The classy cuts of Mr. Vega once again grace the AZLTRON music blog, with a smattering of original works, and remixes of pop icons Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and transcendent French House icons Justice. Now would be a good time to have a sub woofer.
Britney Spears – Womanizer (Mr. Vega Mix)
Michael Jackson – Beat It (Mr. Vega Mix)
Justice – Planisphere – (Mr. Vega Mix)
It’s that time of year again, the leaves have changed color, it’s getting colder, the winter is creeping in on us, and yes there will be drunken Halloween parties. Being the generous individual that I am I am going to share with you my custom Halloween mix of 2008. So dress up as Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin, a French Maid with a breezy chemisier, or just as a sorority girl in her underwear and enjoy the tunes that I have compiled for this Halloween season. After all, you’re the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.
The Fever – Waiting For The Centipede
!!! – Must be the Moon
The Rakes – Terror!
Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
The Cure – The Walk
Joy Division – Isolation
Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party
Villains – Thrilla
The Faint – Southern Belles in London Sing
Be safe everyone! For reals!
Futuristic Prince is an electro duo hailing from San Francisco, California. Their new single ‘And The Children Will Lead Them” sounds something like if you went back in time, captured Michael Jackson with a vocoder, dropped him off in the roughest Detroit Techno neighborhood where mechanics transformed him into a giant moonwalking robot with bass guitars for arms and synthesizers for legs. Maybe I got carried away there, maybe it sounds like a gang fight to Daft Punk’s ‘Crescendolls’, either way they’ve got some sweet beats. Break dancing cardboard anyone?
Futuristic Prince – And a Child Shall Lead Them
Futuristic Prince – And a Child Shall Lead Them (Fonzie Remix)
Futuristic Prince Myspace
Prince is an artist that I’ve been aware of for some time. Through popular culture of course, and looking at shout outs of some of my favorite obscure dance bands. It wasn’t until he starred in the Super Bowl halftime show last year that I sat up and went, “Woah, that’s Prince?”. His guitar playing abilities and energy were something that’s not supposed to exist in pop music, or at least I didn’t know could exist in pop music. A genuine genre hopping ability, from soul to funk to rock and everything in between. His scorching rendition of the Foo Fighters’ Best of You no doubt won over many new fans all over the world. It went down as the second most watched performance of all time.
I know what you’re thinking, if I saw the Super Bowl last year, why am I only talking about him now? Well, recently I’ve gotten really into music history and the dance hits of the early to mid 80′s. This brought me to appreciate the likes of the Human League and a young Michael Jackson among others, but armed with a Christmas i tunes gift card and the knowledge of the amazing single that When Doves Cry is, my path was set out before me. I purchased The Very Best of Prince, and have been keeping it in semi rotation since I’ve had it. Rarely have I heard a collection of dance/pop/rock songs that are so consistently satisfying.
I realize it’s a best of compilation, but upon further investigation I’ve come to believe that it is only an indication of the consistent quality of his output. I mean, he just put out an album this year! and there’s lots of guitar on it! You can hear his influence in everyone from Justin Timberlake to Justice. He’s made one heck of an imprint on the musical scene for such a short guy (he’s 5′ 2″).
Prince – Gett Off (Flute Groove? Yes Please!)
If that’s not enough for you, enjoy this delicious satire.
Okay, so tomorrow is Halloween and many people will be gallivanting about the country side in silly costumes (or scantily clad absences of costume) and I will be working. I’m getting through this idea though by putting together a Halloween mix. I played all of these on my show on Monday and I felt like it was one of my best shows yet. Riddled with copyright free Vincent Price quotes and a distinctly eerie yet extremely dance-able atmosphere.
Mp3 – Do they know it’s Halloween?
Mp3 – Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party
Mp3 – Echo & the Bunnymen – People Are Strange
Mp3 – Michael Jackson – Thriller
Mp3 – The Rakes – Terror
Mp3 – The Faint – How Could I Forget?
Mp3 – The Fever – Hotel Phantom
Mp3 – B.A.D.A.B.O.O.M. – World Leader Pretend
With everyone from Justice to Kavinski aping the electro-funk idealized 80′s sound it’s time for it’s true masters to descend and retake the throne. That’s right, Chromeo are back, with all their trademark vocoder and funky smoothness. Dave 1 and P-Thugg have crafted an album that, dare I say exceeds their debut. Everything from the saxophone riffs to the transcendent keyboard work “Fancy Footwork” is a lesson in getting down, the ultra funky way.
Right off the bat Chromeo explode with the pompousness of a rap group telling stories of girls co-opted into bed because of their infatuations with older men (i.e. Dave 1). If you listen through the non stop involuntary dance provoking beats you’ll notice that a lot of effort has been put into making the tracks on this album actual songs, not just a collection of mind blowing beats. It’s true that you can hear all their influences as they come about, from Michael Jackson, to Herbie Hancock, to Rick James, to Prince it doesn’t make them any less great. If there was a battle for funkiest breakdown, “Call Me Up” would dominate. The Prince-tastic “Outta Sight” will have you turning purple out on the dance floor. Heck, Chromeo even pull off a full on power ballad in “Mama’s Boy”. This goes to show that right now, there is nobody funkier than Chromeo.
Justice consists of the elite Parisian duo of Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Auge. They channel the funky fun of French house and disco through hard rock distortion and lace it with beats so hard it hurts. Their remixes have always sounded like a special forces team ordered to the decks. Like a late night breakdance battle between rival gangs bathed in the neon glow of the idealized 80′s.
Enough with the Similes, Justice’s debut LP entitled “Cross”, is a mix of the body crushing bass and beats that ranges from frightening grating music that could easily have been placed in a chase sequence from a Terminator movie (Stress) to flawless squeaky clean pop reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s halcyon days with the Jackson 5 (D.A.N.C.E.). The album works best though, when a delicate balance is struck between dance or die bass thump and post-Daft Punk funk, like on the car shaking “New Jack” or the sublime culmination of all things Justice in “DVNO”. There are a few arguable missteps like placing snotty rapper Uffie on potential single “The Party”, but Justice never misses a beat when it comes to causing a riotous freak out on the dance floor.
Powered by WordPress
