A little Black Kids on the remix for you. So I’ll be honest, when the Black Kids released their debut album, Partie Traumatic (love the name), earlier this year, I wasn’t all that impressed, despite the rave reviews and love from all the cool kids [Ed. Note: er, us]. However, when I heard their songs remixed, I loved what I was listening to.
“I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You”
Such a simple statement, yet it conveys so much. I think we’ve all been in such a situation, coveting someone with a significant other, where we know we do some things better and therefore must be more worthwhile, and in the world of indie kids, that something is dancing. Don’t give your trump card away, that’s what the Black Kids are saying. This is a colorful song, it starts off with light, quick distorted guitar strumming and is soon aided by a flourishing of sounds; playful synthesizers that sound like strings, solid, firm drumming, heavy bass and cheer like shouts “Dance! Dance! Dance!” It sure as hell is catchy with a technicolor of sounds.
The Twelves Remix
Joao Miguel and Luciano Oliveira a.k.a. The Twelves, from Rio de Janeiro, really shake things up here. They infuse disco and electro into this song and give it a jump start. The Twelves lay down an impressive electro-dance riff, which becomes the focal point of the tune. Think Discovery Daft Punk; funky, rock synths that make this track the dance floor mover that it was intended to be.
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80 Kidz Remix
Childlike, bouncy, fun and youthful. That’s what this remix is all about. A little slower than the Twelves Remix and not fast paced enough to make it dance floor appropriate, but definitely apt for bedroom dancing. When this track starts you’ll be shaking and bopping your head around and singing a long to the doo wopping in the intro. This remix throws in a funk bass line, bouncing piano notes, and is that strings in the background? I think so. That adds an almost symphonic flavor to the track. With this remix the song becomes bigger, fuller and more lush.
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“Hurricane Jane”
Oh Jane, the opposite to “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend…”. Where “I’m Not Gonna” was the fast paced, fizz popping, energy rocker, “Hurricane Jane” is the laid back come down from that wild party. Slow and mysterious, yet sleek. This song is driven by its staccato guitar riff; intriguing and thick. Layered over this is the slow dripping bass line, funk filled synths and wistful girl backing vocals that whisper “You can’t spend the night” before Blacks Kids front man Reggie Youngblood’s vocals burst into the opulent chorus, singing with anguish and frustration, “It’s Friday night and I ain’t got nobody.”
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The Twelves Remix
The Twelves are back again. I guess they’re fans of the Black Kids or just find their 80s flavored, catchy tunes to be great templates for their masterful engineering. Either way, another opus, taking the original and making it something much more worthwhile. Of course they speed it up to make it danceable, they take away the indie rock aspects of the songs (mainly guitars) and slap on a heavy hitting drum line that beats like a heart. Under that they layer some heavier synths to shape the electronic feel of the mix.
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MGMT Remix
This is a very strange remix of the track, and frankly I was expecting a lot more from MGMT. They basically stripped everything off this song and it sounds so bare boned it feels eerie. The vocals are just audible enough, the staccato guitar riffs are left throughout, but the rest of the song sounds like a haze of silent sounds. MGMT did put in a soft drum machine effect to the song, which gives it some character, otherwise I’d have to say this remix is pretty lifeless.
website | myspace | Oracular Spectacular review | lollapalooza 2008 | austin city limits 2008 | interview with
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Beige Remix
This is definitely the most powerful of the remixes. It kick starts your heart with a throbbing bass that pile drives through the rest of the song aided with an equally smart and heavy hitting programmed drum beat. And that’s pretty much the remix for you. The staccato guitar riff is in place but altered enough to have an echo-y dance hall vibe. This also leaves enough room for Youngblood’s voice to sing in the frustration of the lyrics. And of course, 80s style synthesizers are featured to give it that little extra electronic spacey feel.
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Black Kids: website | myspace | Partie Traumatic review | @ first unitarian church
Oh Al, leave it to you to find a way to tie in MGMT and Black Kids all in one post! Great write-ups and the pics look hot. However, I prefer the original the best this time… is that terrible? It’s almost as great as the song title, lol.
haha, thanks! my fav is the twelve mix! love it!