Best Remixes of 2008
My favourite remixes of 2008 (plus one live Justice track) combined into one playlist. Any feedback is appreciated, since this is my first electronic playlist, just leave a comment.
Thanks for the great picture Tim Walker.
Sleepyhead (Streetlab mix) /// Passion Pit
Kids (Soulwax Nite Version) /// MGMT
Mercury (CSS Remix) /// Bloc Party
We Are Your Friends (Disco Villains Remix) /// Justice vs. Simian
Jokin’ Jay z (Remixed by Don Rimini) /// Jay Z
Electric Feel (Justice Remix) /// MGMT
Dirty Harry (Disco Villains Remix) /// Gorillaz
D.A.N.C.E. (Live Version) /// Justice
Hype Machine Opens Zeitgeist
The Hype Machine has started to release it’s most popular artists, albums and songs of 2008, read it here.
The artists section is not so much about quality, but more about popularity within the blogosphere. Which isn’t really that interesting, is it? If I was a betting man, I would say that MGMT would come out on top, followed by Vampire Weekend and then TV on the Radio. Unfortunately, Justice won’t be there, even though their remixes keep re-emerging, because the tracks are under the name of the artist and not Justice. The popular songs are slightly more intriguing since they have done it month by month and included news snippets along with each month.
Albums of 2008 is by far the most interesting section. You can listen to each whole album for free, check it’s average placing in lists and who put it in their list. I presume TV on the Radio will get the number one place, otherwise I think 2008 was such a varied year, that the rest of the list is impossible to guess. Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments.
Best Albums I Discovered in 2008
The following albums were discovered during 2008, but were from years before. I think they are pretty amazing and are worth a shout.
The Futureheads – The Futureheads
Outshining their later attempts, The Futureheads’ debut is a hard-hitting bit of post-punk. They blended a mixture of raw and chunky guitar sections with a interesting array of multi-vocal work. Highlights include the amazing First Day, a speedy interpretation of what working is, and the ferocious and energetic Man Ray. I think the idea in mind was “quantity over quality”, however the album is still well worth purchasing with over half of the 17 tracks being really great.
Era Vulagris – Queens of the Stone Age
Harsh, distorted, violent and almost psychedelic, Queens of the Stone Age produced something different, but arguably much better, than their previous work. They put together a hard rock album, something I normally despise, and fueled it with a power station, to create haunting electric echoes, drilling guitar riffs and a mixture of moaning and screaming from the singer. Even if you’re not really into this type of thing, I would encourage you to at least try some of their creative rock music.
† – Justice
Justice’s debut features a stunning amount of synth work work, plus some great sampling. You can definitely here some of the rock and pop influences here, which makes it a really great album to listen to.
Orchestra of Wolves – Gallows
Hardcore is not my favorite genre, to say the least, but Gallows showed me how amazing this genre could be. With violent and jagged chords, unmelodious solos and amazing “vocals” from the lead singer, Orchestra of Wolves, is something which really gets your blood boiling, not your ears bleeding.
Abandon Ship, Will Someone Shoot That Fucking Snake
Silent Alarm – Bloc Party
Though I can’t stand their slow and only electronic work, their tracks which are based on rock, are amazing. An excellent example is Positive Tension. It starts off with a simple bass line. It throws in a fast drum beat and then it adds interesting, but nothing special, lyrics. Mixed in are some slow guitar chords. But what is revealed half way, is Bloc Party’s genius. “Something glorious is about to happen! The Reckoning!” the leader singer yells, cueing the punchy solo guitar chords. Fast and jumpy the second guitar kicks in as both singers start to scream. It’s all released in a face-melting solo to a quiet end.
Thanks for the picture Ryan Chirnomas.
Justice
The French Electronica duo have had “the buzz” for a couple of years now, but they are still creating fantastic music via their legendary remixes. Their Electric Feel remix has been stuck in the Hype Machine popular page for two months. Though I do not believe that particular one deserves that much attention because it is very similar to the original, it is still pretty cool. They basically just crank up the bass, and why change it anyway? Klaxons are up next, with Justice basically ripping out the lyrics of As Above, So Below and forcing them into a groove machine a la 80s era, with lots of keytar power. Probably their best remix to date, unless the infamous When The Sun Goes Down remix is really by them.
Their debut album, †, is also quite great with the fantastic opener, Genesis, starting with the hard-hitting low synth and dramatic drums. Moving into their radio friendly pop hit, D.A.N.C.E, which combines Jackson Five style singing and an awesome funk bass line. My highlight is the itchy Stress, which does what it says on the box, but in a really good way. Justice have definately pushed me into the boundries of House, with their mix of sythns, electronica, rock-influence and amazing light shows.
Frequency Festival 2008 – Day 2 and 3
First Chikinki came on and impressed me with their blend of synthesizes and guitars. They turned out to be another one of the bands who I have to check out later. Louis XIV did not receive as warm a welcome as the rest of the line-up, but they still had the swagger which you would expect from their sexual innuendo stuffed lyrics. Dirty Pretty Things were up next, and fortunately I had got a place on the barrier, to get a good peek at Carl Barat and co.. They played a good set, starting out with their slower second more britpoppy album and making their way to their faster début. Their energy was quite inspiring and there were a couple of die hard fans singing along. They ended with a fantastic Bang Bang You’re Dead, not perhaps my favourite, but certainly their most popular. Anthony managed to pretty much nail the trumpet solo, and most of the crowd had joined in screaming “Bang Bang, You’re Dead!” by the last chorus. 
The next band I saw was The Hives, who were even better than the last time I saw them, with more tricks, even more energy and being better at persuading the crowd to dance. They didn’t need to though, the crowd was already pumped up and even in the middle of the crowd, everyone went crazy and a mosh pit started, for their first song.
On the last day, The Subways came on and put on a good show, not good enough to make me buy a CD, though. It seemed they were trying a little too hard to get the crowd involved. Kaizers Orchestra took me by surprise with a kooky mix of gypsy punk and psychedelic orchestral music. They completely took the piss of Babyshambles, shouting how unprofessional they were. They had cancelled earlier, to the dismay of myself and a thousand other Pete fanatics. This meant Kaizers got to play longer, something which the singer could not get over. Dropkick Murphys seemed like a similar version of the Flogging Molly, just a bit harder, and dare I say, less Irish. They are from Boston, but they still managed to spark some interest. Justice had the best light show I have ever seen. It was truly awe-inspiring and ignited my interest in Justice. The music was good as well, most of the tracks sounded very different from the album, convincing me yet again, that they are two very talented guys. We Are Your Friends was masterfully played, with the voice being pulled in and out again and the crowd filling in the gaps. Finally The Killers, rounded up the festival. 
I’m not really into Killers, and they seemed really bland. They could have just played their tracks from the album in the background and mimed. Even the best wasn’t good. The crowd still seemed to enjoy it, everyone screamed Mr. Brightside and All These Things I’ve Done, the latter being my personal favourite.
Comparing this to last year’s Rock Im Park, Frequency was definitely better, with too many bands which could have been the best of the festival.
Thanks Florian for the Hives picture and Frischi for the Killers.
