I recently read a quote from Justice regarding remixes, which the Frenchmen are apparently not too fond of. They stated that “when a song is already good, we can only make it worse.” While there’s some truth to that statement (see: the “Call Me Maybe” remix package), on a broad terms, I couldn’t disagree more. Remixes (yes even the shitty ones) give songs new life. If it’s a modern interpretation to an old track, like Falcon Punch‘s recent single, it both brings an old, forgotten artist back to an audience’s mind while giving the track a completely new vibe. And of course, sometimes a remix just absolutely trump the original and can blow your mind, like the Thin White Duke‘s Best. Remix. Ever.
To be fair to Justice, they were explaining why they turned down reworking a Johnny Cash song–a combination that makes even less sense than Phish remixing Justin Bieber. But their recent album, Audio, Video, Disco was a very mixed bag of tunes, and one that birthed remixes that are far superior to the originals. And that’s why we listen to remixes–to be surprised, and to see if an opinion on a song can in fact change. Plus, it also gives unknown producers a great opportunity to make a splash.
And Mickey just cannonballed onto late summer playlists with his rework of Ultimate Kaos‘ “Casanova.” It’s not a crazy transformation by any means, but a very French Expressy (aka tropically and sexy and handclappy) rework. Even better, it exposed me (and now you) to Ultimate Kaos, the British boy band hybrid of N’SYNC and House of Pain. And who exactly formed the concept behind Ultimate Kaos? None other than Simon Cowell.
American Idol may be the bane of music’s existence. But Mickey and this cascade of guilty pleasure R&B just proved that even Cowell is capable of some good.
Ultimate Kaos – Casanova (Mickey Re-Work)
Bonuses:
Assuming they’ve head these remixes to their own songs (and this remix they did themselves), Gaspard, Xavier, and bossman Pedro would agree that a remix package is not at all a bad thing.
Justice – New Lands (Falcon Remix)
Justice – D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix) <–throwback special
Justice – Audio, Video, Disco (Mickey Moonlight Reprise)
