Archive for the ‘Features’ Category
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The Original/The Remix: Delooze “Big Love”
United Kingdom dance trio, Delooze recently released their latest single “Big Love”. The track has a epic dubstep feel to it. To promote the single, Delooze has released a remix by Suxx. The remix is a little more standard dance fare. Let me know which you prefer.
The Original: Delooze “Big Love”
The Remix: Delooze “Big Love (Suxx Remix)” -
Music in Advertising: Weber “You Light Me Up”
Jingle writers do not get the credit they should. A good jingle is one of the most powerful tools in all of marketing. In Weber grills’ latest commercial, they have set a new high. Apparently it cost too much to license an actual Black Eyed Peas‘ song, so the Weber Grill people put it to some professional song writers to write a sound alike track. What they came up with was “You Light Me Up”. The track is so good that I think they should force these song writers to turn it into a full length track. Check out the 30 second song and tell me you don’t want to hear two minutes more of this infectious jam.
MP3: Weber “You Light Me Up” -
The Original/The Remix: Gordon Voidwell “Ivy League Circus”
Bronx-born Gordon Voidwelljust released the single for his electro-funk anthem, “Ivy League Circus”. The track sounds like an electro TV on the Radio. The track is garnering such serious attention that Ralph Lauren’s Rugby site is hocking the Boy Crisis remix. I actually think I like the original better, but let me know which you prefer.
The Original: Gordon Voidwell “Ivy League Circus”
The Remix: Gordon Voidwell “Ivy League Circus (Boy Crisis Remix)” -
The Original/The Remix: Mathemagic “Breaststroke”
Chillwave band, Mathemagic recently released their self titled EP featuring the track “Breaststroke”. The track is the kind of sun-soaked chill pop that is really big right now in the blogosphere. Now the Canadian band is getting the remix treatment from fellow chillwavers, Memoryhouse. Check out the original and the remix and let me know which you prefer.
The Original: Mathemagic “Breaststroke”
The Remix: Mathemagic “Breaststroke (Memoryhouse Remix)” -
05.05.2010 K-Os/Drake at the College of the Holy Cross
K-Os
Drake
College’s Spring Concerts are always interesting. One college recently had Wale and New Found Glory. So the fact that Holy Cross did not try to spruce up the line up of Drake and K-Os with some one like Sum 41 really says a lot about the college’s forward thinking. Plus, Drake is one of the most popular rappers in the game right now.
Perhaps that is why I felt so bad for K-Os. K-Os is a great entertainer in his own right. Like Drake, he raps and sings but K-Os mixes in more rock influences than many of his peers. Because of this, I think the Holy Cross crowd was not quite sure what to make of him. Besides the time when he donned a guitar and played a cover of Rihanna‘s “Umbrella”. K-Os closed out his set with his blogosphere hit “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman” but even that track barely got a whimper out of the crowd that was hungry for some Drake.
Drake came out and immediately commanded the crowd’s attention. Opening up with his verse from “Forever”, the crowd was popping. During his set Drake went through all his hits and guest verses. The set included his verse from “Money to Blow”, “Bedrock”, and “Every Girl”. He, also, performed “Houstatlantavegas” and “Successful”. He gave the crowd a taste of his forth-coming album, Thank Me Later. He performed a track called “Fireworks” which will feature Alicia Keys on the album.
My biggest problem with Drake’s performance is the same probably I have with his mixtapes. He likes to slow it down for the ladies a little too much. Drake invited a young lady on the stage and proceeded to kiss he on the neck, nibble on her ear, etc. While I’m sure this was a thrill for the girl and Drake, the crowd was kind of dumbfounded that they had to watch this. Luckily, Drake followed this show of misogyny with his biggest hit “Best I Ever Had”. He closed out the show with his latest single “Over”, fitting right?MP3: K-OS “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”
MP3: Drake “Forever (Nero Remix)” -
04.30.2010 Minus the Bear at the Webster Theatre
The first time I saw Minus the Bear was 2004, shortly after they released their They Make Beer Commercials Like This EP. The show featured headliners, Q and Not U but Minus the Bear was the real story that night. That was when my love affair with the band first started. But like any love affair, it has had its up and downs. The last time I saw Minus the Bear was 2008 in Boston. The band played a lifeless set filled with mostly songs from Planet of Ice. The only time they broke out old favorites was to do acoustic renditions of a few tracks. The show was a disappointment to say the least.
Coming into Friday night’s show at the Webster, I felt some trepidation. With a new album, OMNI on the horizon, the danger was there for Minus the Bear to play a set completely comprised of new album tracks. As most concert goers know, when a band plays only new tracks it usually puts a damper on the mood pretty quickly. Luckily Minus the Bear did not do that. Instead, the band turned the sweltering hot venue into sweaty indie rock dance party. The band broke out classic tracks like “Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo”, “Fine + 2 pts”, “Women We Haven’t Met Yet”, and “Burying Luck”. In between they mixed a sprinkling of new songs which seemed to be much more high energy than the fare on Planet of Ice. The set concluded with “Pachuca Sunrise” followed by new song “Dayglow Vista Rd.”
Closing with a new song is a sure fire way to anger the crowd. Unsurprisingly, the band came out for an encore. The encore consisted of the ever dancable “The Fix”, followed by “Into the Mirror” which was a single released last year, and closing the show with “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse”. The cross-section of the catalog the band visited was perfect. Judging by the crowds’ reaction while filing out, I was not the only one who felt so. -
04.27.2010 OK Go at Pearl Street
New England’s weather in April is a bit of a crap shoot. On this particular day, the weather outside was cold and rainy, but Pearl Street was hot and balmy with the sweat of dancing patrons. To crowd a show on a Tuesday night is a bit of a rarity, but OK Go did just that. The set list included all the band’s singles from their debut “Get Over It” to their latest single “This Too Shall Pass”. Sprinkled in between was a catalog spanning selection. For fans, the band even whipped out a rendition of Pixies‘ “Debaser”.
The show closed with OK Go donning fuzzy light-up neon guitars while red confetti spewed from fans behind them. The band blistered threw an encore that ended with Oh No‘s “Do What You Want”.
This was my fourth time seeing OK Go live and never have I been disappointed with a live show. The band constantly manages to put on an energetic and engaging show. If you can catch them while on tour, I suggest taking the opportunity. -
The Original/The Remix: Fol Chen “In Ruins”
About a month ago, I brought you Fol Chen’s “In Ruins”. I described the track as sounding like “a dream collaboration between Hot Chip and Madonna being remixed by the Knife“. Fol Chen just released a remix of the track by Keepaway. Brooklyn’s Keepaway gives the track a Williamsburg, combining dance and Animal Collective-esque neo-psychedelia. Enjoy!
The Original: Fol Chen “In Ruins”
The Remix: Fol Chen “In Ruins (Keepaway Remix)” -
The Original/The Remix: Act Yo Age “Song for Nona”
The Sweat It Out crew just hit me up with this new track from Act Yo Age. Australia’s Act Yo Age has been confusing and delighting audiences for a while with complex dance music. The duo’s latest creation is “Song for Nona”. The track balances complexity with repetitiveness. The track uses an aged vocal sample and combines it with Neptunes-esque drums and techno keys. Paired with the original is the Franki Chan remix. I feel like the Los Angeles-based producer let’s the original sample breathe a little bit more than the original while still turning in a dance floor shaking performance. Check them both out and let me know which you prefer.
The Original: Act Yo Age “Song for Nona”
The Remix: Act Yo Age “Song for Nona (Franki Chan Remix)” -
The Original/The Remix: JDP “Lights Out (Girls to the floor)”
The latest single off of JDP’s Purple is “Lights Out (Girls to the floor)”. The track is a dance floor anthem that reminds me of Flo Rida song. Because it’s such a dance track no wonder its getting remixed like crazy. But getting remixed is one thing, but it was remixed by the Hood Internet. The Chicago heavy hitters do their mash-up thing with the track and it sounds amazing. Check it out.
The Original: JDP “Lights Out (Girls to the floor)”
The Remix: JDP “Lights Out (Girls to the floor) (The Hood Internet Remix)”
