"Stay Awake (Moam remix)" - Example (plus vidja)

Moam has surprised me here for a second time (previously it was another Example track Watch The Sun Come Up a couple years ago) with a solid remix.

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Check out the original song within its own video:

weekenditty: Moves Like Jagger (Cosmic Dawn remix)

Ok, so both of these acts kind of blow. Let's be real, folks. Christina Aguilera should have gone the way of Celine Dion a long time ago (just do ballads, heifer... keep your loose-skinned genie in its bottle). As for Maroon 5.... just. stop. (but keep doing that above!)

Maroon 5 feat Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger (Cosmic Dawn Remix)

Then came this catchy little collaboration between these two turds, or a shit sandwich, rather. And, once again, Cosmic Dawn has produced a pop remix of said track that towers above all others. *Click on the tag above to see some of the fantastic remixes he's done that I've posted (most notably Beyonce and Robyn).

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So, enjoy this shiny little turd for your weekend. I secretly love it and am using it in my live sets.

Bon Earpetit.

"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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"Natural Disaster" - Laidback Luke/Example (video & Benassi rmx)

Example & Laidback Luke - Natural Disaster (Benny Benassi Remix)

This song is so wonderfully electro. Take Laidback Luke and Example and throw in the stylings of Benny Benassi, and BLAM! A nice find today, for sure.

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Apparently this was leaked back in September, but is now officially released as of the 16th of this month. I think, as far as danceability goes, this is a fantastic song, but it still has a few more listens to decide if it's to stay on the playlist very long. Benny Benassi, though, bless his heart... he delivers oh-so-well.

fresh: oh, Britney ('Criminal' vidja)

I totally don't hate this song. It's very ho-hum to me. Emphasis on the ho. But, this is pretty much hilarious in its cliché delivery. Speaking of the c-word, I snagged this from Perez Hilton's page.

So, enjoy it.

Britney, you are our muse. We know you don't take yourself as seriously as Gaga, because God knows you don't have the ego or intelligence that too-self-righteous-to-be-genuinely-persuasive-if-you-have-a-mind-of-your-own windbag does, and we thank you for that. So, get your kiss on, you little house bunny with a muffin-top, you.

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essential: "So Alive" - Ryan Adams

"So Alive" is one of those songs that hit me at the right time when I was in my early 20's. God, I loved this song. I still get very reminiscent when I hear it. It dropped when I was probably at my lowest point personally (hard to believe, huh) in late 2003, and it was a time, musically, when I was very into melodic indie rock. This phase would slowly fade into the neo-new wave era of the mid-2000's and slide right into a healthy electro obsession from 2006-to-present.

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Ryan Adams is a great writer and this is from his most underrated record, Rock N Roll. If you don't have the album and love melodic, poetic indie rock, dive in... other highlights are the title track, This Is It, Wish You Were Here, and Anybody Wanna Take Me Home. If you love intoxicating guitar rifts and haunting vocals, you will love this song for years...

remix monday: get out your glowsticks...

During the raves of the late 1990's and (briefly) early 2000's (yes, I caught the ass-end of this one), Insomnia was one of the greatest tracks in the limited history of trance. I found this electro remix recently and I'm sorta in awe of how good it is... or, rather, how they could have to balls to remix a trance track, much less a classic one. Faithless has never sounded so club-ready. I <3 it.

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weekenditty : "I Need You So" - Sneaky Sound System

"...a euphoric, thumping dance record." - Rolling Stone

I cannot wait until it drops on the 17th. So excited. Here's the latest leak of From Here To Anywhere, by Sneaky Sound System. It's unlike any other track of theirs, and it's brilliant... All three tracks I've heard: We Love, Big, and this one have been very different, yet all dance tracks of the highest quality. Get ON IT.

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Let this track rule your weekend like an elementary school teacher with a serious dominatrix alter-complex. Bad kitty... hissssss...

three track thursdays - RAC remixes (Foster The People, Ellie Goulding, Sunday Girl)

RAC consistently produces great remixes. Solid stuff, always. They may not always be the most explosive or danceable mixes, but they are solid for the workday, that's for sure. Want more evidence? Just click on the "RAC" tag above.

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essential tuesday: "spanish sahara" - queen of hearts

This track, Spanish Sahara, has been a steady presence in my playlists over the last few weeks. Enough so that I deem it essential to yours. Queen of Hearts is a new, very chill electro-pop artist who has surfaced with an interesting EP cleverly titled The Arrival. Judge for yourself... This is a solid song that is sonic enough to please anyone who loves quality chill-pop. I'm in love (but, lord knows love is cruel.)

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weekenditty : "Shake It Out (Benassi vs. MAJR edit)" - Florence + The Machine

First, do yourself a favor and download it:

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I have been working on this for a few days, and finally finished it last night. You see, I love Benny Benassi. He is the godfather of electro-dance, in my opinion. And, Florence Welch (of Florence + The Machine) is the strongest female voice I've ever heard live, with a style all her own- despite how influenced it is by the greats in music (see: Björk, Thom Yorke, Damien Rice, Tori Amos, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, etc.).

When I heard that Benassi was sanctioned to make one of the official remixes of Florence's new (soon to be massive hit) track, Shake It Out, I basically creamed my jeans. When getting the track a few days ago, I was highly impressed, but knew that the track needed to be fixed to play it live. The original, much like Florence's sound, shoots in two very dichotomous directions: the soft and atmospheric vs. the loud passionate explosion. In a club, that doesn't work with a crowd that hates a buzzkill, even if it is Florence's beautiful voice and Benassi's delicate synths doing the killing.

So, I took this:

And made it into this:

And this is what it sounds like:

Shake It Out (Benny Benassi vs. DJ MAJR edit) - Florence + The Machine by MAJRmusic

First, the tempo had to be increased toward a more raw house beat (from 126 to 128). Putting it at 128 means that the window to further increase it to 130 is available in a club setting (very important to me). I then cut up the introduction and mixed it with pieces of the track from various places. I wanted the song to flow properly into the vocals after 30 seconds, and I wanted the final 30 seconds to be a mirror. I then manipulated the levels and the placement of the backbeat, so that it could always shake your ass while it's playing, even when her voice is soft and introspective. To dictate momentum and prevent boredom (of me and my audience), I cut the rest of the track up (deleted any fluff) and made sure that it was always a part of one giant movement, while also creating enough explosion to provoke the proper dance-your-face-off essence (R.I.P. SHIFT). (There are a lot more little things here and there that I did- with bass and output levels, etc.- but I won't bore you with all that jazz).

That's the thing many DJs forget: what it feels like to be on the floor, feeling every beat and soaking in sensitive melodic aspect into your permeable eardrums. I'm not the greatest DJ in the world - nor do I ever care to be - I just want to be moved to fucking dance and be inspired in my own release.

Defend your ears.

Expect more of your stimuli.

Shake it out.

It is also worth mentioning that this song is highly inspiration to me, or anyone, who has ever had a terrible run of luck, felt down on oneself, unstoppably masochistic, and unreasonably self-critical. Shake it out, y'all. And, do it on the dancefloor.

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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essential(s): bodyrox, friendly fires

Here are two (very different) dance songs that should be in your collection.

First, we have the lovely Luciana who is a club icon on the other side of the Atlantic, as far as electro-dance tracks g0 (Look up: "I Like That", "I'm Still Hot", "I Got My Eye On You"). This track, produced by Bodyrox, was pretty huge a couple years ago, and is definitely worth a revisit.

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Second, we have my favorite song by Friendly Fires, whom I am going to see for the 2nd time this year in a couple weeks! So excited. They opened with this track last time, and I hope it's later in the set this time. They have some of the best energy I've ever seen in a live band. You can tell they love their sound and adore their fans. Why this track, in particular, was never a single, I'll never know. It's easily my favorite of theirs to play live.

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rmx mon.: "hot hot love (kids at the bar remix)" - madison

You put some playful lyrics on top of a driving and explosive house beat, and throw in some electro-distortion, and I'm good to go, sometimes... Madison's single from last year, Hot Hot Love, is remixed here by the oft-reliable Kids At The Bar. Enjoy!

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Also, here is the original track (not too shabby), as well:

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