SLAG PATROL

2007 Top 20: 11-15

11. Rihanna – Umbrella (The Lindbergh Palace Radio Edit)

One of my favorite moments out of 2007 was when we were at Trash Palace and someone opened up an umbrella to dance under during this song. Amazing. This mix is pretty good, a bit camp, about on par with Jody den Broeder’s mixes. Not particularly better than the original, but you might not have heard it.

12. Fall Out Boy – Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (The Lindbergh Palace Radio Edit)

Loved the original. Love this mix even more. It’s much more dramatic; the yearning is palpable (and the strings are amazing!).

13. Britney Spears – Piece of Me

Oh sigh. Blackout is actually, surprisingly, shockingly excellent, but no one is going to notice because Britney has gone batshit insane. This song’s chorus is brilliant.

14. Hilary Duff – Stranger (Albert Castillo Radio Edit)

Another sinister Duff mix.

15. Good Charlotte – Dance Floor Anthem

Carolyn told me about this album, Good Morning Revival, and how surprised she was that she liked it so much. This song is emblematic, with a catchy, irrepressible chorus.

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.

Hilary Duff – Danger

Not to flog the Duff any more than she needs to be flogged, but Danger is another slick track off her slick new album. The ‘I’m smarter than this, I know better than this’ bit is brilliant.

Erasure – I Could Fall In Love With You (Jeremy Wheatly Radio Mix)

Erasure was the first band I really, really liked–what that says about me, I don’t know. It must have been 1993–my friend’s British nanny Lisa dubbed many an Erasure album onto cassette tape for me. Erasure’s output has been a bit uneven since their early 90s heyday, but they’ll always hold a special place in my heart. Jermy Wheatly only gently massages the original in this remix. The back beat is slightly played up, to good effect.

Good Charlotte feat. M Shadows and Synyster Gates – The River

This new single from Good Charlotte has a bit of a 90s/grunge/Green Day vibe to it, in a good way. I love the ‘on my own’ chorus add-on at the end.

Shiny Toy Guns – You Are The One

The River’s ‘yearning rock’ vibe but adds synth and female callback vocal. Not too shabby.

Apologies to my loyal fans–this whole ‘getting deported’ thing definitely got in the way of my blogging. But 4 tracks today, 4 tracks tomorrow to catch up.

Hilary Duff – Stranger

The lead off track to her new album, Dignity. The whole album is surprisingly listenable, and this song is a standout. It’s one of those ‘has ok/pretty good verses but an AMAZING chorus’ songs. The chorus is extraordinarily slick–swirling, a bit melancholy, and very catchy.

Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around Comes Around (Sebastien Leger Radio Edit)

I know, I know, this is the third time I’m posting a version of this song. But this is the best remix yet–starts out all 8-bit and kicks in with a brilliant bassline. The only thing I don’t like is its abrupt end.

Hilary Duff – With Love (Big Woody Radio Edit)

Another repeat song. Another Duff track. I know. This version of With Love is by a guy named Big Woody, and it’s sexier and sluttier than even the Bimbo Jones remix. I know.

Fall Out Boy – Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

Slag Patrol devotees will know that I’m a sucker for well-used strings, and Fall Out Boy well-uses them liberally on their very good new album. This is the latest single. Love the chorus and the ‘one more night’ at 2:47.

Mika – Grace Kelly (Bimbo Jones Remix Radio Edit)

I was kind of late to the party for this song, and all the sudden it was number 1 in Britain for something like 8 weeks. It’s quite good; as usual Bimbo Jones makes it better, adding a slick bassline, synth punches, and playing up the vocals.

Hilary Duff – With Love (Bimbo Jones Radio Edit)

Oh Hilary Duff, Slag Patrol loves you, even in spite of your horse teeth and lack of mainstream success (though we don’t like you as much as Rachel Stevens, sorry.) Popjustice called this track “the best song of her career,” and while I don’t like it as much as Come Clean, it is pretty good, especially after Bimbo Jones has a go at it.