SLAG PATROL

Britney Spears – Piece of Me (Tiesto Radio Edit)

This is my favorite Piece of Me remix. It’s probably not the best one to dance to (that’s either the Junior Vasquez/Jonny Vicious mix or the Bloodshy and Avant mix), but the haunting synth chorus Tiesto made for this one is just brilliant. Poor Britney–at least we have the remixes.

Girls Aloud – Call the Shots (Tony Lamezma Mix)

Call the Shots was already pretty much the perfect pop track, so Tony Lamezma had a tough task ahead of him in remixing it. His mix doesn’t quite soar to the heights of his Biology remix (a Slag Patrol all time #1 favorite)–what it loses is the sheer sultriness of the original. It’s still a solid effort though in an understated, repetitive way.

Bloodhound Gang – Screwing You on the Beach at Night

Bloodhound Gang? These guys are still around? Indeed they are, and Screwing You on the Beach at Night is actually very good pop. Except for the lyrics.  They are inane, silly, asinine, even kinda offensive (“on a unicorn that shits your name in stars”?). The beat is great though–if only Girls Aloud’s producers had used it to make a song that could be taken seriously.

The Veronicas – Untouched

I really like the Veronicas and really like the strings in this song. In a reversal of how it ‘normally’ is, the chorus on this track is the weakest part. It lacks the smoothness and tone of the rest of the song and only works adequately with the strings. The verses, however, really won me over. They just keep going and going and leave the girls with barely any time to breathe.

2007 Top 20: 1-5 

1. Beyonce and Shakira – Beautiful Liar (Freemasons Radio Vox)

The top track for dancing (and slagging) in 2007. The Freemasons are so good at fixing Beyonce songs–they turn the lame original into something angry and unforgiving. The name calling is great.

2. Girls Aloud – Call the Shots

Love love love this. It’s sounds like having the wind swept through your hair on a yacht in the tropics. It’s a bit pensive, a bit gramatically incorrect, and has a hauntingly perfect beat.

3. Sugababes – About You Now

Popjustice called it “a barnstorming pop-electro-rock masterpiece.” I completely agree.

4. Britney Spears – Break the Ice

The ‘Ooh, looks like we’re alone now’ chorus is certainly the best bit of any Britney song to date. So slick.

5. Groove Armada – Song 4 Mutya

The top-down, perfect summer in the sunshine song. Great synth.

2007 Top 20: 16-20

Welcome back y’all! Slag Patrol rides again, starting with my top 20 songs from 2007. Let’s get to it.

16. The Killers – Read My Mind (Pet Shop Boys Radio Edit)

Great remix of the best track on Sam’s Town. I like the feedback bit at 2:52; Anthony thinks it’s too harsh.

17. Aly & AJ – Like It Or Leave It

Saw these girls when they opened for Sugababes at the Astoria. The crowd, very anxious to see the ‘babes, didn’t really take. But this song’s sweeping chorus is great.

18. Hilary Duff – With Love (Big Woody Radio Edit)

This remix is so sinister! And angry!

19. Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love

This one grew on me. It’s a little slow, and apparently the rest of the album isn’t great, but it’s powerful (melodramatic?) and the chorus is very catchy.

20. Girls Aloud – Girl Overboard

Track 4 off Tangled Up–maybe it’ll become a single. The chorus is amazing, and fortunately it’s most of the song (repeated again and again), however the verses don’t quite fit. Thankfully they’re short.

Girls Aloud – I Think We’re Alone Now (Tony Lamezma Baubletastic Remix)

Tony Lamezma definitely does my favorite Girls Aloud remixes. He always tones down the camp a little bit (if that’s possible) and makes songs epic, with amazing synth buildups and crashes. This version of I Think We’re Alone Now is no exception. His mix of Biology remains my favorite, but this is now a close second (ahead of his mix of Something Kinda Ooh, which was good but not great).

The Killers – Read My Mind (Pet Shop Boys Radio Edit)

I still not sure whether I prefer the radio edit or the full ‘Stars are Blazing’ mix of Read My Mind, but in either case it’s a great remix of a great song.