- Madonna – What It Feels Like For A Girl (Tracy Young club mix)
- Miss Kittin & The Hacker – Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley cover)
- L-Vis 1990 – Compass (Christian Martin remix)
- Gui Boratto – No Turning Back
- NightWaves – She’s Electric (House of Nada remix)
- Cadgedbaby – Medicine (Radio Slave reprise)
- Raw Man + Blance – United (club mix)>
- Toecutter – Best Party Ever (Flight Facilities remix)
- Röyksopp – Tricky Tricky (Volatile Tidy Tidy remix)
- The Phenomenal Handclap Band – You’ll Disappear
Category Archives: Music
September 2009 Chart
I ended up having twelve songs this month. Worth noting, I think, that not all of these songs are remixes — some of them are album tracks!
- Metronomy – Not Made For Love (Joakim remix)
- Shinichi Osawa – EEAA
- Mumdance & Brodinski – Eurostarr
- Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars (Siriusmo remix)
- Boys Noize – Jeffer (Para One remix)
- Lovelock – Don’t Turn Away (From My Love)
- Basement Jaxx – Feelings Gone (feat. Sam Sparro)
- Daft Punk – Technologic (Death to the Throne remix)
- Felix da Housecat – Machine
- Lily Allen – Not Fair (Style of Eye remix)
- Doves – Kingdom of Rust (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)
- Tiga – Shoes (A Bang Gang Hot Shoe Re-shuffle)
Music Sounds Better When The Sun Goes Down
Here is my latest mix. Originally I planned to use this mix to practice using a capellas ontop of different songs (I have a capellas for both “Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust and “The Sound of Violence” by Cassius). Once the mix was done, though, the random a acapellas just didn’t seem to work as well as I hoped so I removed them. I did keep the intro to Vincent Price introduction to “Thriller,” though, and a bit from Annie’s “Anthonio” makes a little appearance toward the end of the mix.
I’m really happy with this mix since it manages to straddle the dark/poppy spectrum pretty well. Please leave comments and lemme know what you love/hate.
00:00 – Dallas Theme
00:08 – Basement Jaxx – Raindrops (Funkagenda & Paul Thomas re-dux)
04:12 – Cut Copy – Hearts On Fire (Joakim remix)
11:14 – Sebastian Ingrosso – Kidsos
15:00 – Michael Jackson – Thriller (Louis LaRoché remix)
18:37 – MGMT – Kids (Pet Shop Boys Synthpop remix)
22:39 – In Flagranti – Business Acumen
26:43 – Sally Shapiro – Love In July (Le Prix remix)
30:14 – Tiga & Zyntherius – Sunglasses At Night (Alter Ego remix)
36:49 – Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Allez-Allez remix)
41:06 – MSTRKRFT – Heartbreaker (Joachim Garraud club vocal mix)
46:20 – Felix Cartal – Redheads
49:40 – Dre Skull – I Want You Back (Dre Skull remix)
52:56 – Tiga – What You Need (Zombie Nation remix)
57:48 – Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You (DiscoTech electro remix)
60:19 – Sia – The Girl You Lost To Cocaine (Sander Van Doorn remix)
65:55 – Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity of Huge (A Chicken Lips Malfunction)
68:27 – Annie – Two Of Hearts (Skatebård remix)
72:12 – Housse de Racket – Synthetiseur (Van She Tech remix)
75:01 – Cassius – The Sound of Violence (Deadmau5 remix)
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August 2009 Chart
I’m going to try to start a new thing where every 22nd of the month (my birthday is on the 22nd of February so it seems like a good day), I’m going to post a chart of 10 songs that I’ve really been into for the month. Sometimes this means they are new songs that just dropped, sometimes it means that they are songs I’ve had for a few months that I’m finally getting into, sometimes it means they are an “old gem” from the past that I forgot about or just found out about.
As some background, some charts that I always watch are:
- Erol Alkan’s Chart
- Big Stereo’s charts
- MixMag magazine’s “Big Tunes” list
How do I come up with the charts? A few ways:
- I start with an iTunes smart playlist that does: Rating > 2 stars; Dated Added in the last 5 weeks; sorted by rating
- I look at my last.fm charts for the last 3 months
- I think back to songs I’ve really loved (and maybe included in DJ mixes I’m working on or playlists/CDs I’ve made for people)
I don’t plan to post the tracks themselves. If you are looking to buy some of the music, I highly recommend eMusic or searching via Hype Machine.
So without further ado, in no specific order:
- Tiga – “What You Need” (Proxy remix)
- Sebastian Ingrosso – “Kidsos”
- A*Teens – “Floorfiller”
- So I’m Jo – “Everything’s Ahead”
- Housse de Racket – “Synthetiseur”
- Burns – “Heartbeats”
- The Gossip – “8th Wonder” (dAi vs. MMMatthias Remix)
- Thieves Like Us – “Your Heart Feels” (Designer Drugs Remix)
- G.L.O.V.E.S. – “PYX” (Strip Steve Paradise Dub)
- Bionic Boogie – “Chains” (Nitedog Anonstop Edit)
Beat It
The other week in my post about Michael Jackson I made a terrible mistake! When I listed my three favorite Michael Jackson songs (“Thriller,” “Off The Wall,” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”) I left off my true favorite Michael Jackson song: “Beat It.”
I’m not sure why I omitted it. I think I was caught up in the side comments (best remix, best cover, best sample of) and “Beat It” is so great on so many levels that it escaped my mind. I did mention that I had a recurring dream that took place in the garage where the fight scene happens in the video and I did mention that Moby and Boys Noize remixed/remade the song, but it didn’t get the proper listing as my #1 favorite Michael Jackson song.
So there you have it. I’ve set the record straight. And I really do encourage you to checkout the unofficial Boys Noize remix/remake as well as the Moby remix (which, I believe, first appeared on the soundtrack to Zoolander.
Did You Ever Really Care?
I’ve recently been dealing with a fairly difficult (for me, at least) breakup. As part of the cathartic process I’ve been working on what I’ve referred to as my “bitter breakup mix.” It’s finally finished and I must say that both the experience of making it and the final product have made me feel a bit better.
The mix includes songs that express (either lyrically [from differing points of view], musically, tempo-wise, etc.) the various ways I’ve felt reflecting on the relationship and the break-up. The range of emotions cover sadness, loneliness, confusion, insanity, longing, reflection, apathy, alienation, etc.
The title of the mix, “Did You Ever Really Care?,” comes from the Annie song called “Anthonio.” While I don’t think my ex didn’t not “ever really care,” (double negative there: what I mean is I know he cared) it’s the way I’ve been feeling lately.
So whether you are finding yourself recently out of a relationship, or feeling restless in your current one, or remember what it was like to go through a breakup, or just want a cool new mix (it’s a pretty decent workout mix, too!)… here you go!
00:00 – Dallas Theme Song
00:09 – Frankmusik – Three Little Words (Blackstrobe remix)
02:50 – The Faint – Mirror Error (Das Glow remix)
06:56 – Röyksopp – The Girl and the Robot (Ocelot remix)
11:26 – The Biz – Love Is Gonna Save Us (Felix da Housecat remix)
13:55 – Deadmau5 – Sometimes Things Get, Whatever
18:33 – Marina & The Diamonds – I Am Not A Robot (The Shoes remix)
21:09 – Kissogram – My Friend Is A Seahorse (Radio Slave remix)
24:44 – Kissogram – My Friend Is A Seahorse
29:07 – The Knife – Heartbeats (Style of Eye remix)
32:11 – Ladytron – Destroy Everything You Touch (Sasha Invol2ver remix)
37:15 – Supercharge – I Think I’m Gonna Fall (In Love)
41:02 – The Juan MacLean – One Day
42:33 – Depeche Mode – Precious (Michael Mayer Balearic remix)
47:17 – Martin Solevig – I Want You (Tepr remix)
50:24 – Annie – Anthonio (Designer Drugs remix)
54:09 – Milke – Love Get Out Of My Way (Designer Drugs remix)
58:50 – Curses! – What I Need
62:24 – The Four Seasons – Beggin’ (Pilooski edit)
67:31 – The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go?
69:01 – Christina Aguilera – Hurt (Chris Cox Club Anthem)
Michael Jackson
Due to the nature of my job, it’s usually a few days after a huge event until I start to really reflect on it. This weekend I (along with probably a lot of other people on the planet) I’ve been thinking about Michael Jackson.
My mom reminded me that as a kid I really loved the “Thriller” video. I’m sure I loved it for roughly 50% music and 50% the awesomeness of the video. The song basically defined my Halloweens throughout childhood. There was something so dark and haunting about the video — yet it was a huge pop song.
My other childhood memory inspired by Michael Jackson was the video for “Beat It.” The setting for that video somehow inspired a reoccurring dream that haunted me throughout childhood. I’m not sure of the significance, but it’s definitely one of my top Michael Jackson memories.
Music-wise, I can’t deny that while I was never a huge fan of his music, I know a lot of the musicians I love were greatly inspired. From Justin Timberlake to Surkin to Don Diablo, not to mention all of the DJs I love who have remixed/sampled/used his work: Moby’s remix of “Beat It,” Boys Noize’s remix of “Beat It,” etc. etc. etc.
So where do I stand on my favorite Michael Jackson songs?
- “Thriller” (best remix: the recently-“released” Louis LaRouché remix)
- “Off The Wall” (best cover: Sébastien Léger)
- “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” (best sampled-by: Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music”)
It’s also worth noting how sci-fi/surreal Michael Jackson was. io9 looked at Michael Jackson’s Science Fictional Life, but really all you need to do is watch some of his videos (start with “Thriller” [zombies = sci-fi!] and “Leave Me Alone”).
And finally, for some of my previous thoughts on Michael Jackson, see my “Off The Wall” post from June 2005. If you don’t want to read it, I’ll leave you with what I think is the most important thing to remember when remembering Michael Jackson:
… Michael Jackson is a sexually ambiguous and racial ambiguous person. Of course he is going to be a target of criticism. If you ask someone what type of a person Michael Jackson is, 11 out of 10 people will say, “He’s a freak.” Of course he’s going to be a victim (yes, sorry for using this word) of accusations of the worst kind — he is an easy target. Since he blurs the boundaries of gender and race, which we tend to assume are static definitions, he makes people uncomfortable and therefore we need to continue kicking him down. …
Coachella 2009 Mix
Seriously? Another DJ mix from Who Shot JR? Wasn’t the last one posted only a week ago? Yup! Coachella is coming up in just a few days (Friday, April 17, to be exact) so I was under a tight deadline. The mix contains artists and DJs who are going to be performing at Coachella this year. But before the mix, some words:
I tried a couple new things in this mix:
- At 26:32 I start the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ song “Heads Will Roll.” Then at 28:22 I put the song in again. So basically I’m mixing the song with itself all over again. A type of recurssion, if you will. I did this because the remix I was using (by John Roman — still the only mix out there of the song and a great remix, I might add) didn’t have quite the build up/as much of the “heads will roll” singing that I wanted going on at the same time. So I just combined them! In the end, I think this only sort of worked. It was a little sloppy, but I do like the idea.
- At 31:56 I stop using the Bloody Beetroots remix of “Bounce” by MSTRKRFT and splice in the Tommie Sunshine remix. I did this because the Bloody Beetroots mix just kept on going “All I do is Master Craft” and I thought that was a little repetitive and I liked the original lyrics: “All I do is party.” I’ve tried this out a bunch of times but this was the first time I think I got it right. Chances are you won’t really be able to tell that I used two different songs, so I consider that a success.
To be honest, I’m really happy with this mix — especially considering the fact I basically completed it in a little over a week. There are some parts that don’t go great, but there are also parts that might be my best mixing/transition work yet (I’m particularly fond of “Kilometer” -> “If I Know You” -> “Like You” -> “The Deep End”). And I’ve wanted to close a mix with “Under the Sun” by the Junior Boys for a long time, and this was the perfect opportunity.
There are a few artists that I didn’t manage to get in that I wish I would’ve: Leonard Cohen (yah, good luck!), Crystal Castles (I feel like I’ve used them enough anyway), Thievery Corporation (but they are too damn downtempo), Peter Bjorn and John (their best song still is “Young Folks” and that song is so 2006!), the Orb (I removed most of their songs from my iTunes and didn’t want to dig around my CDs), Friendly Fires (ugh again!! I swear the Aeroplane remix of “Paris” is gonna make it in a mix soon!). On the other hand, I’m super proud of myself for getting The Cure and My Bloody Valentine in there. And I’m also proud of myself for doing a bunch of songs where the artist and the remixer are going to be there.
Bolded arist or DJ means that as of April 11, 2009 they are planning to be at Coachella. When the arist and the remixer are both going to be there I bolded the entire line.
00:00 – Dallas Theme Song
00:07 – Chemical Brothers – Get Yourself High (Felix da Housecat’s Chemical Meltdown remix)
01:20 – Paul McCartney – Temporary Secretary (Radio Slave re-edit)
04:31 – The Ting Tings – Great DJ (Calvin Harris remix)
07:42 – Étienne de Crécy – Am I Wrong
08:58 – Lykke Li – Breaking It Up (Pocketknife’s Loosefoot remix)
11:16 – The Killers – Human (Thin White Duke club mix)
14:53 – Sébastien Tellier – Kilometer (A-trak remix)
16:40 – The Presets – If I Know You (Heartbreak remix)
19:23 – Gui Borrato – Like You (SuperMayer remix)
23:12 – Curses! – The Deep End (Holy Ghost! Day School dub) Curses! is aka Drop The Lime
26:32 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (John Roman remix)
29:57 – MSTRKRFT – Bounce (The Bloody Beetroots remix)
31:55 – MSTRKRFT – Bounce (Tommie Sunshine’s Class of ’89 mix)
34:07 – M.I.A.N.A.S.A. – Whatchadoin’ (Villains remix)
38:03 – Groove Armada – Go
40:27 – Drop the Lime – Hear Me (Buraka Som Sistema remix)
43:11 – Franz Ferdinand – Ulysses (Keith & Supabeatz remix)
46:09 – Surkin – Next of Kin (Todd Edwards Re-Kindled remix)
49:39 – Ghostland Observatory – Sad Sad City
51:36 – Late of the Pier – Space and Woods (Switch remix)
56:04 – The Kills – Cheap and Cheerful (Fake Blood remix)
58:03 – Cazals – Somebody, Somewhere (The Bloody Beetroots remix)
60:38 – My Bloody Valentine – When You Sleep (Le Monde’s Blur Highly Illegal Bootleg edit)
62:29 – M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade – O Superman (Felix da Housecat remix)
65:41 – The Cure – Fascination Street (extended remix)
71:45 – Junior Boys – Under the Sun
Download “Coachella 2009” by Who Shot JR?
As always I love hearing feedback! Enjoy!! Also, while I’m at Coachella next week (Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19) check out my Twitter — I’m going to try to update it with what I’m doing there, who I’m seeing, etc.
Music of 2008
Now that it’s only four months too late, I’ve finally finished my “Year 2008” mix project.
Before that, though, I wanted to share some of where I came from and do some year-end lists. Don’t worry — I actually compiled these lists way back in December before I was swayed by all of the other Year End hype.
Albums
- Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
- Sébastien Tellier – Sexuality
- Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak
- Santogold – Santogold
- Lykke Li – Youth Novels
- Hot Chip – Made in the Dark
- MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
- Portishead – Third
Songs
- Cut Copy – “Hearts On Fire”
- Little Boots – “Stuck On Repeat”
- Estelle – “American Boy”
- Hot Chip – “Ready For The Floor”
- Crystal Castles – “Courtship Dating”
- Annie – “I Know UR Girlfriend Hates Me”
- Ladyhawke – “Paris Is Burning”
- Lykke Li – “Breaking It Up”
- MGMT – “Kids”
- The Ting Tings – “Great DJ”
DJs/Remixers
Others
- Best Live Act: Cut Copy
- Best New Artist: Ladyhawke
- Most Disappointing Album: Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
- Best Reunion: My Bloody Valentine
Who Shot JR’s “Year 2008 Mix”
00:00 – Dallas Theme Song
00:09 – MGMT – Kids (Soulwax remix)
03:04 – Kid Cudi – Day N Nite (Crookers remix)
04:18 – Wiley – Wearing My Rolex (club mix)
05:45 – Hot Chip – Ready for the Floor (Hot Chip V.I.P. remix)
09:45 – Little Boots – Stuck On Repeat (Fake Blood remix)
14:15 – Cansei De Ser Sexy – Move (Stockholm Syndrome club mix)
17:48 – Cut Copy – Hearts On Fire (Calvin Harris remix)
19:43 – Britney spears – Womanizer (Benny Benassi remix)
22:08 – Crystal Castles – Crimewave (LA Riots remix)
23:37 – Estelle – American Boy (Soul Seekerz club mix)
25:50 – Rihanna – Disturbia
27:09 – Eric Prydz – Pjanoo (Fred Falke remix)
28:27 – The Kills – Cheap and Cheerful (Fake Blood remix)
29:56 – Cut Copy – Lights and Music
32:44 – Katy Perry – Hot N Cold (Jason Nevins extended mix)
35:17 – Kanye West – Homecoming (DiscoTech remix)
37:02 – Kanye West – Heartless (DJ Kue Klub mix)
39:17 – Hot Chip – Ready for the Floor (LA Riots vs. Villains remix)
41:54 – Hercules and Love Affair – Blind (Frankie Knuckles remix)
44:06 – Ladyhawke – Paris Is Burning (Cut Copy remix)
46:38 – The Ting Tings – Great DJ (7th Heaven remix)
49:08 – Treasure Fingers – Cross the Dancefloor
50:55 – Moby – Disco Lies (Spencer & Hill remix)
53:23 – Madonna – 4 Minutes (DJ Barletta remix)
54:26 – Annie – Two of Hearts (Skatebård remix)
55:58 – Presets – Talk Like That (Dave Spoon’s Televized mix)
58:12 – MGMT – Electric Feel (Dskotek remix)
60:13 – Tiga – Mind Dimension (Kid Legit remix)
61:44 – Empire of the Sun – Walking on a Dream (Treasure Fingers remix)
63:59 – Kylie Minogue – The One (Freemasons vocal club mix)
67:15 – The Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke remix)
70:49 – PNAU – Embrace (Fred Falke & Miami Horror remix)
73:36 – Santogold – Shove It (Boy 8-Bit remix)
75:15 – Little Boots – Stuck On Repeat
77:19 – Cut Copy – Hearts On Fire (Knightlife Nam mix)
77:41 – Adam Freeland vs. Daft Punk – Aer OBAMA
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If you download my mix, please leave me a comment with your thoughts. It encourages me to do more mixes, tells me that people actually listen to them, gives me ideas for new mixes, etc.
Greatest Gay Albums
I intended to post this a loooong time ago but while writing it my computer crashed and I didn’t realize that the new version of WordPress saved drafts! While mucking around I found it again so here it is…
Out.com has a list of The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums (of All Time). Depite being gay and having a lot of great (I think) music, I don’t have many of these albums… (not that I’m surprised).
Since you care, I have:
08. Madonna, The Immaculate Collection, 1990
26. Scissor Sisters, Scissor Sisters, 2004
31. Sarah McLachlan, Fumbling Towards Ecstacy, 1993
36. Madonna, Erotica, 1992
37. Blondie, Parallel Lines, 1978
45. Bikini Kill, Pussy Whipped, 1993 (well, I used to have this in high school…)
46. Madonna, Ray of Light, 1998
49 .Patti Smith, Horses, 1975
54. Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes, 1992
58. Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville, 1993
61. Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out, 1997
63. Björk, Debut, 1993
65. Le Tigre, Le Tigre, 1999
66. Soft Cell, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, 1981
68. Nirvana, Nevermind, 1991
77. New Order, Substance, 1987
81. Scissor Sisters, Ta-Dah, 2006
87. Madonna, Confessions on a Dance Floor, 2005
I’m not sure how much I agree with this list… it misses a lot of electronic and dance music, if you ask me. For example, I would also add some Depeche Mode, maybe the recent Hercules and Love Affair album, French gay-sounding house music like Bob Sinclar or David Guetta. But I guess the list goes for gay-themed music, not necessarily “music gays would dance to.”
The biggest exclusion, if you ask me, is Missy Elliott’s Miss E… So Addictive. Ever since I first heard it I immediately thought it was her attempt at reaching out to gays. The album is all about clubs and dancing and sex and drugs. Totally gay, if you ask me.