My Top Five Remixes of the Summer (so far):
**note**: I’m going to be posting links/ways to listen to the songs in a variety of ways. Some will link to YouTube videos, The iTunes Store, or other blogs that I frequent to find music. I’d love your feedback on which ways you like best or if there are others you feel I’m leaving out.
What A Night(Journey Mash) - DJ Kontrol and Lil’ Jon
The White Panda - Tipsy In The Sun ( Weezer // J-Kwon)
It’s The Deans List - Dear Professor
Mean Planes & Taylor Gangs - Wiz Khalifa Feat. Taylor Swift
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps (TGIK Remix)
The remix is a beautiful thing. While I realize how creative one has to be to make an original piece of work, I also think there’s something to be said for those who are able to see what already exists and fit the pieces together in ways we’d never imagined. I look at it as musical evolution, and a chance for even more people to experience a great song through a variety of genres. Sometimes, it’s like a caricature of a song; exaggerating all of the best parts until they almost blend completely together in a cacophony of sound.
Wow, pretty soon I’m going to have to add a “Gush Meter” to these things so you know what level of fangirl you’re going to get upon reading.
As embarrassed as I am to say, growing up, I thought that DJ’s were people who simply put on song after song of the Top 40 hits in a predictable, yet fairly enjoyable, progression. If my mind were a Google search bar, image results for “DJ’s” would return men on slightly elevated stages at 7th grade dances and junior proms, on-air radio personalities who spent more time plugging advertisements than providing a blend of music worthy of getting you through the day, and roller rink MC’s situated behind plexi-glass playing “Whoop! There it is!” and leading the group in the limbo contest.
It wasn’t until I got to college and discovered the inexhaustible trove of music on the internet that I truly saw what was possible with remixes. And strangely enough, I suppose I also have to thank the sweaty, rambunctious, beer soaked frat houses for introducing me to techno, dubstep, and a whole slew of new artists and interests.
Although this post has seriously deterred from its original focus, it makes me realize how much music permeates my life and the ways in which it’s all constantly coming full circle. Every post is bound to tangent into another topic because in my mind, they naturally evolve from one another. Kind of like how a remix works in its progression from artist to artist, peeling and adding layers with a never-ending combination of possibilities. It’s like one big game of Whisper Down the Lane, morphing and evolving as you feel deeper down the rabbit hole. See what I did there? Inception. Bam.
