popwreckoning updates

Remix Monday: Cut Copy’s “Lights and Music”

Posted: 23 Mar 2009 01:50 PM PDT

Cut Copy’s second album, In Ghost Colours, was my favorite album of last year. And that’s quite a claim considering 2008 saw the release of some stellar records. And on that album, my favorite track was “Lights & Music”. I even had the chance to interview lead singer/songwriter Dan Whitford for Popwreckoning (check back for it to post shortly!) and ask him the meaning behind this song. Now I’m wondering if I should share it here for you folks or let it linger until the interview is posted. And I think I’m going to go with the latter. Sorry, but it’ll give you more incentive to read the interview. Also, this is the third segment of Cut Copy remixes I’m doing, as I’ll be covering most of the mixes done for this album.

Now it’s kind of shocking that for such a great song, as well as the lead single of off the album, that there are only three remixes out there, yep, only three. That might be because Cut Copy usually has a say in which of their songs are remixed. They probably knew no one could touch a gem. And right they would be. None of these remixes compares to the original. Not even close. It’s like holding a candle in front of an inferno. But I still think that these remixes have a lot to offer and from a technical aspect are very well done.

Lights & Music
This is a wonderfully complex and layered track that screams of pop, lush synths, heavy as the heart drums and slick guitars. It’s a fast paced melody matched with slower vocals that are almost filled with apathy. The lyrics are heartfelt, lamenting a love lost, “Fading with the colors you see in my face”, “Cold and crystal you can’t hide as your tears race”. This is a magnificent disco and rock infused stunner, catchy to the utmost. And it’s sequenced brilliantly, building up pace and then exploding right when the chorus first makes its appearance, ushering in with it sounds from every direction that cease the ears.

Boys Noize Remix
This is the best remix by far and a pretty good one at that. The beginning is pretty impressive because it brings forth the iconic part of the mix; the stuttering and jolting disco riff that stops/starts/stops that causes your chest to vibrate in that strange but good kind of way. The mix removes the shimmer of the original and brings a slower, but thicker sound, like syrup dripping off of Aunt Jemina onto your waffles. Another interesting trick that Boyz Noize employs is at the end of some of the words he lets the vocals slide, kind of like a kazoo for the voice. It’s almost as if this mix was made carelessly with faults and breaks in the beat, but it all mixes in together so well.

Moulinex Remix
This mix could be the soundtrack to a really bad 70s movie, like Krull. Not that it’s particularly horrible or anything, just very spacey and sci-fi in that old fashioned sort of sense. It could also be the soundtrack to an early Nintendo video game. It has nothing of the original except for the vocals. It has a thick and drilling riff, which is comprised of a medley of synths, percussions, bass and plenty of Justice-esque distortion. The song takes on a new character and would definitely be a shifty dance track in the oddest of dance floors.

Superdiscount Remix
This is a laidback sort of mix with a slow Caribbean drip to it. It’s sparse, with lasery synths and a whisper of a drum machine that barely touches the song. It’s full of bleeps and electronic tinkering that casts a gloomy and ominous feel to the song. It really strips away the pop and upbeat feel from the original. This would be the version for the macabre people.

Cut Copy: website | myspace

In Ghost Colours
Price: USD 10.98
51 used & new available from USD 5.89

March 9, 2009 — Remix Monday: Sebastien Tellier (2)
February 23, 2009 — Remix Monday: Cut Copy’s “Far Away” (1)
January 5, 2009 — Remix Monday: The Presets (0)
December 29, 2008 — Remix Monday: Feist (3)
December 22, 2008 — Remix Monday: Cut Copy’s “Hearts On Fire” (1)
December 15, 2008 — Remix Monday: Bloc Party (6)
September 18, 2008 — Monolith Music Festival @ Red Rocks, Denver - Saturday, Sept. 13, Pt. II (2)
August 20, 2008 — Cut Copy at Monolith (0)
August 8, 2008 — Monolith 2008 Line-Up: Saturday 9/13 (2)

Solange Knowles @ Buffalo Billiards, SXSW, Austin TX

Posted: 23 Mar 2009 08:55 AM PDT

The last night of South By Southwest: imagine me tired from a week of insane activity and little sleep, fairly weary from walking miles a day carrying a bag full of heavy ish, and just generally done with being surrounded by a million people for every second of every day for a week. This “over it” attitude that I walked into Buffalo Billiards with on Saturday night to catch Solange Knowles with her the Hadley Street Dreams prior to Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears‘ performance was only exacerbated by the hour plus wait the crowd, including my worn out self, was made to endure before the former of the two bands took to the stage. I’m only happy that Solange’s performance was worth the wait.

Beyonce she is not, but that’s not fair because it’s not the point. Her retro feeling pop and R&B stylings were completed with a backing band dressed in matching polyester suits and two female backing singers akin to modern day Supremes, but with better hair. Solange doesn’t always the most feminine set of pipes, so sometimes her belting sounds a bit off, but she’s definitely off to a great start hot on the heels of her sophomore effort.

Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
Price: USD 9.98
73 used & new available from USD 2.16

March 19, 2009 — Whispertown2000 @ Red Eyed Fly, SXSW, Austin TX (0)
March 18, 2009 — Princeton @ SECAC Day Stage, SXSW, Austin TX (0)
March 18, 2009 — Kevin Devine @ The Mohawk, SXSW, Austin TX (0)
March 17, 2009 — PopWreckoning SXSW Liveblog! (0)
March 16, 2009 — Party with Popwreckoning at SXSW (0)
January 30, 2009 — Minature Tigers to Tour with Ben Folds (0)
December 8, 2008 — Beyoncé, Solange and Fuse “Hope for the Holidays” (0)
November 18, 2008 — New Music Tuesday! (0)
November 12, 2008 — Beyonce Exclusively Premieres New Album on MySpace (0)
October 15, 2008 — Under Cover: Beyoncé “Irreplaceable” (2)

The Ting Tings @ Terminal 5, NYC

Posted: 23 Mar 2009 07:24 AM PDT

Last weekend, the Ting Tings played to a sold out crowd that was moved last minute from Webster Hall to Terminal 5 to account for the high demand. PopWreckoning got a chance to see the set, and it was a full-on dance party. Jules De Martino opened the show on the keyboard with the first strains of "We Walk" and Katie White was nowhere to be found. The moment she took the stage, though, the crowd erupted in applause, from the floor all the way up to the second balcony (it should be noted that T5 is the largest of the Bowery Presents-owned venues at a capacity of 3,000).

The band breezed through their set, including encore, in a short forty-five minutes. They played all of their hits and some of their more questionable tracks—"Impacilla Carpisung", anyone?—and closed out the show with "That's Not My Name". Good times were had by all. One criticism, though: I've loved every Ting Tings show I've ever been to, but I don't think they're ready to be headliners just yet. The CW (among others) sure has gotten the band lots of attention, but they haven't earned the top spot in a lineup for the sheer fact that they have one album out and don't really do covers. If you can't play at least a solid hour-long set, you shouldn't be headlining. This doesn't mean I love the band any less, I just remember way back in October when they opened the Popped! Music festival in Philadelphia. What a rise to stardom! Ah, the joys of media exposure.