Entry 58-- New Spins Week, Part 5: "The Time (Dirty Bit)"

New Spins Week, Part 5
Song: "The Time (Dirty Bit)"
Artist: The Black Eyed Peas
Spin on: "Time of my Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
http://youtu.be/JwQZQygg3Lk (Spin)
http://youtu.be/QUoDaCH1MJM (Original)
Comments: Sorry I'm running a tad late today; I promise this won't become a regular occurance. This song was originally written for the movie "Dirty Dancing," recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes in 1987. Twenty-three years later, The Black Eyed Peas went to town on this song, mixing it into their 'Dirty Bit' version. True to their musical style, the Peas made 'Dirty Bit' into a party-ready, electro-pop sounding, upbeat tune. While it retains most of the lyrics and the melody of the original, they are different enough to not be confused for each other after the first few seconds. 'Dirty Bit' is the essence of a good remix-- a switch of styles, a catchy new spin on the original beat, and in this case, a heaping spoonful of electronic goodness. Hopefully you enjoyed New Spins Week. If anyone has an idea for a new theme week, or a song they want me to use, let me know! Have a good weekend, and enjoy the song!

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Entry 58-- New Spins Week, Part 5: "The Time (Dirty Bit)"

New Spins Week, Part 5
Song: "The Time (Dirty Bit)"
Artist: The Black Eyed Peas
Spin on: "Time of my Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
http://youtu.be/JwQZQygg3Lk (Spin)
http://youtu.be/QUoDaCH1MJM (Original)
Comments: Sorry I'm running a tad late today; I promise this won't become a regular occurance. This song was originally written for the movie "Dirty Dancing," recorded by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes in 1987. Twenty-three years later, The Black Eyed Peas went to town on this song, mixing it into their 'Dirty Bit' version. True to their musical style, the Peas made 'Dirty Bit' into a party-ready, electro-pop sounding, upbeat tune. While it retains most of the lyrics and the melody of the original, they are different enough to not be confused for each other after the first few seconds. 'Dirty Bit' is the essence of a good remix-- a switch of styles, a catchy new spin on the original beat, and in this case, a heaping spoonful of electronic goodness. Hopefully you enjoyed New Spins Week. If anyone has an idea for a new theme week, or a song they want me to use, let me know! Have a good weekend, and enjoy the song!

Download

Entry 57-- New Spins Week, Part 4: "Feeling Good"

New Spins Week, Part 4
Song: "Feeling Good"
Artist: Muse
Spin on: "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone
http://youtu.be/5PN6egPgazA (Spin)
http://youtu.be/h8tuTSi6Sck (Original)
Comments: Sorry about the late post, everyone-- I'm pretty sick. But enough about me, this is a blog about music. Today's music: the song "Feeling Good." As best as I can tell, this song was originally done by Nina Simone, and covered by more artists than I care to name. (If I'm wrong about the original artist, let me know, and I'll post a correction.) Of all the versions and covers that I've encountered, I prefer the one by Muse. The megaphone used in the vocals is a nice touch, and I think it sounds really, really cool. I'd be interested to see if anyone reading this has a version of this song they like better. If you know a cover or a spin on this song you think people should hear, let me know and I'll pass it along. As a side note, the version I posted was recorded live at Wembley Stadium. If you want to hear the official, studio-perfect music video version, you can find it at http://youtu.be/CmwRQqJsegw. Enjoy the music!

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Entry 57-- New Spins Week, Part 4: "Feeling Good"

New Spins Week, Part 4
Song: "Feeling Good"
Artist: Muse
Spin on: "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone
http://youtu.be/5PN6egPgazA (Spin)
http://youtu.be/h8tuTSi6Sck (Original)
Comments: Sorry about the late post, everyone-- I'm pretty sick. But enough about me, this is a blog about music. Today's music: the song "Feeling Good." As best as I can tell, this song was originally done by Nina Simone, and covered by more artists than I care to name. (If I'm wrong about the original artist, let me know, and I'll post a correction.) Of all the versions and covers that I've encountered, I prefer the one by Muse. The megaphone used in the vocals is a nice touch, and I think it sounds really, really cool. I'd be interested to see if anyone reading this has a version of this song they like better. If you know a cover or a spin on this song you think people should hear, let me know and I'll pass it along. As a side note, the version I posted was recorded live at Wembley Stadium. If you want to hear the official, studio-perfect music video version, you can find it at http://youtu.be/CmwRQqJsegw. Enjoy the music!

Download

Entry 56-- New Spins Week, Part 3: "Clocks"

New Spins Week, Part 3
Song: "Clocks"
Artist: Royksopp
Spin on: "Clocks" by Coldplay
http://youtu.be/OVPJMMwzIC8 (Spin)
http://youtu.be/vKw7yvoZ-Tg (Original)
Comments: Unlike the first two songs featured in this series, this song is a straight remix-- no sampling, no vocal alterations, just a pure remix of an existing song. I'm a pretty harsh critic of remixes, and finding one that I actually like is generally impossible, but this remix pulls it off with amazing style. Enjoy!

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Entry 56-- New Spins Week, Part 3: "Clocks"

New Spins Week, Part 3
Song: "Clocks"
Artist: Royksopp
Spin on: "Clocks" by Coldplay
http://youtu.be/OVPJMMwzIC8 (Spin)
http://youtu.be/vKw7yvoZ-Tg (Original)
Comments: Unlike the first two songs featured in this series, this song is a straight remix-- no sampling, no vocal alterations, just a pure remix of an existing song. I'm a pretty harsh critic of remixes, and finding one that I actually like is generally impossible, but this remix pulls it off with amazing style. Enjoy!

Download

Entry 55-- New Spins Week, Part 2: "The Show Goes On"

New Spins Week, Part 2
Song: "The Show Goes On"
Artist: Lupe Fiasco
Spin on: "Float On" by Modest Mouse
http://youtu.be/Rmp6zIr5y4U (Spin)
http://youtu.be/CTAud5O7Qqk (Original)
Comments: This is not the first time I've mentioned the original song in this entry-- I covered it way back in Entry 31 (http://stuckinmyskull.blogspot.com/2011/08/entry-31-float-on.html). At the time, I was apprehensive and not totally convinced of the value of this spin. Sure, it has a feel-good message that a bunch of people out there undoubtedly benefit from and need to hear, but I wasn't sure if it musically lived up to the awesomeness of the original. After some consideration-- and a lot of time in which this song grew on me-- I've decided it does. This song is interesting as a spin because, unlike several of the songs that I'm going to use this week, it doesn't vocally sample the original, and edits the beats it does sample quite a bit. But I digress from my music nerd spiel-- enjoy the song!

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Entry 55-- New Spins Week, Part 2: "The Show Goes On"

New Spins Week, Part 2
Song: "The Show Goes On"
Artist: Lupe Fiasco
Spin on: "Float On" by Modest Mouse
http://youtu.be/Rmp6zIr5y4U (Spin)
http://youtu.be/CTAud5O7Qqk (Original)
Comments: This is not the first time I've mentioned the original song in this entry-- I covered it way back in Entry 31 (http://stuckinmyskull.blogspot.com/2011/08/entry-31-float-on.html). At the time, I was apprehensive and not totally convinced of the value of this spin. Sure, it has a feel-good message that a bunch of people out there undoubtedly benefit from and need to hear, but I wasn't sure if it musically lived up to the awesomeness of the original. After some consideration-- and a lot of time in which this song grew on me-- I've decided it does. This song is interesting as a spin because, unlike several of the songs that I'm going to use this week, it doesn't vocally sample the original, and edits the beats it does sample quite a bit. But I digress from my music nerd spiel-- enjoy the song!

Download

Entry 54-- New Spins Week, Part 1: "Stronger"

New Spins Week, Part 1
Song: "Stronger"
Artist: Kanye West
Spin on: "Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger" by Daft Punk
http://youtu.be/PsO6ZnUZI0g (Spin)
http://youtu.be/gAjR4_CbPpQ (Original)
Comments: Welcome to New Spins week-- a five-day series of awesome remixes and the songs they came from. Today's song-- Kanye West's "Stronger", a mix on the Daft Punk song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger."
Now, there's a story here. I used to truly hate "Stronger." I was always saying "Kanye got ahold of a Daft Punk song and screwed it up, and now people like his piece of crap better." I got over that, for a few reasons. First, I grew up. Second, I quit hating Kanye and his entire genre. Third and most importantly, I realized that starting at 0:45, Kanye is thanking Daft Punk in song for the original version. Having gotten over my hate, I started really enjoying this song, and I hope that you will too.

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Entry 54-- New Spins Week, Part 1: "Stronger"

New Spins Week, Part 1
Song: "Stronger"
Artist: Kanye West
Spin on: "Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger" by Daft Punk
http://youtu.be/PsO6ZnUZI0g (Spin)
http://youtu.be/gAjR4_CbPpQ (Original)
Comments: Welcome to New Spins week-- a five-day series of awesome remixes and the songs they came from. Today's song-- Kanye West's "Stronger", a mix on the Daft Punk song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger."
Now, there's a story here. I used to truly hate "Stronger." I was always saying "Kanye got ahold of a Daft Punk song and screwed it up, and now people like his piece of crap better." I got over that, for a few reasons. First, I grew up. Second, I quit hating Kanye and his entire genre. Third and most importantly, I realized that starting at 0:45, Kanye is thanking Daft Punk in song for the original version. Having gotten over my hate, I started really enjoying this song, and I hope that you will too.

Download