mixtape maestro (2.0)

This past weekend, understandably, saw countless MJ tribute/ covers emerging all across the Web as various artists, producers and DJ’s scrambled to their respective studios, anxious to pay some sort of musical homage to their idol. And while we promise that this site won’t be housing too many of them, we couldn’t pass up on sharing one of the best of the bunch: The Roots and Erykah Badu’s dazzling rendition of Mike’s 1972 solo hit, “I Wanna Be Where You Are”.

Erykah has pulled off great remakes in the past (highlights from her stellar ’97 Live album included amazing takes on Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long”, Heatwave’s “Boogie Nights” and Chaka Khan’s “Stay”), and this gem, recorded prior to her guest appearance on last Friday’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, is no different, raising your spirits to a blissful crest with it’s hypnotizing merging of her expert vocal performance and The Roots’ jazzy support groove.

DL: “I Wanna Be Where You Are” (Michael Jackson Cover)” (alt)

It’s funny how after all the stunned reactions arising from the news that The Neptunes wouldn’t be the sole beatsmiths on Clipse‘s upcoming Till The Casket Drops, out of the three tracks leaked over the last couple months, the one not helmed by the ‘Tunes team has ended up the most appreciated.

“Kinda Like A Big Deal” may have lacked some truly solid verses or a sturdy enough hook (and remarkably saw them outshined by guest star Kanye), but hearing Pusha T and Malice atop DJ Khalil’s hard-knock tumble just felt right, this sinister combination that excitingly hinted that Casket was going to be something special (and maybe…perhaps…hopefully produce the “Grindin” Pt. 2 we had pathetically been anticipating for so damn long).

Then arrived the worrying “I’m Gone”, a summery track swimming in slippery glossy synths, Pharrell soul-boy chirps and materialistic focus, that even when gifted with a couple oh-so-Clipse-y lines failed to really register as an actual Clipse cut for the first four or five listens.

On the latest Casket drip “Eyes On Me”, the Virginia duo unfortunately give off a similar “what the hell is going on with this album” impression. A blatant aim at commercial/ club attention (which the duo have always seemed to only be able to achieve by accident, or at least attain without losing their street grip), “Eyes” gets it’s coke-rap rhymes out early (“I’m talking cooking up that slumdog millionaire” goes one opening line) before shifting it’s entire heart during the last three-quarters at admiring the name brand-fixated vixens who love the boys’ bottomless bank accounts.

Further solidifying the record as a ladies’ anthem of sorts is a poppy boom-bap shuffle more fitting for a pop tart’s sex purr, Pharrell’s hook boast of “getting dressed like I belong on TV” and a random Keri Hilson cameo that lasts no longer than sixteen seconds. All elements that would have felt perfectly fine if this was a Pussycat Doll/ Britney Spears creation, but when placed as a backdrop for the Clipse, disappoint in it’s bid for Top 40 love.

We’ll try not to come down too hard on the duo for trying to earn some mainstream money (they did go on about blowing through “a hundred thou in a recession” on “Deal” and might just be playing things smart), but let’s hope that after this and “I’m Good”, the whole of what’s left of Casket delivers nothing but the oft-kilter production menace and clever drug-lord rhymes we’ve been yearning for.

Till The Casket Drops is set for a September release.

DL: “Eyes On Me” (alt)

This past week, BBC’s Live Lounge was on fire thanks to a handful of blog-beloved acts entering it’s studio doors. Below, peep a rundown of some of the artists that stopped by and how they fared:

The Gossip

Appearing in support of their EXCELLENT new album Music For Men, Beth Ditto & Co. blew the walls off the sucka with a thunderous walk-through of that set’s lead off single “Heavy Cross” (oh how great it is when a band is able to recreate such a dynamite studio recording so impeccably in the live form).

As for their taking on of Kanye West’s tirelessly-covered “Love Lockdown”? Some cool things are captured instrumentally (love the guitar licks on the verses), but, as with their audience-polarizing remakes of Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody” and Wham’s “Careless Whisper”, one’s total satisfaction of it will fall on how well Ditto’s unrestrained and often off-key, near-soul diva wails hits the ears.

La Roux

It would have been nice for La Roux to have kept “Bulletproof”‘s kiss-off fun and punchy where it registers best, but we’ll admit to being slightly charmed by the melancholy lullaby they reduced it to in their Lounge spot.

The same can’t be said for their foolish attempt at adapting White Lies’ weighty, Bravery-mock “Farewell To The Fairgrounds” to their chintzy ’80′s pop style, though. Singer Elly Jackson’s needle-thin peep started to get so high-pitched, we feared her head might explode.

Florence and the Machine

With each new gem introduced in advance of the July-set debut Lungs, Florence and The Machine focal Florence Welch has gradually won more and more over as one of today’s most captivating new female musical figures. Her band’s fourth single, “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” stands as one their most alluring creations yet, an ambitious onslaught of mythy, New Age grandeur and soul-seasoned indie-folk singing brought to a potent apex by way of a quadruple-tracked chorus.

Unable to cram into the Lounge studio the hundred or so musicians it seemingly took to initially create the record though, a stripped-down live dishing of “Rabbit Heart”, while lovely, doesn’t bear the same magical hold of the original.

When covering Beyonce’s soft rock ballad “Halo”, Flo hits a few vocal bumps when trying to compete with the original singer’s perfected caterwaul; yet when looking beyond the imperfections, there lies some evidence that, given a few practice runs to make her more comfortable with the material, this could end up being a fine future B-side.

DL: “Love Lockdown (The Gossip)” (alt)

DL: “Halo (Florence and The Machine)” (alt)

Like us, you’ve likely spent the past 24 hours re-familiarizing yourself with the rich career-long catalogue of MJ, probably in hopes of capturing some type of alleviation to the pain and disorientation brought about by this week’s tragic loss.

As proven so many times in the past, there’s no greater comfort like a journey through the music that soundtracked your yester-years to help get through the hard times of today.

Toronto singer/ producer Slakah The Beatchild sort of taps into that vibe on his “Enjoy Ya Self”, a neo-soul-baked satisfier from his acclaimed Soul Movement Vol. 1 debut that rewinds the clock to bask in the old-school pleasures of Marvin and Stevie and early-90′s urban staples like A Tribe Called Quest and SWV.

“We need to take it back/ Cause nowadays there’s so much violence/ That feel-good real good vibe is gone/ And it’s so hard to find it,” Slakah preaches, his laidback tone the perfect compliment to the track’s feel-good, house party-ready impression.

In response, all we have to say is “Amen”.

Check out the video below, followed by downloads of both the original and the Drake-featured remix.

DL: “Enjoy Ya Self” (alt)

DL: “Enjoy Ya Self (Remix)” (alt)

You’ll never EVER be forgotten

DL: “Remember The Time (Siik Remix)” (alt)

DL: “ABC (Beatnick & K-Salaam Remix)” (alt)

DL: “Scream (Dave Jam Hall’s Extended Urban Mix)” (alt)

DL: “P.Y.T (Demo)” (U-Tern Edit)” (alt)

It’s been twenty-five years since we were first introduced to the greatness that is Prince’s film and album Purple Rain, and in honor of this event, the folks over at Spin Magazine have cooked up an entire track-by-track cover set of the classic album (entitled Purplish Rain) and are offering it for free (well, almost free, as you must deal with answering a trivia question correctly in order to receive the download).

But as much as we dig “The Kid”, it was a little hard trying to muster up much excitement over this thing, given that tribute records rarely ever sustain much interest beyond a single curious listen and we’ve probably heard each of Rain‘s nine entries covered over a million times over the years (with some being amazing, but most being…well, yeah).

To our non-surprise, Purplish Rain lands as a decent listen that’ll mostly leave you with a desire to re-check out the original; but if you do snatch up the free-load, the tracks you should most look out for include The Twilight Singers somber “When Doves Cry” (featuring the one and only Apollonia), a festive mariachi-styled run-through of “I Would Die 4 U” by Cali punk force The Bronx‘ alter ego Mariachi El Bronx, and the always-impressive Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings doing “Take Me With U”.

The final single stripped from Rain, the original “Take Me With U” paired Prince and Apollonia for a breezy duet celebrating their unbridled devotion to each other (“I dont care where we go/ I dont care what we do/ I dont care pretty baby/ Just take me with u”). Jones and the Kings relieve it of any pop stateliness (and, in a sense, familiarity) in their sassy rendition though, constructing this big band soul tour-de-force that sits comfortably in unison with the rest of their spirited old school-soaked output.

DL: “Take Me With U (Prince Cover)” (alt)

If we had to pick one track we were most excited about from Discovery‘s long-awaited debut, aside from recently realized addiction “So Insane”, it would have to be the album’s proposed cover of Jackson 5′s “I Want You Back”.

It’s no secret how much we adore cover songs around here, and it should be stated that we geek off crazy over anything Jackson-related (hell, we give Rebbie Jackson’s underappreciated hit, the MJ-assisted “Centipede”, at least one good spin a week), so yeah…the idea of this definitely excited us.

Then we actually listened to it.

Now, don’t get us wrong, not all of Discovery’s remake effort is tragic as there’s a certain delight in the sound of “I Want You Back”‘s familiar bassline slowly moving to the forefront in the intro, followed by an exciting explosion of shimmery electro-pop noise around the :30 mark. But shortly after that arrives the beginnings of this strangled, computerized croon and instantly, it’s like someone pierced our joy balloon with a rusty shank.

We understand how difficult it might be in grown men perfectly replicating the bright chops of a young Michael Jackson, but couldn’t the Auto-Tune/ vocoder effects (or whatever the hell was used here) been passed over just this once?

We’re still Discovery fans, but we have to give this one a low grade just because it let us down so hard.

DL: “I Want You Back (Jackson 5 Cover)” (alt)

Missy Elliott and producer Danja help guide Ciara back to her electro-crunk & b roots on (the somewhat under-performing) Fantasy Ride‘s second international single “Work”, an overtime-working futuro-runway strut built on club-aimed inspiri-chants (“You better shake that thang like a donkey/ And go hard for it bitch, you better work…”) and one of those manic galactic grooves any normal, non-Ciara person would probably find difficult to keep up with on the dancefloor.

But while it provides a much better artist-to-track fit than Ride’s previous singles, the slightly limp midtempo ballad “Never Ever” and the underwhelming FutureSex leftover “Love Sex Magic”, “Work” has a little too much going on, never really quite gelling as a comfortable whole.

The out-of-breath 4/4 hook slams and there’s a certain charm in Ciara’s sassy, L’Trimm B-girl-isms, but that’s about all to note that’s completely positive here.

Firstly, the lacking of a second sung verse only makes us wish that Ci-Ci would’ve omitted the opening verse altogether and just spent the whole time doling out double-dutch raps as the differing vocal performances on the verses presented here feel odd and disjointed.

Secondly, Missy (sporting a wacky Mad Max mullet in the accompanying video) unfortunately re-reminds us that her best creative days might really be behind her after contributing another one of those pedestrian, hype-woman guest turns she’s been fancying for over a year now here (Lines as elementary as “hee-hee-how” or “Beep Beep/ Who got the keeps to the jeep?” feel like Bob Dylan penmanship in comparison to the uninspired drivel she’s recently been dishing).

And thirdly, Danja’s ever-mutating production annoyingly teeters between genius, mad scientist studio wizardry and an over-the-top, overwhelming mess the track’s entire length, never once allowing us the breathing room to decide whether it’s the former or latter.

Yeah, it’s nice to hear Ciara attempting to return to a sound where she excels and, again, “Work” is perhaps the most instantly gratifying single released from Fantasy so far, but the overall lack of focus presented is hard to easily ignore, and that nagging sense of disappointment ultimately dulls the whole listening experience.

Ciara ft. Missy Elliot- Work It from LowKey on Vimeo.

Not in the mood for the history lesson that themes Portland, Oregon indie pop five-piece The Dimes latest EP New England, a four-song set revolving around important Bostonion subjects like the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator and American Red Cross founder Clara Barton? That’s fine, since one mustn’t have had to pay attention in class to be able to fully enjoy this endearing mini-collection.

All that’s really required is an appreciation for cotton-soft male vocals and lush, acoustic-folk musical frames, two elements that keep New England at an evenly pleasant, dream-like level the entire way through.

Our favorites? Opener “The Liberator”, a demure lil’ strum-along highlighted by the bandmember’s mellowed harmonies and wiggly mandolin (and what sounds like accordion) accents (catch a live rehearsal performance of the tune below); and “Watching The Wheels”, a sublimely tenderized cover of John Lennon’s poignant 1980 ode to the pleasures of domesticity over superstar fame that’s still as tearjerking as when it premiered nearly thirty years ago.

For more info and music from The Dimes, head on over to their blog. Their next full-length is slated for an August release.

DL: “The Liberator” (alt)

DL: “Watching The Wheels (John Lennon Cover)” (alt)

It’s feels odd that the powers-that-be would decide on pushing Lily Allen’s politically-minded “Fuck You” as <em>It’s Not Me, It’s You‘s next international single seeing as though the track seemed to carry a lot more weight when it premiered online last summer.

Back then (when it was going under the title of “Guess Who Batman”), it’s main target (ol’ President W.) was still in office, giving the song a hefty controversy buzz, and the kiddie-TV candy-pop beat that formed the cut’s musical foundation felt like an exciting sneak peak to how Allen’s then-still mysterious, ska/ reggae-bypassing sophomore album was going to sound. Twelve months later, both “Fuck You”‘s edge and charm feels lost: Bush is long gone, and the production isn’t as fetching (and now, perhaps a bit too cavity-inducing) now that we’ve had to live with it for a year.

What could Allen possibly do to re-invite some attraction back to a long-tired new single pick? How about align it with a clever enough music video.

Which just so happens to be the case with “Fuck You”‘s accompanying clip: a first-person, day-in-the-life-of concept given a neat twist once “Allen” starts “screwing around” with the universe that surrounds her.

Check out the vid below, then grab Doc Fritz’ “Fossa Nova Remix” of “Fuck You” (from the must-have Lily Allen Remixed free-load collection) afterwards.

DL: “Fuck You (Doc Fritz Fossa Nova Remix)” (alt)

**UPDATE: The always noteworthy Doctor Rosen Rosen recently crafted up his own remix to “Fuck You” and, like pretty much all his other creations, it’s a doozy! Grab it below:

DL: “Fuck You (Doctor Rosen Rosen)” (alt)