SLAG PATROL

Britney Spears – Womanizer

OK, so it’s not exactly original; it’s Rihanna’s SOS + Rachel Stevens’s Some Girls + Britney’s Radar mashed together. Still, it’s excellent. The chorus sounds metallic, a touch industrial but still poppy. Good work Britney’s producers.

Christina Aguilera – Genie in a Bottle (2008 rework)

More palate cleanser than full song, this version of Genie in a Bottle is from her performance at the 2008 Video Music Awards. It’s very very sleek, and unfortunately only a minute and a half long–the new song it segued into on the show wasn’t nearly as good.

BWO – Lay Your Love On Me

BWO (formerly Bodies Without Organs) were a Slag Patrol favorite, until they put out about 10 truly awful ballads in a row and put on the worst show I’ve ever seen at the Astoria. Lay Your Love On Me is a very welcome return to form. It’s slick. It’s fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. I like.

Robyn – Handle Me (Ortzroka Death To Disco Dub)

The best mix of Handle Me I’ve heard yet. Everything saccharine in the original has been replaced with an angry, throbbing synth.

Rihanna – Disturbia (Craig C & Nique’s Master Radio Mix)

This remix loses the original’s irresistible melodic Bum-Bum-Be-Ums, but it adds a fantastic ‘destroy everything you touch’ edge.

Coldplay – Vida La Vida (Grant’s Uplifting Club Mix)

I was so over Coldplay, and then they came out with Vida La Vida, one of my favorite songs of the summer. This mix doesn’t change much but adds a good beat.

The Killers – Human

Stuart Price has done good work here. It’s the Killers at their synthy, yearning best. Very excited for this album to drop.

Katy Perry – Hot N Cold

I really shouldn’t like this song so much. I don’t understand why. It just make me so. happy. The Max Martin magic is working.

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.

Scissor Sisters – The Other Side
The Killers – Read My Mind

Stereogum called The Other Side “20% Supergrass / 80% Duran Duran” and I agree. It’s brilliant. Slick and dark and beautiful. And Read My Mind is my favorite off the new Killers album. Much better than Bones, the new single. Perfect mix of yearning and almost blasphemous synthesizer.