ms mr

Love this album artwork. Remix After All.

Love this album artwork. Not of this year, but it is Remix After All.

Transformation can do many things to an object. It can make something louder, quieter, bigger, smaller, heavier, lighter, darker, brighter, and so much more. The process of transformation is of some measure science, art, and parts unknown, and thus, cannot be coerced into formula. Remixes seek to transform, in some manner, the source material into something new, fresh, and vibrant. The best remixes do this, and also pave a bridge of familiarity to the original. Developing something new while maintaining some semblance of the old is an enormously difficult task, and that’s why it rarely happens.

If a remixer is smart, the simple act of picking the right song to treat will come with a certain amount of cache, and will garner a certain level of intrigue (read: there will be a built-in audience). But that doesn’t mean the remix will end up being good. So many are not. There are some though, that are good, and some, even better than that. Not only do they transform, they transcend: the source material, emotions, and every so often, time itself. To be lost in a piece of art where an entire dimension (time) ceases to exist is one of the joys of the artistic process, and indeed, one of the joys of this life.

To remix is to change. The best of the best though, remember to keep something of the original intact, whether it’s on the surface or buried deep beneath it. The great Roman poet Ovid, in his sprawling poem, “The Metamorphoses”, gives us an idea that serves as supreme directive for approaching remixes, “Omnia mutantur, nihil interit (everything changes, nothing perishes).”

Here are my Top 40 Remixes of 2013:

40. Postiljonen – All That We Had Is Lost (Keep Shelly In Athens Remix)

39. Britney Spears – Perfume (Cheiro De Quenga Remix)

This remix is brand-spanking new. If I had more time with it, I’d probably like it even more. As it stands now, it’s already one of my favourites.

38. Lady Gaga – Applause (Liam Keegan Bootleg Remix)

37. Mo – Pilgrim (Ms Mr Remix)

36. The 1975 – The City (No Ceremony Remix)

35. The Knife – Let’s Talk About Gender Baby… (Planningtorock Rework)

Even though this is a remix, it’s far and away the most playful tune associated with The Knife’s super-dense Shaking The Habitual. Planningtorock always bring that fire. This is a sneaky prancer of a remix.

34. Moby – The Perfect Life f. Wayne Coyne (Fuck Buttons Remix)

I prefer this remix to the original. A slow burner.

33. The Neighbourhood – Let It Go (Ghost Loft Remix)

32. Puscifer – Breathe (Drumcell Remix)

Drumcell really Donkey Punches The Night out of this remix.

31. Ms Mr – Hurricane (Chvrches Remix)

It’s not like Chvrches were busy or anything — they only crafted one of the best debut pop records of the past 10 years. Yet they still found time to do a few covers and remixes. Absurd hot streak.

30. Natalia Kills – Saturday Night (Gregori Klosman Remix)

One of two songs on my list to have two separate remixes make the cut. Klosman slays on this remix.

29. Hurts – Exile (Freemasons Club Mix)

28. Charli XCX – You (Ms Mr Remix)

27. Grouplove – Ways To Go (The Knocks Remix)

26. Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools (Blood Diamonds Remix)

Mike Tucker has been on quite a run the past 24 months or so. One of his best efforts here.

25. Lorde – Royals (The Weeknd Remix)

24. Metric – Artificial Nocturne (Love Thy Brother Remix)

23. The Colourist – Little Games (St. Lucia Remix)

22. The Saturdays – Disco Love (Starlab Disco Radio Edit)

21. Alt-j – Fitzpleasure (Betatraxx Remix)

A little bit industrial, a little bit Daft Punk, a little bit crazy.

Pop goes 2012 (or 2012 goes Pop, depending on your syntactical druthers) is one accurate way of describing the musical zeitgeist of the year. Like I always do, and have done since as long as I can recall, I’ve Embraced The Pop. From unadulterated teeny-bop pop, to sax pop, to Spurs’ Coach Pop, to soda pop, to synth pop, there’s been a tonne of pop to get cozy with recently. And the revelatory thing is that much of it has been really, really good. I can’t recall a year where so many “designed to hit” pop songs have been fantastic. Sure, some pop, maybe a whole bunch depending on the platform(s) from which you get your music, is lifeless and dull and space-clogging shite. But that goes for all music really, and of all forms of pop culture too. It saddens me a little that many people choose to focus on trite pop and paint the entire genre (or amalgam of sub-genres as it were) with an unnecessary-, superfluous-coloured brush. I love reading lists, and seeing what other people have found great in a given year, but it strikes me as uninteresting at best and dishonest at worst when lists that purport to be the “best of” an entire year make a point of ignoring so much from the jump. A great song is a great song, and can be so for a variety of reasons. My list is welcoming to all types of songs; I’ll take your coat, but you’ve got to bring your own hooks if you want to come inside.

2012 has been such a good year for music (the best I would say since I started thinking about listing songs back in 2006), that I’ve had to tweak the rules a little bit to shine a light on all the songs that deserve to have a light (however small) shone on them. I’ve decided to make my 2012 list The Year of Partnerships, or as 1997 would say, collabos. As such, many songs on this list have partner songs, just so I can fit in all of the year’s goodness without hating myself, so “Top 100” is a loose directive that’s massaged a few times during the proceedings. As far as the actual rankings go, the process was almost like throwing darts. A song that ranked in the 90’s could be argued for in the 20’s, and a song in the 60’s could be a top 10 song in another year. But this is not another year, this is 2012, the year where Psy Gangnam-Styled his was into our hearts and ears, Mitt Romneyed his way into a solid 2nd place finish, Usain Bolted his way onto golden Olympus Mountain, Cats cemented their role as world policy deciders and undisputed internet champions, Felix Baumgartner jumped off the top rope for a massive Jimmy Superfly Snuka flying elbow, and the world ended in a Blaze of Glory, just like Bon Jovi Nostradamused, twenty-something years ago… which brings me back on point — I want to get this list out before literally, Pop Goes The World (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zUUtf7gOe8)

Here is the first part of my Top 100 Songs of 2012 list, beginning with tracks that fell just short.

Honourable mention: Alanis Morisette – Empathy; Alberta Cross – Lay Down; Animal Kingdom – Strange Attractor; Ben Howard – Only Love/Esmerelda; Boys Noize – Got It (f. Snoop Dogg/OS Snoop Lion); Breton – Jostle; The Boom Circuits – Everything and Nothing; California Wives – Purple; Chrome Canyons – Generations; Danny Brown – Grown Up; Eels – Peach Blossom; Flo Rida f. Sia – Wild Ones; Fun. – Some Nights; Future Islands – Crish (Javelin remixxx)/Cotton Flower; Green Day – Let Yourself Go/Fell For You/Wild One/Amy; How to Destroy Angels – On The Wing; Julio Bashmore – Troglodytes; Kate Boy – Northern Lights; Katy B. – Anywhere In The World; Kesha vs. The Beatles – Tik Tok Together; Lana Del Rey – Body Electric; Lawrence Arabia – Apple Pie Bed; Lifehouse f. Natasha Bedingfield – Between The Raindrops; Lioness – The Night; Linkin Park – Burn It Down/Castle Of Glass; The Lumineers – Ho Hey; Mac Miller – Donald Trump/Knock Knock; Madonna – Gang Bang; Major Lazer – Get Free; Maps & Atlases – Important/Fever; Morning Parade – Youth/Headlights; Mother Mother – Let’s Fall In Love; MYPET – Pays To Know; The Neighbourhood – Sweater Weather; Nicki Minaj – Freedom; One Direction – One Thing/More Than This/I Wish/Tell Me A Lie/Stole My Heart; Our Lady Peace – Heavyweight; Parade – Light Me Up; Passenger – Let Her Go; Phantogram – Don’t Move; Plants and Animals – Lightshow; Purity Ring – Obedear; Red Hot Chili Peppers – Magpies On Fire; Santigold – Disparate Youth; Six Organs of Admittance – Hold But Let Go; Schoolboy Q – There He Go; The Tallest Man on Earth – Leading Me Now; Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards; Tomas Barfod f. Nina Kinert – November Skies; The Tragically Hip – At Transformation/About This Map; Twin Shadow – Five Seconds; Villagers – Nothing Arrived; The Wanted – Glad You Came; Walk The Moon – Anna Sun; Yacht Club – Flash; Zammuto – YAY; Donkeyboy – Caught In a Life.

100. a) A.C. Newman – I’m Not Talking