mixtape maestro (2.0)

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

“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)

Uncategorized beyonce, doctor rosen rosen, duet, electro-pop, lady gaga, remix

“It sounds like ABBA’s ‘Fernando’”.

“No, I hear Madonna’s ‘La Isla Bonita’”.

Ever since it’s premiere a couple months back, “Alejandro”, Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster-housed ode to letting go of old Latin lovers, has inspired plenty of giddy “This reminds me of…” chatter amongst her ever-growing fanbase, with many targeting those two aforementioned records.

But for anyone who kept their ears glued to Top 40 radio in the early ’90’s, “Alejandro” read the best as a tribute of sorts to ABBA via the slow, pseudo-reggae lope and weighty, Euro-dance-pop galumph relied on by that other mega-selling Swedish quartet Ace of Base, an idea succinctly proved through this inevitable mash-up of “Alejandro” and Ace of Base’s fifteen-year-old sound-alike “Don’t Turn Around” spliced together by award-winning Vegas DJ/ producer Morningstar.

Not only do both tracks own virtually the same backing track and melodic structure, allowing for near-seamless back-and-forth transitioning, but the concluding relationships depicted in both numbers nicely compliment eachother, the combined requests of “Don’t turn around/ Cause you’re gonna see my heart breaking” and “Don’t call my name/ Don’t call my name, Alejandro” helping add an entire new layer of brilliance to this appreciated novelty.

DL: “Alejandro/ Don’t Turn Around (Morningstar Mash-Up)” (alt)

Uncategorized '90's, ace of base, dance pop, lady gaga, las vegas, mash-up, morningstar, sweden

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)

Uncategorized bangladesh, beyonce, crunk & b, duet, lady gaga, pitbull, sean garrett

Ragga-froggy-voiced curioso Sean Kingston is back, and while his latest effort “Fire Burning” might not have the power to distance him from the novelty whispers that will probably always surround him, it’s conveniently armed with a dancefloor-ready charge that’ll surely earn him lots of spins alongside the Lady Gaga, Flo Rida and Black Eyed Peas tunes currently dominating Top 40 playlists.

In need of someone to blame for your inability to break from under “Fire Burning”’s spell? Target producer RedOne, the man behind GaGa’s trio of Top Ten hits. He envelops Kingston’s disinctive growls about some dame’s mesmerizing “birthday cake” (read: ’09’s version of a badonkadonk) in a spirited assault of gleaming synth work and buzzing bass sounds that may come across a bit chintzy when heard while alone, but when heard blaring from the DJ’s speakers while stuck within a mass of drunk and sweaty party-goers, feels like the peaking moment of an excitement-filled Friday night out.

From the album Tomorrow, due August 25th.

Uncategorized dance pop, lady gaga, redone, sean kingston, summertime

True, after loving Wale’s previous two mixtape triumphs, 2007’s 100 Miles & Running and the Seinfeld-themed, year-later follow-up The Mixtape About Nothing, the comparably bland lyrical input on his official major label debut, “Chillin” (not to mention the questionable choice of Lady GaGa as hook feature), kind-of deserved the underwhelmed reaction it initially received.

But after a few listens, and a coming-to-terms with the idea that this was meant to be rapper’s introduction to the less Web-affixed masses, “Chillin’” didn’t seem so bad; plus, it was hard to deny the song’s oddly tantalizing hip-pop mixture of Wale’s “Top Billin”‘ swag-jack, GaGa’s shameless M.I.A-biting and Cool & Dre’s lively production (winner of best use of a Steam sample in a year that’s saw the already overly-familiar “Na Na Na Na” tune become even more ubiquitious).

Previously MM-hyped DJ/ remixer/ producer Skratch Bastid helps elevates “Chillin’”’s level of appeal much further with a mega-sized-feeling revamp that cleverly interweaves nods to Wale’s D.C. birthplace (via it’s licking of Trouble Funk’s go-go classic “Let’s Get Small”) amongst other blink-and-you-miss-them snippets, ranging from “I Put A Spell On You” to “Paper Planes” to “Arab Money”, all inspired by select lines.

Look for Bastid’s new 110% mix CD to drop real soon, and try to catch him on his tour throughout Canada sometime this summer (see dates here). As for Wale, his long-awaited AllIDo/ Interscope debut, Attention: Deficit, is due sometime later this year.

Wale f/ Lady Gaga – Chillin’ (SKRATCH BASTID REMIX) from Skratch Bastid on Vimeo.

DL: “Chillin’ (Skratch Bastid Remix)” (alt)

Uncategorized go-go, lady gaga, old-school hip hop, remix, skratch bastid, wale, washington d.c.

Here’s a couple random goodies that have pierced the Maestro’s eardrums in a good way recently:

First up, the great DJ Ted Smooth gives Lady GaGa’s breakout smash “Just Dance” a nice hip hop tone, throwing in those beloved skittering drum patterns from Jay Z’s “Jigga What, Jigga Who” and a Busta Rhymes verse (“I’m back on my bullshit so much/ My bowel movement’s fucked up”) as backup to GaGa’s drunken exclamations (still love the WTF randomness of that “Where are my keys?/ I lost my phone” line).

Our lone complaint? Not enough Buss.

DL: “Just Dance (Ted Smooth Remix)” (alt)

Next, from the fingertips of DJ Fabian, comes a summer-ready blend of Jamie Foxx’ deathless “Blame It” atop the always-BBQ-friendly grooves of Arrested Development’s “Everyday People”.

Thank you Fabian, for being all too aware that you can never go wrong with a lil’ 90’s throwback vibe.

DL: “Blame It On The People (Jamie Foxx Vs. Arrested Development)” (alt)

Uncategorized '90's, arrested development, busta rhymes, dj fabian, jamie foxx, jay-z, lady gaga, mash-up, remix, ted smooth

Doing covers of beloved songs are always risky. Commit a safe, straightforward take and you’ll likely cause murmurs of “What was the point?”; But try to get all ambitious and re-work the song to fit your own unique style and there’s a big chance the people will be coming at you with pitchforks and sharpened fangs, ready to burn you at the stake for “destroying” one of their most cherished tunes.

“Viva La Vida” might be on the verge of celebrating only it’s first birthday, but it’s already been given the “classic” tag, due to it’s majestic melody hooks, smart lyricism, Chris Martin’s soaring vocal sweeps and the fact that it’s damn near impossible to tackle without sounding foolish. Both Solange and American Idol contestant Matt Giraud proved in their own ill-advised cover attempts that unless you’re Gwyneth Paltrow’s baby daddy you should just leave it alone as far as performing it live. Add Lady Gaga to that list.

To her credit, Gaga’s an entertaining one to watch with a better-than-you’d-think voice and a quirky, Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons-reminiscent futuro pop diva fashion sense, and it would be nice to hear more of these kooky, cabaret-pop things from her, but damn if she doesn’t rip this one to shreds with her many lyrical and keyboard-playing flubs and penchant for unnecessary wailing bursts.

It’s a fun train wreck to view but we’re guessing this is one moment in time she wishes she could have had another go at, 17 Again-style.

DL: “Viva La Vida (Coldplay Cover)” (alt)

Uncategorized acoustic, coldplay, cover song, lady gaga, live performance, viva la vida

The ever-busy Kid Cudi is sure to continues his dominance over all things Web with “I Poke Her Face”, a new (whispers) BJ anthem that wittily samples Lady Gaga’s…erm, interesting acoustic version of “Pokerface” (you know, the quirky, piano-supported rendition she played at the beginning of last week’s “American Idol” performance that probably left millions of viewer’s scratching their heads in confusion).

Bridged by a clever hook (“I make her say (Oh oh oh, oh oh oh)/ When I (po-po-po-poke her face, po-po-poke her face)”), Cudi and trackmates Kanye West and Common keep the giggles going on with their respective naughty verses. Out of the three, it’s West who steals the cut (as usual), opening his contribution with that all-too-important ID check (“Hold up/ Born in ‘88?/ How old is that?/ Old enough”) while later beading together the killer ending line rhymes of “skull-iosis”, “cum-atosis” and “osmosis”.

But hands down, the winner of the most alarming single line has to go to Common with this to-the-point eyebrow-raiser: “But they say ‘You be on that conscious tip’/ Get your head right and get upon this conscious dick”. Tsk tsk Common, now we demand you wash your mouth out with some hemp soap this instant!

Can’t wait to see what Miss Ga Ga has to say in response to this, or better yet, what other rapper is dying to swagger-swipe this joint for their own freestyle riffing (cause you know a thousand and one of those are already currently being recorded).

DL: “I Poke Her Face” (alt)

Uncategorized common, kanye west, kid cudi, lady gaga, posse cut