SLAG PATROL

Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake – 4 Minutes (Rebirth Remix)
Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake – 4 Minutes (Junkie XL Remix Edit)

What can I say? The unremixed original has grown on me and these remixes are quite good. The ‘Rebirth Anthem’ mix, by Marcos Castellon, is the most complete of the remixes I’ve heard in that it’s excellent throughout. The Junkie XL mix hits the highest highs–its reworking of the ‘If you want it’ chorus is absolutely ace–but the first two minutes and last two minutes are kind of boring. Very excited to hear this album.

Kylie Minogue – In My Arms (Sebastien Leger Remix)

This is a great, more serious, slightly sinister take on In My Arms. Big improvement on the saccharine original chorus. Sebastien Leger did a fantastic remix of Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around last year; the quality of this mix doesn’t come as a surprise.

The Veronicas – Untouched (Listen Deep Remix)

As you’ll recall from the original, the chorus was the weakest part of the song and like the Kylie track, this remix is a big improvement (even though it takes the strings away). The beepy synth works well.

David Guetta – Baby When the Light

Pretty chilled as dance tracks go. I’m slightly skeptical of David Guetta, because he’s French, but I do like the video.

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.