mixtape maestro (2.0)

Three years after edging his way into the popular UK singer-songwriter circle armed with an intriguing, Scottish brogue-bathed white-soul vocal; a slightly scruffy, pretty boy look; and a couple of fine single offerings (the achingly romantic ballad “Last Request” and the feel-good “New Shoes”), Paolo Nutini returns to kick off that much intimidating sophomore round with this first glimpse of his upcoming Sunny Side Up LP.

On “Candy”, relationship strife is the central theme, with Nutini taking note of his current position as only a “stain there on (her) bedsheets” to the pleasant tune of a guitar-strummed breeziness. But while he’s all too aware of the “writings on the wall”, Paolo still isn’t willing to bring their union to a close, belatedly promising a day of pampering (“Darling I’ll bathe your skin/ I’ll even wash your clothes”) in hopes of attaining at least one last sampling of her “candy”.

Eventually, all this yearning builds into a thunderous finale in which he repeatedly exclaims “I’ll be there waiting for you”, effectively registering as hopeless cries towards a target that’s fading farther and farther off into the distance.

Yeah, “Candy” might require a few listens to gain a full appreciation of Paulo’s lyrics and the arrangement’s summer-toned ease, but once it does grow familiar, it emerges as a graceful entry that’s enticing enough to bring interest into how else his artistry has matured throughout the new album.

Sunny Side Up drops June 2nd.

Paolo Nutini – Candy

What’s the hottest R&B sex jam of the moment? Well, that honor would probably have to fall on “Birthday Sex” by Chicago newcomer Jeremih.

It may not be the most original of it’s ilk-R. Kelly, T-Pain or The-Dream could have all tossed this one out in their sleep, and with better, more-outlandish XXX metaphors than “Girl without a broom I might just sweep you off yo feet/ And make you wanna tell somebody how I do”-but the combination of that sensual groove with it’s titular gift theme has enough going for it to get the mood started.

Of course, some horny-minded rapper would have to bless the remix, and while this would probably be the perfect opportunity for another raunchy Ludacris cameo, it’s Fabolous who jumps on board first, kicking off this 2.0 take with a mean-spirited (but kind-of cool) joke we wouldn’t dare say to any girlfriend (“My shorty called me like ‘You know what’s bout to come-come-come-come’/ I said ‘Your friend, shit, lemme come get some-some-some-some’”) as well as lines about “pussy reservations” and, in what’s disappointingly the lone B.J. reference offered here, the “blow”-ing out of “candles”.

DL: “Birthday Sex (Remix)” (alt)

“I’m Not Your Toy”, the latest leakage from the La Roux camp, continues their promise of a killer debut album as yet another hooky morsel of digi-new wave.

Supported by itchy drum patterns and a whimsical, steel drum-like synth sparkle on the hook, the carnival-esque “Toy” doesn’t take too long to get stuck in your brain, but there’s more to it than it’s sugary musical tricks. It’s sharp-fanged lyric centers on a boyfriend who’s cruelly playing with her heart (“It’s all false love and affection/ You don’t want me, you just want the attention”), and while the ever-blurried-sounding lead singer Elly Jackson can’t help but dream of there being something behind his mystifying touches that hints to some sort of romantic breakthrough, she just as well can’t deny the soul-crushing reality that this is a dead-end union she needs to escape from, noting wistfully: “I wish I could believe in you”.

We would note it as our favorite La Roux joint ever, but we get the feeling that their highly anticipated June-due self-titled LP (pre-order it here) will have a boatload of other 80′s-dipped favorites to share that honor with.

DL: “I’m Not Your Toy” (alt)

Stevie Nicks’ 1983 smash “Stand Back” (from her Double Platinum-certified second solo outing, The Wild Heart) is one of those old gems that you specifically tune into all-80′s radio stations to hear.

It’s forceful attack of insistent synthesizers; the panicky keyboard squalls on the hook; the funky guitar licks leading into the third verse; Nicks’ demanding growl (plus it’s amazing Prince-inspired backstory!!): all these elements combined sum into an energetic dynamo of a record that for the length it’s played completely obliterates whatever current life worries a listener may have.

New York DJ/ producer (and blogger) Eli Escobar only elevates “Stand Back”‘s greatness on this “Disco Mix” re-creation, which finds him re-editing together it’s many delicious portions for a near-eight minute long slab of dance floor ecstasy.

Grab the remix below, followed by a live performance clip of Stevie and the original:

DL: “Stand Back (Eli’s Disco Mix)” (alt)

A comforting sigh of wispy, indie pop-meets-country-meets-girl group pleasantry filled with heartache-themed tales that prove you’re not alone in your post-breakup despair. That’s what we all have come to appreciate from Scotland’s Camera Obscura and, once again, that’s what is given on their fourth album (and 4AD label debut), My Maudlin Career, a stellar set of eleven tracks that, even on first listen, already feel like “classics” that have been adored over for years.

Mixtape Maestro’s favorite is “You Told A Lie”, a wintry-hazed midtempo that opens with lead singer/ principal songwriter Tracyanne Campbell feebly cooing a capella after a still-cherished old lover (“No need to convince me you were a catch”) before being swept away by a strings-adorned, yester-age C&W sway.

The soundtrack may sound sweet, but beneath it’s retro beauty, lyrics of a bitter and insecure slant illustrate a much sadder state of things as she over-analyzes why their romance went awry. “Who was it that said that love conquers all?/ Oh, he was a fool ’cause it doesn’t add up,” goes one striking couplet, while later Campbell frets over and over on a passing line her ex once threw at her about her eyes being the “coldest blue”.

What did he mean? Was it a loving compliment or a cruel diss? Sadly, she never gets an answer, and is only left to ruminate over the somber reality that she’s “stuck with them and they’re stuck on you”. Masterful.

DL: “You Told A Lie” (alt)

Not too many rappers could open up a song by stating “I can’t see ‘em coming down my eyes, so I gotta make this song cry” and then proceed to pull off just that with such flawlessness, but that’s just what Jay Z accomplished with The Blueprint‘s introspective rap ballad “Song Cry”, one of the many moments of his career where all the elements seemed to come together perfectly.

Longtime up-and-coming R&B singer/ songwriter/ producer/ rapper Novel (who Mixtape Maestro has been a fan of since his early “I can eat a peach for an hour” days) taps into that Jigga classic on “Song Cry II” and it’s equally as mesmerizing.

Novel gives off a lil’ Al Green/ D’Angelo vibe here as he expresses the stifled woe of a young man hardened by inner city living: “I don’t cry/ Cause there’s something inside sayin’ ‘Don’t cry’”. But like the hip hop song he references, he does a good job illustrating that pain through the cut’s smooth, soul-sampled-enriched production and a vocal performance that finds him impressively weaving in and out of a moving falsetto.

An instance where the overly-repeated “one to watch” cliché holds some true weight.

While you eagerly anticipate the release of Novel’s debut The Audiobiography (set to drop sometime later this year), grab “Song Cry II” below, followed by the “making of” clip and final product of his “Soul Version” cover of Kid Cudi’s “Sky Might Fall”.

DL: “Song Cry II” (alt)

DL: “Sky Might Fall (Kid Cudi Cover)” (alt)

A love song to a sex doll? That seems to be the premise behind “Rubber Lover”, a delightful little nugget by experimental Scottish alt-rockers Marmaduke Duke (aka The Atmosphere and The Dragon; aka the side project of Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil and Sucioperro’s JP Reid).

An early taste from their May-set sophomore collection Duke Pandemonium, “Lover” is set into motion by a cheerful Billy Joel piano sample (the Piano Man’s 1980 “Sleeping With The Television On”) which, alongside sparks of guitar and a steady dance thump, helps frame a kooky narrative about “Johnny” and his lustful adventures with his new toy.

The track might clock in at less than two minutes long, but what a good time that brief length yields: it’s nearly impossible to avoid singing along to it’s sugary “funky all the way home” chorus line at the top of your lungs or indulging in an endless repeating of it’s feel-good groove.

Marmaduke Duke – Rubber Lover

Below, catch a Live Lounge performance in which they take on Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and you’ll soon figure out why more people spend their time copying the single’s music video choreography over actually covering the record (YOU try recreating it’s spazzed out production acoustically or re-interpreting Beyonce’s steely, jack-hammer vocal and see what you come with).

That being said, Duke’s clap-happy “all around the campfire” rendition works fine, especially when the boys get to that quite lovely bridge section.

The Black Eyed Peas‘ latest single “Boom Boom Pow” hasn’t even been on radio for two whole months yet and it’s already devoured the airwaves, become one of the biggest downloads of the season and is currently spending it’s third week atop the Hot 100. Didn’t take long for the quartet to reclaim their position as one of pop music’s most ubiquitous entities, did it?

But as much as we all enjoy taking another trip back to the party-centric electro terrain of “Planet Rock” (even if it is attached to vapid rhymes about HD screens and being “so 3008″ here), is anybody else out there suffering from futuro-pop fatigue and all of it’s Auto-Tuned “next level” promises right about now? Hell, will we ever reach that “level” so we can move onto something new, or would that “new” basically consist of a return to backwards-focused exercises in old Beatles pop/ Motown soul again for a few years before the pendulum swings back to every one attempting to rock what Y4K-circa music will be? How will that even sound?

While you sit on those thoughts, catch the (somewhat underwhelming) clip for “Boom Boom Pow” below, than snatch up the incredibly…um, next level (?) B Flat remix afterward. The kid is only 18 and he’s a remixing monster. Need proof? Head on over to his MySpace to hear his amazing dancefloor re-works of Raheem DeVaughn’s “Customer” and Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal’s 80′s R&B classic, “Saturday Love”.

“Boom Boom Pow”‘s parent album, The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies) , drops June 9th.

DL: “Boom Boom Pow (B Flat Remix)” (alt)

A sprinkling of Chic-y glitter all over the then-Santogold’s ridiculously lovable dub daydream “Shove It” would seem to be needless (God knows we’ve heard this non-single favorite made over enough different ways), but Canadian DJ/ producer Grandtheft‘s disco treatment ultimately pushes this version near the top of the “Shove It” remix heap, it’s festive swirl providing a surprisingly effective companion to Santi and Spank’s vocal contributions and making the record an even bigger club anthem.

DL: “Shove It (Grandtheft’s Disco Remix)” (alt)

Continuing the Ms. White love, check out this mash-up of Major Lazer’s “Hold The Line” over Soulja Boy’s still-fire “Turn My Swag On” beat (courtesy of Philly’s Emynd) below:

DL: “Hold The Line Vs. Turn My Swag On (Emynd Remix)” (alt)

Doing covers of beloved songs are always risky. Commit a safe, straightforward take and you’ll likely cause murmurs of “What was the point?”; But try to get all ambitious and re-work the song to fit your own unique style and there’s a big chance the people will be coming at you with pitchforks and sharpened fangs, ready to burn you at the stake for “destroying” one of their most cherished tunes.

“Viva La Vida” might be on the verge of celebrating only it’s first birthday, but it’s already been given the “classic” tag, due to it’s majestic melody hooks, smart lyricism, Chris Martin’s soaring vocal sweeps and the fact that it’s damn near impossible to tackle without sounding foolish. Both Solange and American Idol contestant Matt Giraud proved in their own ill-advised cover attempts that unless you’re Gwyneth Paltrow’s baby daddy you should just leave it alone as far as performing it live. Add Lady Gaga to that list.

To her credit, Gaga’s an entertaining one to watch with a better-than-you’d-think voice and a quirky, Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons-reminiscent futuro pop diva fashion sense, and it would be nice to hear more of these kooky, cabaret-pop things from her, but damn if she doesn’t rip this one to shreds with her many lyrical and keyboard-playing flubs and penchant for unnecessary wailing bursts.

It’s a fun train wreck to view but we’re guessing this is one moment in time she wishes she could have had another go at, 17 Again-style.

DL: “Viva La Vida (Coldplay Cover)” (alt)