I am unapologetic in my love of dance music. In the '70s, I loved the best of Disco, especially the graceful and flowing instrumentation (strings, choirs, etc.) that bands like Chic were so good at. In the '80s, the music became more synthesizer-driven, but make no mistake--the core of dance music (a driving beat, a strong bass line, a killer chord progression) remained.
The '90s versions were more "aggressive" (due in no small part to the advances in drum machines, sampling, and recording technologies). Artists like Madonna used these tools to create memorable songs that not only got you up off your chair but remain solid pop tunes 20+ years later ("Into the Groove" might have the greatest bass line of any dance tune, ever).
Even back in the Jurassic Period, the remix was part of any DJ's arsenal. Back when, remixes were studio-produced, and were basically just longer versions of the original song. Perhaps a verse would be added, or instruments changed (I have a 6 minute, 14-second version of Foreigner's "That Was Yesterday" that remains my favorite Foreigner tune ever). As technology allowed, remixes became more sophisticated, as a song could be deconstructed and reconstructed as the remixer chose, retaining parts of the original, discarding others.
In the 21st Century no self-respecting pop star would just release a single without also creating (or encouraging others to create) alternative dance/club versions of the same work. Remix artists have followings of their own these days, and artists actively seek them out to take a song and re-imagine it. My personal favorite of these new Alchemists call themselves Cahill.
Let me demonstrate. One of the world's biggest pop stars in the early 2000s was a guy almost no American could pick out of a lineup--Robbie Williams. Williams was part of a UK "boy band" called Take That, then went out on his own. Hit after hit, tour after tour, Robbie was The Man. But like all artists (and all boy bands), Williams' popularity has waned (he even went back to Take That). But nothing that has happened in the last 3 years will dim how big a star he was--except here in the USA.
In 2009, he released a single called "Bodies". It "only" went to #2 in the UK (as opposed to his 7 #1 singles there). It was actually #4 here, but by 2009 pop radio was not the superstar-making venue it was in the past. Anyway, here's the song. Feel free to cut out early if you wish-it's sorta "limp" compared to what follows:
Now, here's what Cahill did to it. Same vocal, but with a completely different take. It's an unabashed dance track that just obliterates the original in terms of energy and power.
Wowzer. Here's an even more incredible example. Before Taylor Swift became a true Pop Star (or Pop Tart, depending on your perspective), she was a "country" singer. Here's her version of "Tears On My Guitar", a VERY "country" song:
Here's how Cahill re-invented it. Give it a minute or two to get through the introduction and hear the strings and the accentuation of the chord structure leading into a ProTools compression of the pauses from the original vocal. And there is a vocal ornament there that almost nobody can interpret, but it's a part of the chorus, the line is "Don't know why I do". All they took was the end of "why" and looped it. I consider this the most radical product of the remixer's art:
Cahill rules!
See you tomorrow...
Pete
No comments:
Post a Comment