Big ol' music post

Let me tell you something about Japan: they have horrible pop music. Not like the average terrible pop music we experience in America, but rather some sort of mutant strain that has grown invulnerable to all criticism from more sensible beings and because of this, has flourished. I think that if I were forced to live with no music other than J-pop, I would choose to ease the pain and off myself early. Seriously. It's that bad.

The worst part about this, however, is that unlike America, where other genres of music are also popular and are listened to, it seems that every high school student listens only to the pop music of the time, and knows nothing about other types of music. Well, that's kind of a lie; they also listen to American pop, like Green Day, Avril Lavigne and Dumb People. So pretty much if it weren't for my iPod and my wonderful internets, I'd probably be bashing my skull into concrete over here.

Anyway, since it's December, the month of lists, I figured I would just name a couple of songs that are keeping me sane over here right now. Some are new, but most are probably older seeing as it's kind of hard to keep up with the tons of music available on the internet by oneself.
ANYWAYHEREWEGOLIST

ACTUALLYWAITHOLDUP
Are you sure you want to click that link? This is really just a big post of me rambling about music. There's absolutely nothing in here about Japan. Just wanted to let you know before you trudge through half a page of boring half-assed descriptions of songs.

Feist - Pretty much anything and most remixes
I heard that Feist was nominated for a Grammy in the catagory of "Best New Artist" which is kind of funny, seeing as she's really not all that new. For all of you who don't know, she's been doing a bunch of music stuff for a while, and is a member of Broken Social Scene, another band with fantastic music. But anyway, it's good she's being recognized because her music is great. And not only that, there's a ton of great remixes of her songs out there as well. A couple of the ones on heavy rotation over here are Mushaboom (K-Os Remix), Sea Lion (Chromeo Remix), and 1234 (Vanshe Technologic Remix). The originals of all those are also really great songs.

Mystery Jets - You Can't Fool Me Dennis (Justice Remix)
When most people hear the words "Justice Remix" used to describe a song, they usually expect gut-busting bass and grungy, cranking synths. This remix, however, is very much out of character for Justice. Sure when you compare the original to the remix, the remix sounds more like Justice I guess... But really, it doesn't have the same Justice feel as their other songs do. However, this isn't a bad thing, I just wanted to let you know before you jumped in. The original of this song is also quite good, and quite different. I really feel that a good remix is different enough from the original that they can both be played back-to-back and be enjoyed and two separate songs (Unlike the Daft Punk remix of Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out"). Also, it might be interesting to some that Erol Alkan actually produced the Mystery Jets' new album. Apparently they're one of his favorite bands. Go fig.

Peter Bjorn & John - Let's Call It Off (Girl Talk Remix)
Some of you might remember Peter Bjorn & John's song "Young Folk" from earlier on, and Diplo's fantastic remix of it (which is a great song, no matter what stuck-up naysayers like Ry Lester say I AM CALLING YOU OUT, RYAN). Well, here is another remix of a different song of theirs, this time reworked by Girl Talk. Somehow I seem to find remixes that simply don't fit an artist's MO; first the Justice remix, and now this. Girl Talk's glitchy and hyper style is noticeably absent from this remix, but like the Justice remix, it's still solid and definitely worth listening to.

The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose to Give It (Boy 8 Bit Mix)
This song is absolutely too much. This song makes me want to high five a velociraptor on a dirtbike while fighting terrorists. Tora Bora, here I come.

But seriously, this is remix is full of WIN. I first heard it on the Light Sound Dance mix by the Aussie outfit the Bang Gang Deejays, and it was one of the tracks that just stuck. There's something about the chiptune-y clicks and blips juxtaposed to the crunchy bass that makes a perfect bed for the vocals to shine through. The vocals themselves are provided by Simon Lord, the singer for a certain british band named Simian. If this sounds at all familiar to you, it might be because the members of Simian Mobile Disco both came from Simian, and Justice's hit "We Are Your Friends" was remixed from a song originally recorded by Simian. Again, full of WIN.

However, be a little careful when choosing which version to listen to. There are two versions by Boy 8 Bit, the Dub and the Mix. The main difference between these two is that the Mix has vocals while the Dub is just the beat. They're both good, but I find that the vocals add so much more to the song that the Dub version just feels like it is missing something big. Also, the original is also quite good, and you can find that at their myspace.

A-Team - Get Money
Slow money is fo' sho' money
Fast money, that "won't last" money

Yelle - A Cause des Garcons
Plenty of good remixes for this song, but I like the original quite a lot, so I figured I'd just go ahead and post that. Yelle's other stuff is also pretty fun to listen to, and a bunch of her songs are being remixed by some good electro artists and are getting pretty decent exposure all over the interwebs.

Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Boys Noize Remix)
It's taken a while, but people are starting to remix more and more of Justice's new album other than just D.A.N.C.E., and the results are fantastic. AND YES I KNOW I'M A LITTLE LATE IN SAYING THAT. However, that being said, there are still some D.A.N.C.E. remixes that are pretty good. I know a CERTAIN SOMEONE (cough cough CHRIS cough achoo) will disagree with me, but I think the recent Benny Blanco remix of D.A.N.C.E. featuring Mos Def and Spank Rock is pretty solid. Also check out the Chewy Chocolate Cookies remix of Genesis.

Muscles - Ice Cream
This is a FANTASTIC song. Really there isn't another way to describe it. Muscles has some other good songs as well, including a remix by Riot in Belgium. The singer sounds kinda weird, but that's not a bad thing.

Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor & Shake a Fist
Hot Chip's last album, The Warning, was full of tons of great songs with beautiful melodies, though I didn't really know that a couple of months ago because I was just sticking Over and Over on repeat (coincidence!). However, after missing the back button on my iPod a couple of times, I was exposed to the rest of the ablum, and I was pleasantly surprised. They're releasing a new album soon, and I won't be making the same mistake. I've been giving each of the songs that they leak on the internet a good listen, and they've all been solid songs, including the two above. If anything, give "Shake a Fist" a listen.

Kriss Kross - Jump (Customised by D*L*i*d)
I'm not gonna pretend to be all nostalgic about this track and say "Oh I remember when those dudes just came out, man I am OLD SCHOOL STREET CRED" because I had no idea who these people were before this remix, and plus, I was three at the time these guys came out. However, none of that stops me from liking this track, because it is a solid, crunchy bass banger. Also apparently these guys are planning a comeback. We'll see how that goes. Personally I don't see too much comeback potential in a rap group remembered for being a couple of teenagers who wore their clothes backwards (thank you Wikipedia).

Well anyway
I think that's about it for now. I don't want to be making this post TOO huge. Maybe I'll have another big ol' music post later one. You know, if I have the time. HO HO that was a joke because pretty much ALL I HAVE IS TIME HERE. ALL I HAVE IS TIME.