mixtape maestro (2.0)

As a jump-off cut for second album Kunst, The Tings Tings could’ve easily simply Xerox’ed the irresistible funk-pop guitar grooves and ridiculously catchy cheerleader-esque hooks of their debut album’s singles/ advertisements for everything (“Great DJ”, “That’s Not My Name”, “Shut Up and Let Me Go”) and been totally fine. But nooooo, the UK duo just had to go and switch up for new single “Hands”, ditching the guitar for a sleek and synth-ed out disco frame, and concocting a chorus that doesn’t instantly jump off as something one will be obsessing over for the next six months.

Repeated listens do eventually unveil the record’s brain-sticking powers: it’s endlessly churning new wave strut (nicely mixed by none other than Calvin Harris) exuding an intriguing air of seedy, 1980′s-era nightclub, and the main hook-”Clap your hands if you’re working too hard”-grasping onto a state of mind that plenty of exhausted 9-to-5 drones can relate to; but here’s to hoping that the rest of Kunst doesn’t see the Tings deviating too far from their previous winning formula, because we could do with a few more doses of those addictive pom-pom chants to amp up the dreary fall and winter seasons.

Hear the cut below, then snatch up another Calvin Harris-enhanced treat of the Summer of ’10.

The Ting Tings – Hands

BONUS DL: Kelis “4th of July (Calvin Harris Remix)” (alt)

Because we can’t comfortably rest until we’ve heard Young Money’s still-ridiculously fire “Bed Rock” re-fashioned under the sound of every hip hop sub-genre that ever was, peep this Emynd-helmed remix of the track, twerked out old-school booty bass style.

Whoomp, here it is. (shouts)

“Bed Rock (Emynd Pillow Bass Remix)”:

DL: “Bed Rock (Emynd Pillow Bass Remix)” (alt)

Despite arguably being Janet Jackson’s most immediately enjoyable single in years, her new greatest hits padder “Make Me”, a breezy dance concoction with nods to classic ’70′s-era MJ and her own early career heyday, has inexplicably failed to generate much of a chart presence so far (no love on the Billboard Hot 100 nor R&B/ Hip Hop singles listings). Sigh.

All is not lost though, as the single has at least gained some ground amongst the club-going sect, recently inching it’s way all the way to #3 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

Below, snatch up one of the new remixes helping lengthen this song’s life as a late-night floor-filler, a teasingly chopped “Edit” from the Ghosts of Venice crew, then re-acquaint yourself with one of JJ’s first chart hits with a “bonus” offering of her equally disco-tastic, pre-Control gem “Young Love”.

“Make Me”:

DL: “Make Me (Ghosts of Venice Edit)” (alt)

“Young Love”:

BONUS DL: “Young Love” (alt)

Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s still so amazingly dumbfounding how Nina Sky continually release such great material with none of it ever able to bubble into commercial success. This past year alone they’re unleashed at least two well-acclaimed tracks (“On Some Bullshit” and their heavily remixed Major Lazer/ Ricky Blaze collabo “Keep It Goin’ Louder”) that are deserving of topping some pop single chart somewhere in the galaxy instead of just being the blog-crit/ club sect sensations they are.

Really, what do these girls have to do to score another over-ground hit? Could nicking an old hook from the Hall & Oates’ platinum-lined catalog be the answer? Probably not, but if it’s any consolation, “Here He Comes”, the “Maneater”-biting third single from B-more club hero Tittsworth‘s 12 Steps, has quickly risen up the rankings of our own personal Hot 100.

Tailor-made for a club-set scene in a CW tween soap, with Tittsworth’s light R&B-house thump carrying a distant bump as if to illustrate it’s source being outside the central camera shot, “Here He Comes” hones in on the inner-thoughts of Nicole and Natalie Albino, who are quietly going nuts as their crush casually brushes past them. “Tense up my body/ Can’t talk about it/ These feelings got me, got me…”, their forlorn harmonies trail off, the breathtaking appeal of their favorite boy so overwhelming, they’re rendered speechless.

The track carries such an alluring overall mood, that the fact that it breaks no new ground for the twins stylistically (these girls have managed to successfully marry every single human emotion possible to a “in the club” setting over the years), or that fellow featured guest Pitbull somewhat mars things with his needless misogyny (“I spread legs like a gynecologist”), don’t even begin to matter…all of which only makes it a bigger shame that “Here He Comes” likely won’t ever reach the massive audience it deserves.

You can sample the original below (in addition to a bonus Tittsworth remix of a beloved ’90′s R&B classic), but don’t forget to also cop the complete single EP, featuring remixes from AC Slater, Nadastrom, Stretch Armstrong & Jaimie Fanatic and Rico Tubbs & Will Power.

DL: “Here He Comes” (alt)

Bonus DL: “Poison (Tittsworth Remix)” (alt)

Taking quite a few steps back from the edge-of-campy fanged seductress role Shakira giddily portrayed on She-Wolf‘s chaotic, attention grabber of a first single/ title track, follow-up single “Did It Again” finds the Colombian siren proving to be just as engaging as a vulnerable damsel participating in a casual sex-based relationship (with a married man) that she knows is no good for her sensitive heart, yet is just far too hot to easily break away from.

“I’m in trouble/ But It feels like heaven,” she confesses atop an atypically low-key Neptunes-helmed production sparked by tense staccato keyboard hits and marching band drums. But as much as she berates herself for once again getting involved with “one of those guys”, you know the ones “with the wandering eye” who quickly pocket their wedding rings once a sexy woman like her gives them an ounce of attention, she finds it oh-so-difficult to refrain from meeting him back in the hotel room for a second dose of their steamy sexcapades.

And who could blame her, when just hearing the erotic pants the duo’s carnal chemistry wills out of her, produces enough heat to inspire one to venture off into the night to find their own hit-it-then-quit-it bedroom partner.

Peep the video below, followed by Benny Benassi‘s remix, a slamming electro-booty-stylized reconfiguration featuring Kid Cudi.

She-Wolf, drops State-side on November 23rd.

DL: “Did It Again (Benny Benassi Remix)” (alt)

As if having every other form of entertainment be usurped by an obsession with everything vampire-related wasn’t enough, Timbaland looks to Twlight, True Blood, and the like as a major influence on “Morning After Dark”, the official first single from his Shock Value 2 album.

Part Anne Rice-inspired sex tale, but mostly a run-through of Timb’s usual bag o’ dizzying polyrhythmic tricks with the he say/ she say treatment that’s defined most of his popular output, “Morning After Dark” sees the mega-producer enjoying a “3P” of his own with pipsqueak-voiced duo Nelly Furtado and newcomer/ Mosley Music protogee SoShy playing bob and weave to the track’s restless drum shuffle and synth sprinklings.

Unfortunately, despite the trio’s best efforts to muster up some nocturnal heat amongst themselves, none of it really lands as anything all that especially exciting or even necessary (sort of like another A-list-affiliated SV2 album leak), but we’ll at least admit to it’s Euro-goth sizzle latching onto a competent club fizz, while the spiraling hook (where Tim tackles an interesting Bootsy Collins-esque yowl) eventually needles it’s way into your brain.

“Morning After Dark”:

As an added bonus, check out this house-y remix of “MAD” from the Serotonin Thieves: “Morning After Dark (Serotonin Thieves Remix)” (alt)

One recently revealed Timbaland-produced number that is worthwhile (without the aid of repeated listenings) is “Skycap”, a Mary J Blige-led number that was originally conceived for, and eventually denied placement on, her 2007 Growing Pains album. A foolish move, we might add, since having this amongst it’s tracklisting could of easily scored that set a second major hit beyond “Just Fine”.

Atop a hypnotic beat of lively percussion/ drums and what sounds like a swarm of evil goblin children chanting “I’m falling” while being flushed down a toilet (oh, how our imagination makes us giggle sometimes), Mary J starts off throwing down like she used to back in her pre-”No More Drama” days, as she looks back on a couple of old relationships gone sour (“The first love I let inside my life/ Had me afraid to fly/ Had my head in the clouds/ And meanwhile he let me crash…”).

But before you get a chance to seriously worry over (or celebrate, depending on your stance) the soul diva regressing back to a previous era of endless tear-stained, no-good-men-littered R&B melodrama, Blige is rescued from her depression by a knight in shining armor, one who isn’t easily scared off by all of her “baggage” and brings with him “a first class love” so great, she feels like she’s soaring through the clouds above. “I don’t even wanna land/ Got myself a helluva man,” she sings, an infectious joy just beaming off her every note.

We’ll never understand why this one was left on the cutting room floor.

DL: “Skycap” (alt)

In which A-Trak takes one of THE best singles to emerge this year and amps up it’s dancefloor potential to levels that haven’t even been created yet.

For those planning a Halloween-meets-rave party, you’ve just got your theme song!! All you other remixer/ DJ’s out there, if you’re current project isn’t a quarter as good as this beast, you might as well throw in the towel now.

DL: “Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)” (alt)

Say what you want about it’s awkward rush to that big, key-escalating finale or, hell, the necessity of it in the first place, but be honest: Mariah Carey’s cheese-tastic cover of Foreigner’s ’80′s radio/ karaoke staple “I Want To Know What Love Is” gets the job done; if nothing else, proving that hearing a gospel choir emote the chorus couplet hasn’t at all lost it’s eye-misting effect after all these years.

Hotter-than-hot remixer Chew Fu migrates her version to the club realm in his latest “re-fix”, garnishing it with all the usual dizzying dancefloor bells and whistles (while giving the backing choir support some extra love) with solid results.

Check out it his “Extended Club Fix” below:

DL: “I Want To Know What Love Is (Chew Fu Extended Club Fix)” (alt)

Shakira’s inner “She-Wolf” gets it’s chop-licking boogie on further via these two recently unleashed club mixes:

The first, helmed by none other than Mr. Calvin Harris, shrouds the singer in back-and-forth dashing synths and spacey sound effects while re-reminding us that you can never go wrong with a lil’ cowbell additive; the other, known as the ‘Deeplick Edit’, bears a catchy, syncopated guitar shuffle and a nice Zapp & Roger-esque vocoder slant to the “S.O.S.” line.

Too bad these things don’t come with videos, cause we’d love to see how Shakira would freakishly contort her groove thang to their beats.

DL: “She-Wolf (Calvin Harris Remix)” (alt)

DL: “She-Wolf (Deeplick Edit)” (alt)

A couple months back, we introduced you all to Swedish band O’Spada and their bubbly ’80′s R&B/ new wave-inspired confection “Time”. That same post also mentioned a “Time” remixing contest, in which the winners would earn credit as a B-side contribution to the track’s official single release.

Well, the winning mixes were chosen (you can hear the top three here), but the band’s label (Despotz Records) has also granted us with the opportunity to share some of the runner-up compositions.

Out of the “close, but no cigar” bunch we offer our two favorites: the zippy, dance-tastic “L.A. Rush Mix” and the interestingly reggae/ jazz-tinged “35 Bag Mix”. (You can pick up the official winner, the “Suck Shaft Remix”, via Fader)

DL: “Time (L.A. Rush Mix)” (alt)

DL: “Time (35 Bag Mix)” (alt)

The original “Time” (iTunes) video: