mixtape maestro (2.0)

Call us losers, but since “Meet Me Halfway” started getting endless spins through our earbuds, we’ve been scouring the World Wide Web daily hoping to come across some amazing remix that’ll only deepen our undying adoration towards the Black Eyed Peas single.

There haven’t been many to emerge (which is strange, seeing as though “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling” inspired what felt like a million revamps between them both), but we did come across a couple that earned at least a couple repeat listens:

Rokuro’s Tidy Club Mix:

Helmed by Japan’s DJ Rokuro, this one follows a relatively simple remixing formula, accenting the original track with some catchy synths while giving that vocoder-assisted bridge (the track’s best non-Fergie moment) a well-appreciated repeat spin.

DL: “Meet Me Halfway (Rokuro’s Tidy Club Mix)” (alt)

Anna & Ruby’s Intergalactic Booty-Shaker Remix:

This second (and sadly, MP3 link-less) one was created by the same girls who delivered that cutesy acoustic cover of Drake’s “Best I Ever Had”. And like that treat, this one is equally impressive in a lo-fi, “let’s throw something together during a sleepover” kind of way, replacing Fergie’s laborious wails with a surprisingly effective Cassie-like featherweight vocal while it’s beat bypasses state-of-the-art Y3K-aiming production complexity for a simple electro throb.

Black Eyed Peas are finally moving on to a third single from their The E.N.D. set, and we’re actually quite excited about this. Not only because it seems we’re finally going to get a airplay break from the US chart-topping stranglehold of previous E.N.D. singles “Boom Boom Pow” and “I Gotta Feeling” (they’ve been at the top of the Hot 100 for a record-breaking TWENTY-THREE STRAIGHT WEEKS people-that’s more than enough love for two songs that were irksome long before they got played 50 billion times!!!), but also due to the fact that the album’s official junior joint will be the far more likable “Meet Me Halfway”, previously hyped here as “an amped-up ballad which bites the soaring drive of The Killers’ “When You Were Young” in it’s epic “oh-oh-oh” melody while The Dutchess commits a solid vocal performance that hints of a newly reinvigorated interest in her old, childhood Cyndi Lauper/ Madonna records” (ahh, we’re so good when we try).

And look, the track has already begun inspiring hot remixes.

Likely the first of many, this re-haul by the production duo of Joshua Bass and Aaron Jones is tricked out with some trash-can percussion stomp, synthesized marching band fanfare and flashes of electric guitar, nicely competing with the club-ready beat of the will.i.am/ Keith Harris-helmed original in the kitchen-sink, dance-hip-pop-crafting department.

DL: “Meet Me Halfway (Joshua Bass & Aaron Jones Remix)” (alt)

We have a confession to make.

For the past couple weeks-starting with our delayed appreciation for “Boom Boom Pow” and continuing with a fondness for the superb “two-for-one” deal that was “Imma Be”-we’ve slowly come to terms with the fact that we actuallly might kinda love the Black Eyed Peas. GASP! SHOCK! HORROR!

Now don’t worry, we’re not entirely insane (we totally despite their “Mazel Tov”-citing new single, “I Gotta Feeling” for being just a little too damn cheery), but we’ve got to admit that two other E.N.D. tracks that have boiled to the surface recently have got us completely enraptured by the foursome’s shameless, 80′s new wave-meets-hip-pop meshings.

On “Alive”, pinings after an old love might be delivered in the vein of a SNL teen-pop spoof (Notes Fergie: “You are my best friend and boyfriend/ Now it seems like you’re my worst friend/ I gotta do soul searching/ Without you I’m a whole different person…”), but it’s the suave dance sonics subtly bumping beneath the lyrics that ultimately win you over.

That same expert juggling of (guilty)pleasure and heartached Fergie showstealing-ness is captured on the even better “Meet Me Halfway”, an amped-up ballad which bites the soaring drive of The Killers’ “When You Were Young” in it’s epic “oh-oh-oh” melody while The Dutchess commits a solid vocal performance that hints of a newly reinvigorated interest in her old, childhood Cyndi Lauper/ Madonna records.

We’re sure that once we get a full listen to the rest of The E.N.D. and the many embarrassments it’ll no doubt provide, our current kooky infatuation with will, Ferg and the other (less important) two will subside a-plenty, but for the moment, we’re officially getting in line with the millions of other BEP fanatics around the world we used to so enjoy publicly mocking before.

The E.N.D. drops June 9th. As a bonus, peep this nice “(Not Just) Knee Deep”-sampling remix of the Peas’ ’03 single “Shut Up” (found on The E.N.D. Deluxe Edition) below:

DL: “Shut The Phunk Up” (alt)

Sometimes, when discussing Black Eyed Peas shameless inanity, the top-notch production and songmaking talents of head Pea will.i.am can be overlooked. His rapping chops may not be all that great, but the man does have skills when it comes to crafting good material built off a hodgepodge of various music styles.

Take a glance at his production discography, and you may be surprised to see that he had a hand in acclaimed cuts from John Legend (“Ordinary People”, “Save Room”), Talib Kweli (“Hot Thing”) and Common (“I Want You”). Plus, let’s not forget that the fizzy instrumental behind Estelle’s Grammy-winning “American Boy” first premiered as “Impatient”, an album cut from will’s 2007 solo album, Songs About Girls.

Speaking of Girls, that set may have ended up a major commercial flop, but there were some definite treasures within it’s tracklisting. One we had almost forgot about was past MM favorite “Heartbreaker”, which we just knew would blow up the album’s sales if pushed as an official single (alas, it was never released State-side).

Thanks to BBC’s Live Lounge though, we were quickly reminded of “Heartbreaker”‘s infectious appeal when the Peas hit the studio to perform a live version of it.

Catch the performance below:

Can you believe that “Boom Boom Pow” is currently celebrating it’s seventh week atop the Hot 100? That when the record books sum up the biggest single successes of 2009, this joint may actually be the one atop the heap? Now think about this frightening notion: we’re starting to get the feeling that it won’t be the last trip to the top of the Pops that the group makes this year, and even more scarier, we might not even mind the next record to possibly get there.

Recent album cut leakage “Imma Be” is basically a sequel to “Boom Boom Pow”, dipping into the same recipe of club-friendly electro-hop production and dumb-to-the-infinite-power dialogue that The E.N.D. lead single brought to the table, but while it took us a minute to come around to “BBP” (with it being played like twelve millions time a day, wasn’t like we really had a chance to escape it), on first listen, “Imma Be” is actually…not…that…bad.

Of course you have to mentally delete the accompanying lyrics (more silly gibberish about being “next level” and “futuristic”) and the “A Milli”-styled stutter hook scheme should have really been retired back when Beyonce adopted it, but when the passable marching band thump of the first halve suddenly transitions into a frenzied Euro-dance thingamajig mid-way through, “Imma Be” immediately morphs from an eye-rolling “why can’t they just disapear” to a brow-raising “I think I might need to hear this again!”.

If this turns out to be the second single, and not the rumored-to-be official “BBP” follow-up (and truly atrocious) “I Gotta Feeling” that’s also making the blog rounds right now, the Peas may actually have a stranglehold over the Summer just as they did in the Spring. This time with nary a complaint from us.

While we still find something unshakably irksome about Asher Roth (and don’t act like you don’t), we’ve got to give him props for the awesomely goofy “cover” of Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” he and his crew birthed on a recent BBC Live Lounge appearance.

From Asher’s shameless plugging of his own material (“I got that single out now/ Check iTunes if you don’t know/…Gotta get that (ALBUM!)”) amongst other dorky re-writes (“She got the boobs that bounce”) to that one guy’s hilarious attempt at a Fergie “wail”, to the magnificent drumming and scratching work that adorns the second halve, this is hands down one of our favorite Live Lounge sessions of the year.

DL: “Boom Boom Pow (Black Eyed Peas Cover)” (alt)

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)

What is it about Fergie that makes people all angry? Is it the fact that since she’s joined Black Eyed Peas we can’t escape their presence? Is it her obsession with spelling every damn thing all the time? Maybe because she amazingly built a platinum solo career off of lame White girl raps you can’t resist singing along to alone in the car? Whatever the case, she’s probably made herself an even bigger target by covering one of the greatest rock songs ever!

Found on the soundtrack to Shrek The Third, Fergie takes a break from all the hip hop posing to indulge in her inner “rawk grrl”, gathering the nerve to make a go at Heart’s spine-tinging, shred-heavy classic “Barracuda”. Without even hearing it, you get the feeling that this is going to be an epic embarrassment. What, were Pink, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson and Amy Lee all too busy?

Obviously, Fergie is no Ann Wilson. Hell, no one can match the rock goddess at her most Led Zep-inspired late ’70′s peak, but Fergie surprisingly does her thing with this spot-on rendition. Since the BEP hook singer has spent much of the past year “rapping”, you could be forgiven for forgetting that she has a considerable set of fiery pipes. The effortless way she reaches for the ending key note in the line “No right no wrong/ You’re selling a song-a NAAAAAAME!” is guaranteed to get anyone filled in with excitement that this chick is actually pulling this off!! From there, “Barracuda” is pure enjoyment, Fergie hitting every word with the intensity of a woman trying to prove herself to a wary audience. What she lacks in Wilson’s folk vulnerability she completely makes up for in ear-blasting operatic bombast and appreciated soulful ticks that help in giving the song a new flair.

Before you take a cue from Miss “Fergalicious” and piss your pants, Heart’s “Barracuda” still reigns supreme as the definitive version, but Fergie definitely aces the test on this jawdropping cover.

Download: “Barracuda”

This is the type of stuff that defines a WTF? moment. A 90′s pop icon re-enters the scene with a mock-up cover of a ridonkulous rap guilty pleasure, releases the video to the Internet and it ends up being the most interesting thing she’s done since she gave us too much of a look of her lady lumps in that horrid “Thank U” clip almost a decade ago.

We’ve seen Lilith Fair patrons like Jewel and Liz Phair polarize their fanbases with sudden transformations into homogenized teen pop clones but they never really indulged in the ironic side of it. Liz Phair was so blunt in her selling out aspirations that the fun was lost, and Jewel came close to getting her point across but the tongue-in-cheek aspect of her TRL-aimed “Intuition” vid backfired as only a select few seemed to get the joke. The fact that Alanis not only is painfully obvious in her hilarious spoof, but takes it a step further by re-configurating “My Humps” into some serioso Tori Amos-styled piano pop ballad makes her the standout winner of the singer/ songwriter-wants-to-have-fun-and-be-relevant-to-younger-generations marketing method.

Since the still-reverberating success of Jagged Little Pill, Alanis has made it a point to show audiences that she can exude more than just yodelled angst. She’s painstakingly tried to express lighter sentiment by being naked in music videos (the aforementioned “Thank U”), chopping her signature long locks into a short bob and covering Seal’s “Crazy” with an accompanying video that buzzed with lesbian overtones. But Pill‘s iconism loomed so large that no one cared to get to know Morisette beyond it’s scope. Things, at least for the time being, look to have changed.

Sucking all the pizazz out of Fergie’s empty-minded nursery rhyme babble, Alanis’ mournful girl-and-a-piano interpretation turns “My Humps” into some lonesome tearjerker of a stripper, sad at the realization of what her worth has been reduced to. And as pointedly heartbreaking as such a cover could sound (turning what pop music has become on it’s ugly head), it’s rendered LOL funny because Alanis’ video performance is so SNL-at-it’s-best worthy.

Lorne Michaels should really think about hiring Morisette on, because her understanding of the art of comedy could help pull his long-standing show out of it’s bland slumber.

Does it’s efforts guarantee Morisette a fair chance at another turn at multiplatinum success? No, she’ll most likely revert back to her boring post-Jagged output on the next LP; but for this one moment in time, Alanis is definitely being burned with the “cool” brand once again.