mixtape maestro (2.0)

Even if Taio Cruz hasn’t completely convinced us we’ll care about him (or even remember him) by this time next year, you got to give the Auto-Tune-obsessed singer-songwriter-producer credit for knowing how to temporarily distract us from our everyday troubles with a slick guilty pleasure.

Neither one of his back-to-back international hits, “Break Your Heart” and “Dynamite”, sound like a human was involved in their respective creations, but in their behemoth by-the-numbers Top 40 club thumps and pasted-together cyborg vocal work, they both manage to edge into the realm of being okay pop jams, especially when drunk and stuffed on a crowded dance floor or trapped in a car in the middle of a traffic jam with little else to do but tap along on the steering wheel.

Current smash “Dynamite” has now been given the requisite, big name-boasting remix spin, but rather than simply toss in a Fabolous, Rick Ross or, hell, Ke$ha contribution and call it a day, Taio has opted to really go big, employing brief American Idol judge hopeful Jennifer Lopez to join along in his T.G.I.F. celebration. Sadly, the desperate attempt to re-ignite interest into the artist-once-known-as J. Lo’s abilities as a “singer” instantly falls flat with Lopez offering a bland (and damn near unrecognizable) vocal contribution that fails to really add anything new to the track.

Hell, homegirl (or should we say “Fly Girl”) would have been better off staying out the studio and just playing lead chick in a re-release of the track’s music video (would’ve probably made a bigger impact that way too).

We’ll be sticking with Original Recipe “Dynamite” thank you very much, but the curious can hear a radio rip of this “duet” below anyway.

(via)

Taio Cruz ft. Jennifer Lopez – Dynamite

Say what you will about Grey’s Anatomy not really being the “must-see” event it once was (we wouldn’t necessarily argue with you), but you got to admit, they still know how to alert viewers to great under-the-radar pop finds. “Die Young”, from (previously MM-approved) Swedish indie duo The Sweet Serenades, is one of the prime-time soap’s latest compelling scene-soundtrackers.

Effectively pairing the rustic tenor of Serenades’ singer/ rhythmic guitarist Martin Nordvall with the sighing, featherweight coo of Club 8 vocalist Karolina Komstedt atop a melancholy recipe of wistful guitar, synth squiggles, cracking drums and rumbling bongos, midtempo ballad “Die Young” hones in on the all-too-familiar awkward scenario of a couple waking up from a one night stand with differing reactions.

“It’s a lie, we knew it all along”, emotes Nordvall on the hook, yet despite being fully aware of the “rules”, he’s still hesitant to budge from bed, wanting to milk every single second out of his post-lay state of bliss (“Oh I don’t wanna leave/ I just wanna lay here and watch you breathe”). Too bad Komstedt doesn’t share that same sense of euphoria, all she wants is for him to quickly depart before he falls for her any deeper: “I’m not looking for love/ I told you that I just wanna dance,” she pointedly reminds him, her words bathed in a weighted remorse.

Peep the MP3/ video below, followed by a dark n’ dubby “Die Young” remix put together by the Artymove gang.

From Sweet Serenades’ latest, Balcony Cigarettes.

DL: “Die Young” (alt)

DL: “Die Young (Artymove Remix)” (alt)

Ellie Goulding‘s lightweight wisp of a voice may adhere well to her “Starry Eyed” single’s tender, child-like perspective on first love euphoria, but it’s in NY singer-songwriter Samuel (previously hyped here for his acoustic remake of The-Dream’s “Shawty Is The Shit”) and production team The Knocks‘ cover of the track that a far better song is crafted.

While The Knocks bring a much-needed heft to the tune’s fine, but slightly underwhelming, twee-tronica shimmer in their application of atmospheric synth washes and a toe-tapping downtown strut, Samuel’s breathy tenor acts as the perfect compliment to Ellie’s bird-like chirp, the combined power of their married vocals nicely illustrating (and making far less corny) the giddy lyrical visual of a newbie couple feeling like they’re being struck with lightning from eachother’s caressing touch.

Catch the original’s video below, followed by an MP3 of the Samuel/ Knocks remix.

Goulding’s debut Lights arrives in the UK in March; Samuel’s recently completed LP Trains To Wanderland is set for a later 2010 release.

DL: “Starry Eyed (Knocks Remix/ Cover)” (alt)

“Telephone”, the better of the two Lady Gaga/ Beyonce collaborations to premiere late last year (as well as the official second single pick from LG’s The Fame Monster set), is the latest track for acclaimed remixer Doctor Rosen Rosen to plant his surgical gloves on, and as with everything else the good Doc touches, it’s given a satisfying upgrade.

Under Rosen’s helm, the bright and shiny crackle and pop that made “Telephone”‘s original incarnation veer a little too Britney-esque and chaotic at times, is slightly downplayed for a darker electro-pop pulse, excitingly heightened by quirky, voice-affected breakdowns, fuzzed-out basslines, and a far-too-brief soul clap section around the three-minute mark (plus, it also doesn’t hurt that Beyonce’s portions are more successfully woven in here).

If only we had the power to sway label-heads (which, sigh, we don’t), we’d encourage them to use this version to accompany the forthcoming “Telephone” music video rather than the original.

Grab the MP3 below, followed by a bonus offering of Rosen Rosen’s deliciously moody remix to Weezer’s “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”.

DL: “Telephone (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)” (alt)

Bonus DL: Weezer “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To (Doctor Rosen Rosen Rx)” (alt)

There are times when Beyonce goes on one of her overly-flamboyant, “tomorrow’s R&B”-soundtracked tangents that modern pop/ R&B brilliance emerges. We’ve experienced that with “Upgrade U” and “Single Ladies”, two tracks that tested the limits of our comfort with sultry vocals being lain atop the most oddly-constructed, mechanized-hip hop-soul grooves, and ultimately won out by having sturdy enough hooks and themes at their core.

But for every one of those gems, there’s a handful of others within that same style that largely fail at justifying the point in her trying so hard to go against the grain. Latest I Am…Sasha Fierce single “Video Phone” falls in this camp.

Over co-producers Bangladesh and Sean Garrett’s weird, cacophonic hip hop-styled homage to Trent Reznor, Beyonce takes on a slinky, exaggerated Southern drawl to indulge in a little burlesque-y “I know you want me; I want you to” preening. “You sayin’ that you want me/ So press record/ I’ll let you film me,” she teases betwixt the track’s eerie recipe of pinball machine plinks, finger snaps and two-ton drums, sounding probably a little too delighted in being some random guy’s via-iPhone jack-off accompaniment.

Like “Diva”, Be’s catchphrase-riddled “A Milli” for the ladies, “Video Phone” would work best as a brief album interlude, since it’s only for about a minute and a half that it manages to be an intriguing curioso cut. After that, it starts to feel like a meandering mess, unable to latch onto a strong hook or cool musical-based deviation to make it’s multiple elements gel into an satisfying whole.

Throwing in Lady Gaga as a duet partner for the Deluxe Edition remix doesn’t really help matters either, as what should be this amazing event quickly grows sour, with Gaga sounding a bit lost trying to mimick the gully sass of Destiny’s Favorite Child and proving, as she did when playing hook girl to Wale, that she’s not as captivating when relegated to the side car role (The video, embedded below, is kinda hot though).

If there is one “Phone” one should attach themselves to, we say go for B & L’s other recently released collaboration, the far catchier “Telephone”, or the Pitbull-assisted remix of “Video Phone” featuring the “I’m The Shit” beat and the Cuban-American emcee giving a couple seconds long karaoke shout-out to the old DC nugget, “Survivor”.

DL: “Video Phone (Pitbull Remix)” (alt)

Part of what really made Brandy and Monica’s catty 1998 hit “The Boy Is Mine” work (aside from producer Rodney Jerkins’ catchy strings n’ funk beat) was that most people actually thought that these two R&B/ Pop starlets had some beef with eachother. Throw in the fact that the two ladies were operating on opposite ends of the spectrum persona-wise (with Brandy as the bubbly “America’s Sweetheart” and Monica as a sassy, wise-beyond-her-years mini soul diva) and you had this great soapy set-up, helping give their tug-o-war over a two-timing beau a lot more dramatic weight.

In the remaking hands of J-Pop successes Beni and Tynisha Keli (God, has it really been ELEVEN YEARS since this record first premiered), “The Boy Is Mine” simply feels one-dimensional and high school talent show, with the production and the duo’s respective vocal performances being nothing more than a note-for-note mimicking of the original (even down to the single cover’s artwork). Borrrrring.

Maybe Brandy and Monica could re-team over some kind of “Boy Is Mine” sequel of sorts (under the title “Not This Bitch Again” or something) and show these two teenyboppers how you’re really supposed to get down when trying to claim your man.

DL: “The Boy Is Mine (Brandy & Monica Cover)” (alt)

First attracting our eardrums with his fetchingly overdramatic “Hurtful”, Swedish up-and-comer Erik Hassle continues to convince us that he’s one of this year’s best new pop catches with his new single “Don’t Bring Flowers”, a nicely blended mix of Maroon 5 and Killers influences that’s trendily built around vampiric-ish themes.

Here, backed by a snappy bassline jig, Hassle details the exasperation of being enamoured over a significant other whose hold over him is so strong it’s got him “diggin’ in the dirt/…So deep into this shit I can taste the earth” and dying “in a million ways” each day. Those lyrics not melodramatic enough for you? Then check for the hook and bridge, where Erik stretches the grave-digging metaphor to even more alarming heights, emo-snarling “Don’t bring flowers after I’m dead” and “Don’t stand there crying as you’re watching” as the arrangement detours into a synth-lined, new wave-y shimmer.

Catch the video below (the official single drops in the UK on August 23rd), then pick up the remix, where he teams up with fellow hot newbie MPHO (“Box N Locks”), afterward.

DL: “Don’t Bring Flowers (MPHO 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)

Raising “Kiss Me Thru The Phone”‘s bubblegum level of a couple more notches, this uni-sex remix sees seventeen-year-old R&B singer Karina Pasian (fresh from last year’s surprising Best Contemporary R&B Album Grammy nomination) more than eager to send smooches back to Soulja Boy through her cell phone screen.

“It’s crazy how I cannot be without your loving/ And when we’re far apart the distance’s got me buggin’”, she replies (probably) Tweets back, her silky, young woman pipes a perfect fit with the track’s nursery rhyme bounce. Aww, puppy love. Back then, being separated from a boy- or girlfriend really did seem like the end of the world, didn’t it?

Is it bad, though, that we wish this could have been her own solo song from the get-go, so that we wouldn’t have to admit to admiring another Soulja Boy record?

DL: “Kiss Me Thru The Phone (Remix)” (alt)

Ready to be introduced to some white chocolate heaven? How about a collaboration between Daniel Merriweather and Adele? That’s right, the two old soul-reminiscent vocalists have paired together for “Water and a Flame”, a goosebumps-inducing break-up lament (off of Merriweather’s upcoming Love and War) with the potential to one day rank among the great male/ female duets of R&B yesteryear.

A moaning, soul-baked soundbed sets an effectively rueful tone in support of the duo’s separate accounts of a post-relationship suffering. It’s been a week since the two have been apart and, unsurprisingly, neither have fully gotten eachother out of their respective systems.

Daniel can’t go an hour without the memory of his ex penetrating his brain, and when he finally relents and decides to phone her, he’s harshly met with an “ignore” response. “I’d settle for a busy tone/ At least by that I’d know you’re okay”, he sings. Meanwhile on the other side of town, Adele has holed herself alone in her house for days, and she’s only moved to venture outside by the promising comforts of alcohol to help “forget (his) name”. Unfortunately, in the midst of her trek to the local pub, a Daniel doppelganger sighting only triggers her depression anew.

When the two finally join on the final chorus to entwine their tear-stained cries of heartache, the thunderous vocal harmony displayed feels like magic, perfectly landing the song’s expected heightened conclusion.

Breathtakingly brilliant.

DL: “Water and a Flame”