New Zealand singer songwriter Lorde was given the keys to curate the official soundtrack for the latest Hunger Games film, that is, Mockingjay Part 1. She got to handpick the artists featured on the album and she collaborated with them to set a particular mood and tone for the 14-song soundtrack. Two of those tracks were imagined by Lorde herself, and one of them caught the eye of Kanye West. The rapper puts his signature twist on Lorde’s “Yellow Flicker Beat,” turning the rather upbeat tune into a darker and frankly more haunting symphony. Listen to the remix above; click here to watch Lorde dance around to the original version. Mockingjay Part 1 hits theatres November 21, and Lorde’s curated soundtrack is out now on iTunes.
Tag Archives: remix
Jay Z’s “Holy Grail” gets new lease on life in bold new music video
Here we have the music video for “Holy Grail,” the Justin Timberlake assisted track that gracefully eases listeners into Jay Z’s recent release Magna Carta… Holy Grail. Director Anthony Mandler was clearly given creative freedom during the construction of this visual spectacle. The track is heavily remixed here with verses out of order (Jay spits his rhymes before JT’s hook rings, for example) and certain parts are slowed down significantly. It’s hard to say if this version is better than the original creation, but there’s no denying that this newly polished version works. It’s like listening to the song again for the first time, and in my opinion, that’s an interesting experience.
Watch Jay rap in a ghoulish mansion and JT croon amongst the flames in the clip embedded above. In a sharp move, Hova teamed with Facebook to exclusively launch the “Holy Grail” music on the social network.
Daft Punk remixes R.A.M.’s “Get Lucky”
Can’t get enough of “Get Lucky,” the irresistable hit single off Daft Punk’s latest prize Random Access Memories? Well the Pharrell Williams assisted and Nile Rodgers enhanced track has been remixed by the electronic duo themselves. Clocking it at over 10 minutes in length, the remix does not deviate too far from its original incarnation, but it’s chopped and mixed up just enough to notice and appreciate the revitalized orchestration. The remix streams exclusively on Spotify; log in and listen to it after the break. Also after the jump you’ll find a video promo for the new track. Buy “Get Lucky” (Daft Punk Remix) on iTunes and preorder the vinyl here which drops July 16. Continue reading Daft Punk remixes R.A.M.’s “Get Lucky”
Gotye remarkably remixes his song “Somebody I Used To Know” using YouTube clips
Yes, I’m sick of this song as well. Radio stations overplay it and that’s twisted it into a painfully catchy tune you never want to hear again but even if you did you’d probably let it play all the way through before screaming at yourself.
That said, give it one more listen because this rendition is fascinating. No really, do it. Wally De Backer (aka Gotye) took it upon himself to scour YouTube for so many covers of his popular Making Mirrors track “Somebody I Used To Know” and then remix them all together to make what he calls “Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra.” The result, as aforementioned, is fascinating and well worth a listen.
Wally tagged the almost six minute clip with this: “Reluctant as I am to add to the mountain of interpretations of “Somebody That I Used To Know” seemingly taking over their own area of the internet, I couldn’t resist the massive remixability that such a large, varied yet connected bundle of source material offered. ”
Enjoy the collective effort.
DJ Steve Porter remixes ‘Community’ Greendale gang
As you sit there and shake in anticipation for the season 3 premiere of Community coming later this month, I present this phenomenal video to you. DJ Steve Porter (the same guy that Nickelodeon hired to dream up The ’90s Are All That jingle) put together this Community themed remix that incorporates a ton of great season 2 moments. The upbeat dance track was first unveiled at Comic Con earlier this summer, and now it’s on the ‘Net for all to see! I got two words for you: POP POP!
Community returns September 22 on NBC.
[Via EW-InsideTV]
Remix: Britney Spears – “Till The World Ends” (Featuring Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha)
Still can’t get Britney Spears’ club banger single “Till The World Ends” out of your head? This is no cure. The Femme Fatale has rounded up other pop superstars Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha to join her on the catchy track. In this slightly altered version of the song, Nicki looks inside herself, locates her alter egos, and starts the song with this new intro: “Chimpanzees is hatin’, but I take it all in stride/ Put her in a jungle with bananas on the side/ Told you they’d revive your career, but somebody lied/ I ain’t talkin’ poultry when I say this chicken’s fried.” Then she explodes into a full on rap verse in a way only Barbie can impress. Ke$ha, who co-wrote the bumping track, hops onto the chorus later on. Listen here:
[audio: Britney Spears – Till the World Ends (Remix).mp3]Update (4/25): Today Britney let loose the final version of the remix. You can listen to it right here. It does sound cleaner. Also, take a gander at the official single art pasted above.
Update 2: Now available to buy on iTunes.
Rihanna teams with Britney Spears for “S&M” remix
One of the most popular songs of 2011 now has a Rihmix. The song now includes nasally vocals from the Femme Fatale–that’s right, it’s Britney bitch.
“I asked my fans last week who they really wanted me to collaborate with, and Britney was one of the most popular names,” RiRi told New York’s Z100 show host Elvis Duran. “Britney doesn’t do features, and it was really amazing that she wanted to be a part of this song.”
Clearly the original version is better since the song does not need Britney’s touch, but if you’re a fan of the comeback pop star the remix is definitely worth a listen. Watcha think? If you like it that much, you can find it on iTunes.
Lady Gaga puts together “Country Road Version” of “Born This Way”
Gaga has replaced the electronic energy from the original rendition of “Born This Way” and swapped it out for a country twang vibe. And you want to know something? It’s even better! What do you think?
Classic Disney movies get radically remixed
Pogo, an Australian electronic music producer, was commissioned by Disney to remix a bunch of their classic movies. He is best known for his work recording small sounds from a single film or scene and sequencing them to form a new piece of music. His latest creation “Wishery” combines vocal syllables, musical chords, and sound effects recorded from the 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The video quickly became a viral sensation and started exposing people the rest of Pogo’s fantastic work. For about a year Pogo was contractually obligated to keep his remixed video offline, but now that the Disney gag order has been lifted, you will find over a dozen of them at his YouTube channel. Some of my favorites include sounds from Up, Toy Story, Harry Potter, and Alice; these are embedded after the break. Pogo’s got a Pirates Of The Caribbean remix waiting in the wings; he calls it his best mix yet.
[Via PogoMix; YouTube] Continue reading Classic Disney movies get radically remixed
La Roux teams up with Kanye West for “In for the Kill” remix
Awwww yeah. Eccentric UK electro/synth pop duo La Roux has teamed up with arguably the hottest rapper in the game right now–Kanye West–to create the remix for “In for the Kill.” Not only does the enhanced beat off the popular single from La Roux’s self-titled debut album have Ye’s fingerprints all over it, Kanye also spits a wondrous verse about halfway through the track. A music video will accompany the remix soon. Says La Roux frontwoman Elly Jackson to MTV News about working with Kanye: “He’s a very exciting person to be around. He’s a special breed of person. He’s not quite like anyone I’ve ever met before. He’s very, very, very creative. He comes up with ideas every five seconds. We’ve had a very interesting three days. It’s a very interesting mix of things.” And as for the upcoming music video? “[The setting is] very slick but quite seedy. [You’re] not quite sure what is going on in a lot of it, but it’s got some amazing visuals, some amazing characters.” You know where to look when it drops. For now, preview and download the remix below.
Download: La Roux – “In for the Kill” (Remix) (Featuring Kanye West)
[audio: La Roux – In for the Kill (Remix) (Featuring Kanye West).mp3][Via RealTalkNY; MTV]
Kanye West announces Jay-Z collab EP, drops “Monster” (Featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj) & “Runaway Love” (Remix) (Featuring Justin Bieber & Raekwon)
Kanye West promised new music every “G.O.O.D. Friday” and so far he has not broken that promise. On Friday August 27 Kanye released “Monster” and it features an all-star cast including Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Vernon of indie folk band Bon Iver. All in all the track is tight, but you want to know who really kills it? Nicki Minaj, that’s who. She raps, “You could be the king, but watch the queen conquer.” She’s quick and has tons of spunk. Female rappers that go hard like this aren’t in abundance these days; I’m excited to see what she’s going to do next. In fact, all of a sudden I’m anticipating her debut album to drop. (Its expected release date is November 23, one week after Kanye’s yet-to-be-titled album hits stores.) Kanye made sure to mention how much he appreciated Nicki’s contribution to the track. He tweeted, “MONSTER… can we just talk about Nicki’s verse???????!!!!!!!!! I toooooooooooooooold yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallll!!!!!!!!!!!!” Preview and download “Monster” below.
Download: Kanye West – “Monster” (Featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj)
[audio: Kanye West – Monster.mp3]Speaking of Twitter… Nearly three hours before he posted the download link for “Monster” he shared this exciting news: “Me and jay bout to drop a 5 song album called ‘Watch the Throne'”. I guess we can consider this upcoming 5 track EP a mini-prequel to his studio album. Along with the download link he tweeted, “[This is] the second song off of me and Jay album!” It would not be too drastic to think that the first song off the EP is the “Power” remix since that song does feature Jay-Z, but ‘Ye left this up in the air for now.
Fast forward to today and now there’s another new song from Camp Kanye. Yeah I know, it’s not Friday just yet, so I guess we can consider this next song a special bonus. About two weeks ago Kanye tweeted that he was listening to Justin Bieber’s “Runaway Love” song from My World 2.0. The Bieb responded with gratitude. Next Kanye blurted out this: “Maybe we can do something together. Me, You and Raekwon.” Bieber’s reply? “Me, u, and the chef 2gether on a song = EPIC. haha.” Yeah, this collaboration actually happened. Kanye West, Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan, and teen sensation Justin Bieber (who happens to be signed to Def Jam Records with Kanye) are featured on a remix of “Runaway Love”. After listening to the track it appears that The Bieb might not have had a hand in making the mix. Basically Kanye laid Beiber’s vocals on top of the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit” (1993) beat. The remix includes one rather short verse from Kanye and two surprisingly explicative-free verses from Raekwon. And you want to know what? The song catchy, what with Bieber’s young Michael Jackson-esque sound, the Chef’s old school rhymes, and ‘Ye’s producing. It’s a nice treat for fans of so many different generations. Feel free to preview and download the track below.
Download: Kanye West – “Runaway Love” (Featuring Justin Bieber & Raekwon)
[audio: Kanye West – Runaway Love (Featuring Justin Bieber & Raekwon).mp3]Single: Cee-Lo Green – “F–k You” (NSFW)
Cee-Lo Green is a hip-hop/funk/soul artist whose been around since 1992; he is best known for his work with the Goodie Mob, but you will likely recognize his voice from his recent collab with Gnarls Barkley on the smash single “Crazy” off 2006’s St. Elsewhere. Cee-Lo has a new album to promote, so he let loose this extremely catchy and profane single titled, um, “F–k You”. In the song Cee-Lo curses out a girl who left him for a richer man. There is a high level of profanity used in the track, but that is balanced out with really creative and witty lines like, “I’m sorry I can’t afford a Ferrari/I guess she’s an Xbox and I’m more Atari.” This single could be an instant radio hit, but I don’t know how it would fare with the incessant bleeps.
Embedded above is the lyric video for the track (again, it’s filled with NSFW language). A standard music video for the track is expected to drop sometime this week. Cee-Lo’s third solo album Lady Killer hits stores October 4 December 7.
Update: 50 Cent has gone ahead and added a single new verse to the track. In the freestyle he assumes the role of the rich man who stole away Cee-Lo’s lady. Listen to 50’s addition after the break.
Update 2: In an interview with EW, Cee-Lo said that Lady Killer will drop later than expected on December 7. He also revealed that a profanity-free radio edit is in the works. “It’s called “Forget You,”” he says. “It’s pretty close to the original, but not as effective. But it’s politically correct.” So I guess that catchy tune (minus its naughty bits) will make its way to the radio at some point.
[Via WSJ; EW-MusicMix] Continue reading Single: Cee-Lo Green — “F–k You” (NSFW)