mixtape maestro (2.0)

To have Wu Tang MVP’s Ghostface, Method Man and Raekwon all together on one track, rocking their usually winning thug-in-love swagger atop a shimmering ’70’s soul loop, made “Our Dreams”, an early preview of the trio’s highly anticipated joint offering Wu-Massacre, an immediate win; and if we had to point out the track’s true star, hands down it would have to be “hook guest” Michael Jackson (the song samples his 1975 solo hit “We’re Almost There”), melting our hearts all over again with the awe-inspiring ways of his then-16-year-old pipes.

So why, after noting all the praise-worthy elements the original has, do we consider a remix version replacing MJ with Alicia Keys the better grab? Simple: A better production polish.

The one thing keeping us from completely loving the original was it’s mixtape-level beat-crafting: More specifically, the awkward chorus-to-verse transitioning. Whether this was done on purpose to retain a certain street edge or was an early rough draft misstep ultimately left alone doesn’t matter, because the jarring cuts completely erupt the song’s flow.

Thankfully, the “Ant Acid Mix” rights this distraction, mashing M/G/R’s verses with Alicia Keys’ cover of “Almost There” (a bonus offering from last year’s The Element of Freedom) with far smoother (and therefore aurally satisfying) results.

Hear the original here, grab the “Ant Acid Mix” and the full Alicia cover below.

Wu-Massacre drops March 30th.

DL: “Our Dreams (Ant Acid Mix)” (alt)

DL: Alicia Keys “Almost There (Michael Jackson Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, alicia keys, cover song, east coast rap, ghostface killah, method man, michael jackson, raekwon, soul sample, wu-massacre, wu-tang clan

It’s difficult seeing the greatness in Gorillaz‘ Plastic Beach on first complete listen: the album lacks focus, kind-of drags, bears no immediate “Clint Eastwood”/ “Feel Good Inc”-type confections and is based around a environment-friendly concept that, while commendable in theory, initially comes across lame as theme. Give it a few more spins, though, and you’ll eventually be sold on it’s efforts, especially when it comes down to the album’s well-crafted handful of lazily drifting, haze & fuzz-cloaked midtempo fare (expect plenty of crit shout-outs for “Rhinestone Eyes”, “On Melancholy Hill”, “Broken” and the two Little Dragon-assisted pieces “To Binge” and “Empire Ant” when all is said and done).

Being such fans of the oddly mesmerizing jump-off that was “Stylo”, with featured guest Bobby Womack’s crazed soul-man beltings, the cut we most anticipated upon Beach’s release was Womack’s second contribution to the project, as we were swept away with intrigue on how else the Gorillaz could fancifully utilize the R&B veteran’s talents.

Tucked near the end of the album, that record, “Cloud of Unknowing”, ultimately ends up the rewarding experience we hoped it to be.

Bookended by the soothing sounds of cawing seagulls and crashing waves, the track beautifully captures a pensive moment of one man sitting beachside, his toes digging into the sand and his gaze fixed upward into the sky’s starry abyss, trying to figure out it all.

“On the cloud of unknowing/ My world seems open/ Every satellite up here is wanting/ But I was here from the very start,” Womack muses, his funereal moan tinged with an aching twang. What he’s going on about, you feel like you need a half-drunken bottle of wine and a bruised heart to completely understand, but there’s no mistaking the piercing his vocals do your emotional core, especially when accompanied by Damon Albarn and the East Midlands-based sinfonia ViVa’s spaced-out, classical composition.

Peep the standout below, than enjoy two of our favorite B. Wo tracks ever: his 1976 single “Daylight” (the ideal theme song for anyone who can’t let the night life go so easily) and his soul-tastic take on the Neil Diamond karaoke staple, “Sweet Caroline” (“bah, bah, bah…”).

“Cloud of Unknowing”:

DL: “Cloud of Unknowing” (alt)

Bonus DL: Bobby Womack “Daylight” (alt)

Bonus DL: Bobby Womack “Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized 70's, bobby womack, cover song, gorillaz, grown folks R&B, neil diamond, plastic beach, sinfonia viva

In which Lady Gaga reminds us of the old days when a “World Premiere Music Video Short Film Event” (as well as corded land-lines) really meant something.

We can’t help but think (or hope) that somewhere Missy Elliott has just finished watching this awesomely WTF!!-to-the-infinite-power  (and obviously Quentin Tarantino-influenced) smorgasbord of mass murder, girl-on-girl kissing (and prison fights!!!), bizarro fashion sense (where does one buy still-lit, half-smoked cigarette butt shades?), early Madonna eyebrows, purposefully flat acting, shared Honey Bun snacking, vogueing boy dancer chefs, future Twitter-hyped one-liners (“Once you kill a cow, you gotta make a burger“) and…erm, Tyrese, and has immediately got her record label on the phone, demanding that they get her a music video budget big enough to include James Cameron as director and the actual Moon as a set location, just so she can end up besting GaGa’s “Telephone” as the owner of 2010’s best clip.

BONUS DL: As An Aquarius (Myspace) featuring Bryan Zimmerman “Telephone (Lady Gaga/ Beyonce Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized as an aquarius, beyonce, bryan zimmerman, cover song, dance pop, diva pop, lady gaga

We fully understand that when it’s all said and done, just as with that other song, the amazing new clip for OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” single will far surpass the actual record in terms of public appreciation (especially for anyone that grew up playing Mouse Trap), but let’s give the Chicago act some credit: beyond being masters at making killer, on-the-cheap music videos, OK Go can also do brain-sticking pop (whether of the power-, alternative-, psychedelic-, or Prince-influenced variety) very well.

In the nanosecond it took to re-play the “Pass” vid for the hundredth time, we were just as excited to peep the complex, two-story Rube Goldberg contraption featured in the clip as we were to have our ears swallowed in the song’s densely layered, sunny triumphance.

Featuring tender piano plinks, soaring harmonies mixed slightly off in the distance, singer Damian Kulash’s pinched falsetto yelps spewing a spirit-raising message of positivity, and drummer Dan Konopka having a raucous good time underneath it all, the record carries a fetching jollity that’s just impossible to easily dismiss.

From OK Go’s latest album, Of The Blue Colour of The Sky.

BONUS DL: OK Go “This Too Shall Pass (Passion Pit Remix)” (alt)

BONUS DL: OK Go “The Lovecats (The Cure Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized alternative, chicago, cover song, ok go, passion pit, power pop, the cure

Finding out what songs/ acts our favorite artists rock to on their own time is always an intriguing discovery, but what’s even more killer is when they bring that appreciation to life through awesome live cover treatments.

Below, peep two recent live performances that have garnered plenty of blog love (and repeated viewings by us) since their respective premieres: El Perro del Mar’s transfixing take on the xx’s debut album highlight “Shelter”, and an oh-so-smoove cover of Carole King’s oft-revisited staple “You’ve Got A Friend” by Erykah Badu.

Uncategorized carole king, cover song, el perro del mar, erykah badu, live performance, the xx

Snoop and Cudi go a bit “green” on this Diplo-produced collaboration for the former’s deluxe edition re-release of his Malice N Wonderland album (entitled More Malice, of course).

Beyond a slightly engaging, descending bubble-pop beat supporting the verses and one semi-humorous line from the Doggfather (“Groupies on my head like a kufi”), though, the track never quite lands as the essential release it should be, especially considering the star power it boasts. Shall we say its lacking a certain…ahem, spark? Or maybe we’re just a little too distracted by the creepy, mutated hand Snoop’s sporting in the pic seen left to even give the song a good listen. (Look at it though, aren’t his fingers weird-looking?)

More Malice, which includes five new cuts, a couple remixes and a mini-movie (!!!), drops March 23rd.

DL: “That Tree” (alt)

Speaking of Cudi, as a bonus, peep an Iron & Wine-sampling, electro-folk (?) cover of the rapper’s woozy single “Pursuit of Happiness” by L.A. newcomers Barbara that works far better than it really should.

Bonus DL: Barbara “Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized barbara, cover song, diplo, electro-folk, kid cudi, malice n wonderland, snoop dogg, west coast rap

You would think that with Nina Sky covering one of the greatest pop records ever made, the twin sister duo would attempt to make it sound all “brand new” by attaching it’s classic script to some trendy, sub-genre sound (and because this group can virtually do no wrong in our eyes, we would’ve likely responded to such a remake with an overly giddy “THIS IS AWESOME!!!!”).

Much to our surprise though, the ladies opt on going the complete opposite route for their rendition of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”, stripping it down to a simple (and very classy) vocals and piano treatment that might have made for a touching lil’ Valentine’s Day hyperlink present to our significant others if A) we had caught onto it earlier and B) actually had significant others.

Oh well…it’s still quite beautiful.

DL: “Be My Baby” (alt)

Uncategorized 60's, cover song, girl group, nina sky, the ronettes

British electro-pop singer/ songwriter/ producer Dan Black shook up the music blog scene back in 2008 with his mash-up-to-the-next-level “HYPNTZ”, a half-sung cover of Notorious BIG’s “Hypnotize” backed by an entrancing beat that merged bits of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” with parts of the soundtrack to John Carpenter’s 1984 sci-fi flick Starman. In short, the aural patchwork was utterly brilliant, the kind of stop-you-in-your-tracks introductory record that instantly had you eager to hear more of what this genre-blurring newbie (a sort of modern-day Beck) had to offer in the future.

Two years later, on the eve of the U.S. premiere of his all-originals debut UN (due February 16th, and featuring the Kid Cudi-featured remix of his non-Biggie-”borrowing” “HYPNTZ” rewrite “Symphonies”), Black has put together six more of these dope mix-and-match creations for his new (and free!!) mixtape Weird Science.

You can fnd the entire set here, but check out a couple of our highlights, the Madonna & Kate Bush-fusing “Gimme Into The Cloudbusting” and “Slave To Paper” (a gorgeous synthesis of some hazy 80’s pop number, Dizzee Rascal’s “Stand Up Tall” and a teeny-weeny drum snippet of Missy Elliott’s “Beep Me 911″) below:

DL: “Gimme Into The Cloudbusting” (alt)

DL: “Slave To Paper” (alt)

…And for your viewing pleasure, here’s the video to the “Symphonies (Remix)”:

Uncategorized cover song, dan black, dizzee rascal, kate bush, madonna, mash-up, missy elliott, mixtape, UK

Fresh off Beyonce’s record-breaking six Grammy Award wins Sunday night (and a fiery, weave-tossing, Alanis-covering stage performance that only renewed our wishes for the diva to commit to recording an R&B-and-rock-themed album in the stylistic vein of En Vogue’s “Free Your Mind” or Janet Jackson’s “Black Cat”), Major Lazer and Elephant Man bring this cover of her Best Female Pop Vocal Performance-owning “Halo”, trading in the original lyric’s Hallmark beau praise for Elephant Man’s shower-singing growls about “haters”, “hypocrites” and “bad man”.

Yeah…we don’t get it either, though it does lead one to wondering if it means Beyonce and co-producer Ryan Tedder’s Coldplay-meets-boom-bap arrangement will become the new riddim du jour in 2010.

DL: “Halo (Beyonce Cover)” (alt)

In other Major Lazer-oriented news, someone else has taken upon themselves to give their endlessly re-tooled “Keep It Goin’ Louder” some brand new flavor. This time around, it’s those crazy Telephoned kids, chopping up and re-pasting together bits of the beloved single with re-sung elements from Whitney Houston’s “Million Dollar Bill”. Grab the results, from Telephoned’s new Off The Hook mixtape, below.

DL: Telephoned “Million Dollar Bill” (Major Lazer/ Whitney Houston Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized '10 grammy's, beyonce, cover song, dancehall, dub, elephant man, major lazer, telephoned, whitney houston

No doubt inspired by the hilarious, million-plus-viewed parody of “Tik Tok” put together by goofy British trio The Midnight Beast (who are quickly approaching two-(kinda-)hit wonder status thanks to their equally LOL-worthy take on Jay Sean’s “Down”), current UK pop-rap sensation Example shifted away from his chart-scaling Calvin Harris-lite fare on a recent trip to the BBC’s Live Lounge to take his own semi-spoof-ish stab at the Ke$ha hit.

Now, compared to the Beast’s re-interpretation and Example’s previous “re-fixes” of pop tart smashes (his must-have 2006 mixtape, We Didn’t Invent The Remix, featured memorable swipes at Lily Allen’s “Smile” and Britney Spears “Toxic”), the rapper’s “Tik Tok” falls a bit short on the yuk-yuks, but his version is still miles more entertaining than the Ke$ha original, if only because it doesn’t leave you feeling dirty for liking it when it’s over.

Kicking off with a teasing instrumental lick of Cameo’s “Word Up”, Ex spends the rest of the performance narrating his own day o’ debauchery, waking up in the A.M. feeling like “Queen Lizzie” and trading in Kee$h’s beloved Jack Daniels toothpaste for the dental hygiene aid of rum (especially love the Max Martin-ized pop-”rock” crunch brought forth on the chorus).

Catch the gig below, followed by a quietly compelling live go at single “Won’t Go Quietly”:

“Tik Tok (Live Lounge)”:

“Won’t Go Quietly (Live Lounge)”:

Uncategorized cover song, example, ke$ha, live performance, lol, UK rap