First up — for folks who might be interested: the Best of Bootie 2007 mash-up collection is now available. I had posted several of the tracks here on Friday Music throughout the year, but the whole collection is great — and they provide some bonus tracks as well. Here are two of my faves that I hadn’t already posted in ’07:
{EDIT: copy and paste this link} King of Pants – “Detox (Amy Winehouse vs Britney Spears).” Oh, come on — you know somebody was going to do it. The vocals from “Rehab” put to the music from Ms. Spears’ “Toxic.” Surprisingly effective.
{EDIT: copy and paste this link} One of the bonus tracks: Victor Menegaux – “Feel Good Roboto (Gorillaz vs Styx).” I *love* this. The Gorillaz “Feel Good, Inc.”, mixed with “Mr. Roboto.” May be responsible for bouncing around your office, so be warned.
Some new UK hip-hop from Estelle, one of the better female MCs in the business. I think this may actually break out here in the US. First, it’s got Kanye West as a guest, and second, it’s infectious as all hell. Really, really good: Estelle – “American Boy (Ft. Kanye West).”
Courtesy of Netflix, I finally gave Samurai Champloo a try, and discovered that I really like it. The mix of fuedal Japan and hip-hop is very much of the mood of my east-west mashup project FAR WEST, so it appeals to me on that level….plus the music is great. Here’s an instrumental track from the soundtrack of the anime, which, despite the title, was used in a few fight scenes: Tsuchie & Force of Nature – “Sneak Chamber.”
When I first heard this track from Beck’s “The Information,” I could have sworn that he had gotten Eddie Vedder to do guest vocals. To my surprise, though, it’s Beck doing the singing. The song mixes a driving piano hook reminiscent of 70s classic rock with some fairly sophisticated rhythms: Beck – “Strange Apparition.”
Speaking of driving piano hooks, there’s this song, which wormed its way into my head courtesy of the new Rhapsody TV commercial: Sara Bareilles – “Love Song.”
And lastly, just because sometimes I need to hear some blazing blues guitar: Stevie Ray Vaughan – “Pride and Joy.”
Enjoy!
