the BPM, loop some of the vocals, and you’ve got a dance track with just as much swagger as the original—and based on the long list of Sébastien Tellier remixes out there, it certainly aint’ no secret.  Metronomy’s version of La Ritournelle is the pick of the litter.  From his previous album “Politics,” La Ritournelle is an enticing love song; with the help of Metronomy’s electro-pop expertise, the song has newfound spunk and pizzazz. 

6. Spank Rock – Put that Pussy on Me (Diplo Remix) – Generally, I don’t think you should fuck with Spank Rock tracks because XXXChange has done pretty much  exactly what is necessary to gel his beats with Spank Rock’s rap.  In this case, well, damn.  Diplo’s version adds a twangy guitar loop to the B-Mo drum-machine beat, and a few additional background vocal loops cut from the original.  This remix twinkles with that epic and classy feel that almost makes you forget the title.

7. The Klaxons – Golden Skans (SebastiAn Remix) – This remix is apparently by SebastiAn, the French DJ from the Ed Banger crew, but I could swear that Timbaland was actually at the controls.  It has an slow, mesmerizing beat that fades in and out with an indescribable magnetic intensity that adds a new level of mouth-watering to this great Klaxons song.

8. Rolling Stones - You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Soulwax Remix) – I guess we’re scared of touching tracks written more than two years ago in this, the world of remix.  Or so I thought until this fall, when Soulwax came out with a couple of genre-bending throwback numbers.  Who knew that You Can’t Always Get What You Want would make for such a good electro-hit?  I mean, it is Soulwax.  They can turn water into Sparks.  They don't dare to alter Mick’s vocals at all, but the boys from Ghent do a pretty excellent job cutting up the guitar line and choral background vocals with that typical Soulwax  buzz.

9. Justice – Phantom II (Boyz Noize Remix)  - Coming from his phenomenal “Bugged Out: Suck My Deck” live set, Boys Noize version of the Justice banger is everything I would imagine and a dirty little bit more.  Very dirty, in the best sense of the term.  This track is all about hard, pounding techno-beats and it effectively gives the track a facelift for those of us who are all D.A.N.C.E.d out.

10. Deerhunter – Octet (Simian Mobile Disco) – This is certainly the artsiest remix on the list.  It gives me a lot to think about.  I’m not sure if I can dance to it, but I’m sure I can listen to it a lot.  Brandford Cox’s original song is haunting and ambient, and surprisingly, so is the Simian Mobile Disco remix.  This is not the song to play to get the party started, but it is deft and ghostly, and makes me wonder if Simian Mobile Disco is on the verge of another cataclysmic change in style.  I think I'm OK with it, if it means that that we'll get to hear more remixes based on tracks by bands like Deerhunter.

Honorable Mention:

11. Mer Du Japon (Teenagers Remix)

12. Junior Boys - In the Morning (Hot Chip Remix)

13. Born Ruffians – I Need a Life (Four Tet Remix)

14. Friendly Fires – Paris (Aeroplane Remix ft Au Revoir Simone)

15. The Notwist – Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)

16. PNAU – Baby (Breakbot Remix)

17. Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone (Fred Falke Remix)

18. Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire (Joakim Remix)

19. Jay-Z - 99 Problems (Tenderlions Remix)

20. The Ting Tings - Great DJ (Calvin Harris Remix)

Dishonorable Mention:

Every single Justice remix from this year.  They did no justice to MGMT, NERD, Soulwax, and others.  La honte!