RMX MON: "Only Insomnia in the World" - Rihanna v. Faithless

 

About a month ago, I discovered this mash-up (which originally dropped in October 2010), and I cannot stop using it in my workout mixes.  I edited it a bit, but it's definitely the best of both worlds.  DJs From Mars really worked this out well.  It has the unmistakable trance feel of Faithless' Insomnia... which basically takes me back to "those days" of questionable choices.  To make it even better, the most iconic chords in Insomnia are laced behind the chorus of one of (perhaps) Rihanna's most powerful tracks.  If not her most powerful, it's easily her most empowering.  In any case, this is great for working out, running, or just doing "questionable" deeds.  

As far as my editing, I definitely increased tempo, took out a great deal of fat that would bore a dance floor, put a back-beat on the down-tempo moments (which were superfluous), added a really cool quiver in the middle of the song that makes my heart smile, and made the most of one of the best mash-up ideas I've ever heard.  Also, check out the original tracks, below- it really brings it all into context.  Enjoy:

GET THE SONG

essential: Calvin Harris - extended mixes

The man who made us Bounce with Kelis and has set the pop world afire with Rihanna, does not often get his due. He's young, innovative, and creative enough to have his own staple of a sound. Perhaps the greatest testament to how much I love his sound is that he has made me dance to (his remixes of) Shakira, Primal Scream, and Mika... not easy to do. So, if you aren't already, GET INTO IT!

Here are 3 awesome 1-click-downloads:

Feel So Close (Extended mix)

We Found love (Extended mix)

Bounce (Extended mix)

I just saw this video (how did I not see it before?!) and it made me so happy. Very well done, Mr. Harris (::channels Lost In Translation::). So, for your visual enjoyment:

Also, check out these awesome remixes of Feel So Close that I posted a while back.

NEW - "Where Have You Been?" - Rihanna

I'm definitely a fan. I really hope Rihanna keeps making dance music like this and that the new 14-track album, Talk That Talk, isn't full of questionable fluff like her others. There's a void in dance-pop music that Rihanna has a chance to fill before Madonna comes out and slams the hell out of everyone.

Get. It. Gurl.

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"We Found Love" - Rihanna/Calvin Harris vidja

I AM SO IMPRESSED.

This is the best pop (or any other genre) video to come out in a very long time. I have not been this moved in over 6 months when the Call Your Girlfriend video leaked. Fucking wow, Rihanna. Now, I'm really excited for the new album. Hopefully this aesthetic is just a hint of what's to come. Please, Jesus, keep working with artists like Calvin Harris.

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fresh: "We Found Love (Alessio Silvestro remix)" - Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris

Oh, you know these bitches are gonna start pouring out, now. The remix flood cometh. Here's the first one I like. Much like a Greek lover, it needs some trimming, but it is hot nonetheless. Get it, Silvestroface whatever your name is. Also, the downloadable file is much better quality than the youtube. Get on it, cowgirl!

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new Rihanna (prod. by Calvin Harris)

Gotta be honest... I LOVE IT.

This song has the interwebs' collective vagina all in a joyful twist. So, get this song before I get killed for posting it. (Remember that time I posted Only Girl [In The World] before everyone else...)... Anyway, I like this (because I love Calvin Harris), and I really dig that Rihanna is throwing her hat into the GaGa/Britney ring saying "MOVE OVER WHITE BITCHES!"

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MAJR edits (madonna, rihanna, YYYs) for 2nite!

Here are a few songs I love to play that you'll definitely hear tonight. I love Karen O and Co. (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and am a fan (sometimes) of Rihanna.... but I love these songs themselves more than the acts that make them. Lastly, we have one of the best mash-ups I have heard in a while that just needed a little tweaking (twiddle my thumbs moments in it)... oh you're going to love this one. Enjoy the dancetasticness! And get excited for tonight's SIREN!

Only Girl (Mixin Marc remix DJ MAJR edit) - Rihanna

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Heads Will Roll (DAN OH remix DJ MAJR edit) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

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Barbra Vogue (DJ MAJR edit) - Madonna vs. Duck Sauce

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remix monday: Rihanna goes all sex club on us

I'm not a gigantic Rihanna fan, but I will say that S&M is one of the best songs she's released in years. I don't think I have liked a song by her this much since Breakin' Dishes. I few club remixes were released this weekend, and the pick of the ho-hum litter was this one by Joe Bermudez. It's nice, but I definitely prefer the original to it, any day. The rise and fall momentum of the album track is a lot more tangible than any of the remixes, but this remix is the best across which I have come.

Enjoy, all you big fanatics! At least it's not the giant fecal mess that Britney put out the other day.

Hooray!

S&M (Joe Bermudez Chico Club) - Rihanna by shiftdcdotnet2

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new Kylie, Robyn, Rihanna

Time for another pop vomit afternoon! Hooray! OK, so I do love Kylie and Robyn, and I lovingly tolerate Rihanna. I'm excited to share these tracks with you guys, as they have been populating my playlists lately. [Apologies ahead of time for not having a downloadable A-Trak remix of Robyn, but they seem to have a hammerlock on that.] The Kylie remix is brand spankin' new and by Monarchy, the artists formerly known as Milke +1. It's a little boring, but mixable, and I'll play with it and make it work. The Robyn remix is pretty fantastic, I gotta say, and the Rihanna track is my favorite off her brand new album Loud (released last week). I'm sure I will hate this song in no time, but for now it's a hell of a ballad.

Indestructible (A-Trak radio edit) by Robyn

Better Than Today (Monarchy remix) - Kylie Minogue

California King Bed - Rihanna

essentials: remixes of marina, lady gaga, rihanna

Fred Falke has waved his wand and done it again! He really knows how to make songs better, as well as leave them with an inescapable Falke-stamp. He's pure talent. Check out his remix of Marina & The Diamonds' Shampain!

Shampain (Fred Falke remix edit) - Marina & The Diamonds

A few months ago Lady Gaga released an 'official' remix album. Most of it was full of excrement, except for this track. I love that she had the scrotum to use Manson for this, even if he's culturally insignificant right now. Chew Fu really is a great DJ/Producer, especially for big gay dance, which is what this is.

Love Game (Chew Fu remix) - Lady Gaga ft. Marilyn Manson

Mixin Marc, despite his terrible stage moniker, is making quite the name for himself in the remix world. This is the 2nd track that I've loved of his... the first was that god-awful Taio Cruz Dynamite track that sounds like Richard Simmons and Jack MacFarland's lovechild. Well... this one from Rihanna is almost as good.

Only Girl (In The World) (Mixin Marc remix) - Rihanna

fresh: new Rihanna

Will she suck up big balls like her last album, Rated R, or will she return to what makes her good, if not lovingly tolerable? That's the question we are asking ourselves, those of us that sort of like (often dislike) Rihanna... now here's what's new! Check Only Girl (In the World) before you hear it on loop so much at bars that you want to shove a locust in your ear. Additionally, a big shout-out to Bryce (who sent me this track)! You rock my world!

Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna

And, now for what I really think.

OK, so Rihanna has a limited scope of talent. Some of her pluses are that she knows how to lend her talent to producers who understand the lowest common denominator of pop and how to sell it to the masses like CostCo sampler ladies, and that she understand that the only key she can sing in is often very pop-friendly. Those are fine. This track, judged on its own merits, is not terrible. It's not astounding or even novel in the least, but it's fine for now. Neither here nor there. Enjoy its fleeting popularity and move on to something of equal substance-lacking. Par for the course. So, enjoy!