mixtape maestro (2.0)

Here’s a slew of new remixes that were either crammed into our uber-stuffed in-box or caught our attention via some other corner of the World Wide Web. Enjoy!!

Beyonce “Ego (The Twins Remix)”:

You may remember The Twins from their twinkly keyboard-decorated re-haul of Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” that premiered a while back. On their latest hot-like-fire project, they completely strip away the old-school R&B influence of Beyonce’s “Ego”, giving the double entendre-laced ditty a Timbaland-like futuro-club sheen complete with hard knocking drums, synth sine waves that seem to fold in and out of eachother and re-processed vocals that re-imagine Mrs. Carter as this icy, stiletto-toed cyborg-diva.

DL: “Ego (The Twins Remix)” (alt)

Jackson 5 “The Love You Save (The Knocks Remix)”

We’ll never get enough of today’s producers/ DJ’s giving our favorite MJ records a brand new twist. Our latest favorite: Those consistently entertaining Knocks cats bringing an energetic new spirit to the Jackson 5′s 1970 classic, “The Love You Save” without losing sight of the original’s prized candy-soul magic.

DL: “The Love You Save (The Knocks Remix)”

Florence + The Machine “You’ve Got The Love (The xx Remix)”

It’s amazing how an inspirational-themed tune originally recorded in the 1980′s solely for a direct-to-video documentary has managed to enjoy so many chart lives over the following decades through mash-up-after-remix-after-remix-after-cover. The song’s latest incarnation involves ’09 music darlings The xx deliriously chopping up bits from the magnificent Florence + The Machine cover version then adding in their own signature unisex vocal treatment, and it’s arguably the best take of the song yet.

DL: “You’ve Got The Love (The xx Remix)”

Chew Fu & Steve Clisby “Purple Rain (Prince Cover)”

Take an old Prince staple, a solid funk-dance construction by one of the hottest re-”fix”-ers of today, and a fuzzed-out (and oh-so-soulful) vocal performance from a guy more people should really be aware of, and what do you get? A “Purple Rain” you’ll want to be showered over with again and again.

DL: “Purple Rain (Prince Cover)”

Sugababes “About A Girl (Serotonin Thieves Remix)”

From their recent line-up changes to the horrid, Pussycat Doll hand-me-down that was “Get Sexy”, the Sugababes’ 2009 attempt at coming back/ re-invading American shores has been met with so much disaster in it’s beginning stages, we really don’t understand the purpose of the girl group even continuing on (that is, unless they change their name entirely and start over from scratch).

But, in an effort to spin some strand of positivity out of their current troubles, we will say that we like their new single “About A Girl” a thousand times better in the remixing hands of UK duo the Serotonin Thieves. In this frame, the record grasps an appreciable early Madonna-like feel that couldn’t at all been heard in the original’s pounding and waaayy over-produced Red One-helmed theatrics.

DL: “About A Girl (Serotonin Thieves Remix)”

Lloyd featuring Pusha T “Pusha (Alternate Version)”

Less an actual remix than it is a simple switcheroo of guest rapper (Lil’ Wayne out, Clipse’s Pusha T in), this version of Lloyd’s controversial R&B simmer is basically one for the folks tired of hearing Weezy on every damn thing, and the dopes who think a song called “Pusha” featuring someone named Pusha is a “cool move”.

DL: “Pusha (Alternate Version)”

The last time UK-based girl group giants the Sugababes attempted to break out in the States, seemingly the only corner of the globe they had yet to conquer, they were met with some surprisingly disappointing results: uber-catchy 2003 single “Hole In The Head” couldn’t reach higher than #96 on the Billboard Hot 100, leading to an eventual cancellation of their US debut Three.

Now, six years (and millions of worldwide records sold) later, the girls are preparing another go at US fame, and this time seem to have a stronger shot at success now that they’re being backed by Jay-Z’s new Roc Nation imprint. It’s only a shame though, that the first taste of this exciting new career chapter would have to fall on something as meh as new single “Get Sexy”.

As far as overly busy 2009 club-pop goes, “Get Sexy”‘s lively electro happenings and dumbed-down lyrics about…well, how “sexy” they are, should easily fall in line with the “Boom Boom Pow”‘s and “Patron Tequila”‘s currently getting people to work up a sweat on the dance floor (we’ll even give it points for the “billionaire” line and having the nerve to use Right Said Fred’s ’90′s gift “I’m Too Sexy” as inspiration for the hook). But if you’re not listening to it while half-drunk and/ or shaking your tailfeather, the song (if you can even call it one) does little to make the non-Sugababes-fanatics understand why Jigga would think this threesome is such a hot grab.

Now maybe we’re being a little unfair since, to be honest, if this had been performed by someone like Kelis, we would have been showering it with instant praise, but it just seems to us that if the ‘Babes were really serious about a long-running tenure on the US pop charts, they wouldn’t have opted on dropping such a lazily-sculpted “here today/ forgotten a minute later” entry that their far inferior American counterparts Danity Kane and Pussycat Dolls would’ve smartly left on the editing room floor.

Catch the vid for “Get Sexy” below (the single drops August 31st), then snatch up their far more likable remake of Womack & Womack’s oft-covered “Teardrops”.

DL: “Teardrops” (alt)

Like a sort of UK version of Pink, the multi-tattooed, multi-hair-dyed Mutya Buena is a “rebel” who claimed to be trapped in pre-packaged teen-pop dressing, but after being freed felt just as cliched anyway. After the product she helped create, the mega-successful girl group Sugababes, proved too stifling and cookie-cutter, Buena abandoned her baby for motherhood and a shot at a less suffocating solo career. Now, supposedly fully in control of her image and sound, Buena steps out on her own with “Real Girl” in which she reiterates what we’ve suspected all along: “I never pretend to be something I’m not/ You get what you see/ When you see what I’ve got”. The problem is, she’s offering nothing different than what a Sugababe would.

There’s nothing more annoying than a singer or rapper trying to convince us as to how “real” they are. A: Artists rarely use an interesting angle when delving into this topic, instead employing an “I am what I am” rambling that we’re supposed to accept at face value. And B: We don’t know these people personally, so we could really care less how real or fake they are. Buena seems to aim for understanding but her wordy, Meredith Grey-styled soliloquy falls bland in generic prose (“I’ll just keep on going/ The way I’ve gone so far/ And maybe I’ll end up/ Tryin’ to catch a falling star”).

The sad part is Buena wastes a great backing track on such a lame topic. Hacking the orchestral throwback soul of Lenny Kravitz’ “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over” and throwing in subtle wah-wah guitars and a light trip-hop ambiance, the production of “Real Girl” is an otherwise pretty listen, and Buena’s vocals remain just as pure and effective as ever, even when she aligns herself with what feels like chapter-sized verses and choruses that are hardly catchy. With her marionette strings clipped, something a bit more fitting to the space age diva persona that urged men to “Push The Button” and adopted Adina Howard’s “Freak Like Me” would’ve been a more enticing jump off point. In an era of Winehouse, Lily and Stefani, female pop stars have grown more colorful than ever, Buena should strive more harder to be in this pack.