Category: Music

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!

To kick things off– I was reminded of this song by a post by Andrew Sullivan, and so, in honor of the events of last night, and the year ahead: Leonard Cohen – “Democracy.”

and I watched a documentary the other day, called “Made in Sheffield”, which was about the music scene there in the late 70s, which blew up onto the world stage in the early 80s (The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Heaven 17, Def Leppard, etc.). It featured a bit on this group as well, which reminded me how much I liked them. ABC – “Poison Arrow.”

Another song I like, and perhaps even more cheesey…the opening music from the very first installment of the 80s anime Bubblegum Crisis. I recently ready how this character and her band’s sound was meant to emulate the look and music of “Ellen Aim” in Streets of Fire, which bombed here but was big in Japan. I hadn’t noticed before, but it’s definitely there. Pris and the Replicants – “Konya Wa Hurricane.”

The first break-out single from the Stereo MCs often gets overlooked now, in favor of their later hit “Connected”, But it was the first UK hip-hop track to hit the US R&B charts. Stereo MCs – “Elevate My Mind.”

Some experimental electronic-pop by Noah Lennox of Animal Collective, who records under the name Panda Bear. This track was listed as one of the 100 best songs of 2007 by Rolling Stone. Panda Bear – “Comfy in Nautica.”

Lastly, one of my favorite tracks from Thievery Corporation’s 2000 album, The Mirror Conspiracy, which they described as “a soundtrack to an imaginary movie.” Thievery Corporation – “Shadows of Ourselves.”

Enjoy!

We’ll start off this final entry for the year with an absolutely smoking Mash-up, combining the latest trainwreck by Ms. Spears with a Sisters of Mercy tune featuring the best opening line ever. Sing along, now: “25 Whores in the room next door…” Celebrity Murder Party – “Gimme Mercy”

Goddamn Microsoft. Why do they have to fill the commercials for their horrible crippleware music player (the Zune) with such catchy music? The two most recent commercials have completely brainwormed on me, so here are the songs in question:

The Shins – “Sleeping Lessons” (The commercial with the guy on the bus imagining going into a huge Mt. Rushmore-esque statue of his own head)

and

Rogue Wave – “Lake Michigan.” (The one with girl dancing with rabbits, swimming with giant jellyfish, etc.)

A nifty jazz-influenced electronica piece from a Strasbourg-based producer, Hervé Poudoulec, who records under the name Kira Neris (taking his name, I presume, from the Deep Space Nine character). Good stuff. Kira Neris – “Open Doors.”

For : That cover version that I told you about. One of my favorite versions of this song: Cake – “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.”

The last big hit from the Jacksons, in 1979. After this, Michael went solo, and then slowly went batshit insane. The further back you go in his career, the more I like him. The Jacksons – “Shake Your Body (Down To the Ground) – 7″ single version.”

Lastly, I’m pretty sure I posted this before, but who cares. When Thomas Dolby released the single version of “Airwaves” in the UK, the B-side was intended as an extended intro, to blend right into the main song. Some enterprising soul on teh intartubes has ripped the tracks from vinyl, and melded them into a single mp3, so we can hear it as Dolby intended: Thomas Dolby – “The Wreck of the Fairchild/Airwaves (single mix)”

See you in 2008.