The 15 Best Remixes Of 2011

Many of these songs are in my proper tracks of the year countdown, so here’s a no-frills look at the very best remixes of 2011.

15. YOKO ONO Talking To The Universe (Ralphi Rosario Vocal Mix)
14. DARREN HAYES Talk Talk Talk (Out Of Talk) (Hall & Oates Mix)
13. KE$HA Blow (Cirkut Remix)
12. LADY GAGA Judas (Goldfrapp Remix)
11. NICOLA ROBERTS Beat Of My Drum (Loverush UK! Radio Mix)

10. EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL Missing (Fedde Le Grand Remix – Radio Edit)
9. DAFT PUNK The Grid (The Crystal Method Remix)
8. YOKO ONO Move On Fast (Rich Morel Vocal)
7. KYLIE MINOGUE Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love) (Pete Hammond Radio Edit)
6. ADELE Set Fire To The Rain (Moto Blanco Edit)

5. BRITNEY SPEARS ft. NICKI MINAJ & KE$HA Till The World Ends (Femme Fatale Remix)
4. HURTS Sunday (Seamus Haji Remix – Radio Edit)
3. KELLY ROWLAND ft. LIL’ WAYNE Motivation (Diplo Remix)
2. MICHAEL JACKSON Hollywood Tonight (DJ Chuckie Radio Edit)

1. DARREN HAYES Black Out The Sun (7th Heaven Club Remix) 

The Top 16 Reissues/Compilations/Remix/Live/Other Albums Of 2011, 10-6

10. STEPS The Ultimate Collection

The most unexpected comeback of the year belonged to Steps, who returned with this – basically a redo of their Gold compilation with a bonus DVD – and topped the UK album charts thanks to an entertaining reality show that chronicled their reunion. While they never ever came close to their idols ABBA, this reminded me of how many great singles they had. ’5, 6, 7, 8′, ‘Last Thing On My Mind’, ‘One For Sorrow’, ‘Tragedy’, ‘Better Best Forgotten’, ‘Deeper Shade Of Blue’, ‘Summer Of Love’ and ‘Chain Reaction’ all sound fantastic, and fantastically dated. Their newly recorded cover of ‘Dancing Queen’ was a nice bonus curiosity, too.

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9. LADY GAGA Born This Way: The Remix

Gaga’s Born This Way, which will appear time and time again in these end of year lists, was one of the albums of the year and this remix album furthered the campaign by redoing some (but not all) of the songs in the style of Goldfrapp, Hurts, Foster The People, The Horrors, Michael Woods and others. While none of these mixes were a revelation, it was interesting to hear some of the songs I played to absolute death in 2011 chopped and screwed until they were, in some cases, unrecognisable.

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8. KE$HA I Am The Dance Commander + I Command You To Dance: The Remix Album

Ke$ha released a masterpiece in Animal, and the hits from that classic are mixed into an absolute frenzy on this, her first remix album. The explosive new mix of ‘Blow’, Dave Audé’s brilliant ‘Your Love Is My Drug’, ‘The Sleazy Remix’ and the new track ‘Fuck Him He’s A DJ’ were standouts but the whole collection was strong, exciting and continued Ke$ha’s unbroken run of flawlessness.

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7. DAFT PUNK Tron Legacy: Reconfigured

The soundtrack for Tron: Legacy was a colossal triumph for Daft Punk, and it was a clear highlight of 2010, so naturally this remix album was one of my most anticipated releases of 2011. The Crystal Method version of ‘The Grid’ was my personal favourite but The Glitch Mob’s ‘Derezzed’ and Boys Noise’s ‘End Of Line’ were also perfection.

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6. PETER GABRIEL New Blood

Peter Gabriel’s New Blood followed in the footsteps of his musical soulmate Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut, as he re-recorded and re-imagined older songs from his back catalogue, recording them with an orchestra. The result was an atmospheric journey through his catalogue, from hits like ‘Red Rain’ and ‘Solsbury Hill’ to lesser known songs like ‘Darkness’ and ‘Intruder’. At least while we continue the decade-long wait for a new studio album, these side projects are an entertaining and valuable addition to Gabriel’s discography.

Album Review: Daft Punk – TRON Legacy: Reconfigured

Daft Punk’s score for TRON Legacy turned a very mediocre film into a fairly entertaining one, and the soundtrack was one of my favourite albums of 2010. The news that the album would be re-released as a remix album with appearances from some of the biggest names in electronica filled me with possibly even more excitement than the original score announcement did. These songs – especially powerful mini-masterpieces like ‘The Grid’, ‘Derezzed’ and ‘End Of Line’ – are perfectly suited for full-on dance floor treatment, and this collection does not disappoint.

Like the original album, there are no moments that completely overshadow the rest of the songs, this is a pretty amazing ride from start to finish. It all moves together as an individual piece, even though this is the work of many artists rather than just one. The Crystal Method takes ‘The Grid’ into new places, Paul Oakenfold turns ‘C.L.U.’ into one of his trademark club stompers, and ‘Derezzed’ becomes even more interesting and exciting than it was in the first place, through mixes by The Glitch Mob and Avicii.

Even those are just random selections to demonstrate how this pushes the score into new territory – it would be impossible to pick stand-out tracks as the whole thing is a highlight. It’s not a better listen than the original, but it comes close. Even when the novelty of hearing the familiar pieces in a new way wears off, I think TRON Legacy: Reconfigured will remain one of the most adventurous and exciting pure dance albums I’ve heard in recent years.

7/10

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #80-71

RIHANNA ft. EMINEM

‘Love The Way You Lie Part II’

from the album Loud

Who would have thought that eighteen months or so after the Chris Brown incident, Rihanna would be singing “I guess I’m just a masochist”, on the part II of her song about domestic violence… that she made with Eminem? The second installment of ‘Love The Way You Lie’ focuses more on Rihanna’s chorus melody, and expands it into a brilliant full song, featuring one of her best vocal performances. When Eminem appears, like a ghost from the ashes of the first part, it is perhaps more affecting and powerful than any of the original.

KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)’

from the album Aphrodite

I think it was widely expected that this would be the third single from Aphrodite, but it was passed over in favour of ‘Better Than Today’. If they get to four singles (and let’s face it, if X can get five worldwide, we can have four from this one), ‘Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)’ is an obvious choice. This album was a bit more reflective and melancholy than past Kylie albums, despite at first sounding very “up” (we’ll explore that a bit later), but ‘Put Your Hands Up’ is truly happy, and as Kylie tells us that we’re gonna have fun “no matter what”, you really believe her.

CHERYL COLE

‘Promise This’

from the album Messy Little Raindrops

I really quite liked both of Cheryl’s solo albums, and have loved all of her singles so far – none of them were groundbreaking stuff but ’3 Words’ especially was a risk, and more adventurous than anybody wants to give her credit for. ‘Promise This’ is more straightforward, but it ticks all the boxes: nice enough vocals, big chorus, FRENCH BIT, excellent video. It’s almost a little lesson in how to make a hit single in 2010, even including a little nod to dramas in the real life of the popstar (‘Promise This’ was initially claimed to be about Cheryl’s malaria scare, but all it ended up being was some bits about dying before she wakes). This deserves a place on this list just for that chicken wing dance move from the video.

DAFT PUNK

‘Derezzed’

from the album TRON Legacy: Original Soundtrack

In which Daft Punk from 1997 invade Daft Punk of 2010. The TRON Legacy score is a black-tie event with all orchestras and stuff up until ‘Derezzed’, which is full of the swizzling, swirling beats and rhythms that made this duo famous. It is, of course, the best stand-alone part of the score, but also manages to work really well in context and pushes the album into exciting new directions halfway through, making sure that it never gets tedious or repetitive.

MARIAH CAREY

‘Oh Santa!’

from the album Merry Christmas II You

This song makes me happier than that pervy snowman. Bells, chanting, memories of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’! What more could you possibly want or need from a Mariah Carey Christmas song? The Jump Smokers Edit is amazing too, and makes me pine for a third holiday album from Mariah: Christmas On A Dance Floor.

KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Better Than Today’

from the album Aphrodite

Back on ‘Some Kind Of Bliss’ from 1997, Kylie Minogue sang that “every day is all there is”. But here in 2010, she sings “we just want tomorrow to be better than today” – there’s a tiny bit of sadness in ‘Better Than Today’, even if the music is upbeat and the chorus is catchy. On ‘Some Kind Of Bliss’ she was young and free but on ‘Better Than Today’ she is resigned to hoping for some freedom in the future. There’s a hint of that desperation that made ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ and ‘What Do I Have To Do?’ such amazing pop singles, and while this doesn’t quite scale those heights, it adds a different, slightly darker tone to Aphrodite.

ARTISTS FOR HAITI

‘We Are The World 25′

Opinion you saw coming a mile off alert: I think ‘We Are The World’ is one of the best songs ever. And I don’t think any cover will beat the original. But ‘We Are The World 25′, despite getting very bad reviews, just has too many amazing things happening with too many amazing people involved that I can’t be offended. Plus, it helps that it is very good. I don’t even mind that Justin Bieber sings the opening lines. I mean, look at what we have here: Janet Jackson singing with her recently passed brother, Barbra Streisand blowing everybody else out of the water and then immediately being followed in the lineup by Miley Cyrus, T-Pain and his autotuned contribution, Pink being generally amazing, Celine Dion (who is one of the greatest people to ever walk the planet, my banner above is a tribute to this fact) finally getting the chance to sing with her idol Fergie, the whole rap section in the middle that will either bring a smile to your face or give you a seizure depending on how you feel about hip-hop. There are so many questions: did they anticipate how people would react? Did they expect it to turn out this good even though all the signs pointed to it being terrible? Where was Cyndi Lauper to “YAH YAH YAH” over everything like she did in the original? Most importantly, what would Michael think? Well, as Michael’s representative on earth, my verdict is in: we approve of this hot mess.

DUCK SAUCE

‘Barbra Streisand’

It seems so simple, yet so genius. “Oooo-oooooo-oooooooo-ooooo-oooh. Oooo-oooooo-oooooooo-ooooo-oooh. BARBRA STREISAND”. I’m a sucker for repetitive dance tracks – I’ve played ‘Robot Rock’, ‘Satisfaction’ and ‘Destroy Rock And Roll’ to death over the years – and ‘Barbra Streisand’ is no exception. From the oooo-ing to the Babs-in-a-boat from the video, everything about this was fun and exciting and a little bit ridiculous.

KE$HA

‘We R Who We R’

from the album Cannibal

A worthy sequel to ‘Tik Tok’, ‘We R Who We R’ is a euphoric, dirty, beat driven single from a singer who specialises in them. Once again describing everything about her look and her night out, Ke$ha tells us that we’re “going hard”, and then she proceeds to go hard in that amazing chorus. When she says “we’ll be forever young”, it pretty much sums up everything great about Ke$ha and her schtick.

M.I.A.

‘Born Free’

from the album Maya

I’m not a huge fan of Maya but ‘Born Free’ probably sent my expectation up so far that no album could meet them. That video aside, ‘Born Free’ is like Yoko Ono meets Marilyn Manson meets that time Melanie C went rock. Sounds like the worst thing ever, is actually really great. You get the feeling M.I.A. is quite uncomfortable with wealth and celebrity, and she puts all the everywoman she has in her into ‘Born Free’, drowning herself in beats and drums and processed vocals. “I was booooooooooooorn FREE! B-B-BORN FREE” is one of my favourite little moments of 2010.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #90-81

DAFT PUNK

‘The Game Has Changed’

from the album TRON Legacy: Original Soundtrack

One of the most thrilling little sections of the album, ‘The Game Has Changed’ charges forward in a storm of drums and strings, with electronic effects poured in at just the right times to make it all the more exciting. This perfectly captures tension and intensity, portraying a whole range of emotions and making this a clear highlight of a fantastic record.

LADY ANTEBELLUM

‘American Honey’

from the album Need You Now

This shares many elements with ‘Need You Now’ without sounding like a retread at all: the intertwined males and female voices, the pop approach with charming countrified twang, the impressive and catchy melody. It was a no-brainer for second single and became their third straight country number one and third straight single to reach the top thirty of the Hot 100. And they would have been the country crossover story of the year, if it wasn’t for that pesky Taylor Swift.

T.I. ft. CHRISTINA AGUILERA

‘Castle Walls’

from the album No Mercy

Oh boo hoo. That was my initial reaction to ‘Castle Walls’, in which T.I. and Christina Aguilera lament the life of the rich and famous, which really isn’t a subject many of us can relate to (although I’m sure it’s fascinating for them). I don’t think it will hurt this in the long run though, because as soon as you get past the theme you’ll find a worthy sequel to the melacholy classics that came from Paper Trail, ‘Live Your Life’ and ‘Dead And Gone’. Christina gives one of her most understated and emotional vocal performances, and shows a side of her voice that we don’t hear enough. In the grand tradition of ‘Love The Way You Lie’ and ‘Airplanes’, expect ‘Castle Walls’ to dominate radio in early 2011.

RIHANNA ft. DRAKE

‘What’s My Name?’

from the album Loud

This is the closest Rihanna has come to the light atmosphere of ‘If It’s Lovin’ That You Want’ and ‘We Ride’ since we all stood under her umbrella in 2007. ‘Rude Boy’ had the vibe, but it was still so aggressive. Here, she gives the man a chance to “go downtown” without forcibly pushing his head down there and then slapping him across the face with a giant dildo. No, it’s much more relaxed this time, and while Drake’s verse is still perplexing after multiple listens, ‘What’s My Name?’ will be remembered as the purest fun to be had on a Rihanna single since about 2006.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA

‘You Lost Me’

from the album Bionic

I love ‘Not Myself Tonight’ but this was still such a joy to hear as second single. In the grand tradition of ‘Hurt’, ‘Beautiful’, ‘I Turn To You’ and ‘The Voice Within’, ‘You Lost Me’ is a big ballad that makes excellent use of Christina’s obvious talents without shoving them down our collective throat. When I first heard Bionic I felt like ‘You Lost Me’ was just another one of the slowies, but it soon presented itself to be a truly amazing song, well written and with an almost perfect vocal performance.

ANNIE LENNOX

‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’

from the album A Christmas Cornucopia

I’d listen to Annie Lennox sing her own shopping list so it comes as no surprise that A Christmas Cornucopia was a joy to behold. Basically every track is a standout because they all employ that wonderful voice but ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ is especially rich and beautiful, with big drums and big booming Annie and big everything else. Let’s face it, there aren’t many vocalists in pop these days that match her for versatility or pure raw talent. God bless ye Annie Lennox.

B.o.B. ft. HAYLEY WILLIAMS & EMINEM

‘Airplanes Part II’

from the album B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray

The subject of much derision and parody across 2010, ‘Airplanes’ was a huge, huge hit, and is actually a very good song if you look past the overplayed hook (which is still really great even after all that overexposure). As I’ve shown in my love for ‘Castle Walls’ and will show in my love for ‘Love The Way You Lie’, I adore the sad-rapper-sad-female-popstar formula and it is yet to get old for me, especially when the songs are as good as this. Part II is obviously superior to the original thanks to Eminem showing up and making everything that little bit better like he always does.

NICKI MINAJ

‘Girls Fall Like Dominoes’

from the album Pink Friday

Anchored by a huge Big Pink sample which drives the song along, ‘Girls Fall Like Dominoes’ is another chance for Nicki to brag about anything and everything, but you know what? I love listening to Nicki talk about how great she is, because I really believe it. With some other rappers it gets tedious but certain artists keep finding interesting ways to tell us about their strengths. From the namechecking of everyone from Madonna to Beyoncé to Grace Jones to the excellent production from J.R. Rotem, this is one of the best songs on Pink Friday, even if it is “just” a bonus track.

JAY-Z, RIHANNA, BONO & THE EDGE

‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)’

from the album Hope For Haiti Now

Hip-hop king Jay-Z, pop singer Rihanna and rock legends U2 (without the other two)? It seems like an unlikely combination but it works very well and symbolises the unity between genres that comes from an event like Hope For Haiti Now. Rihanna amusingly drowns out Bono a little bit but their joint vocals work very well, while the whole thing is brought together by Jay-Z’s verses. It’s great to hear a charity single that is not just a lazy cover. This was put together with a lot of thought by very talented people, and you can hear that clearly in the final product.

PINK

‘Fuckin’ Perfect’

from the album Greatest Hits… So Far!!!

Both singles from the Pink hits album have been outsider anthems for the ages. ‘Raise Your Glass’ was the one you scream along to, ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’ was made for nights when you feel extra melodramatic (i.e. every night for some of us). In the grand tradition of ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’, ‘Family Portrait’ and ‘Please Don’t Leave Me’, this wheels out desperate, strained (vocal-wise, I mean) Pink, the one who is sitting on the ground crying, wearing a big tutu-style dress and too much eyeliner like it’s 2002 all over again. All of these things are positives, and ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’ slots in easily with the other classics on Greatest Hits.

The 26 Best Albums Of 2010: #18. Daft Punk – TRON Legacy: Original Soundtrack

Released December 6, 2010

1. Overture
2. The Grid
3. The Son Of Flynn
4. Recognizer
5. Armory
6. Arena
7. Rinzler
8. The Game Has Changed
9. Outlands
10. Adagio For TRON
11. Nocturne
12. End Of Line
13. Derezzed
14. Fall
15. Solar Sailer
16. Rectifier
17. Disc Wars
18. C.L.U.
19. Arrival
20. Flynn Lives
21. TRON Legacy (End Titles)
22. Finale
iTunes bonus tracks
23. Father And Son
24. Outlands, Part II
Amazon bonus track
23. Sea Of Stimulation
Special edition bonus disc
1. ENCOM Part I
2. ENCOM Part II
3. Round One
4. Castor
5. Reflections

There are many reasons to be excited about this soundtrack. First of all, it is a new Daft Punk album, the first since 2005. Second of all, it is a film score, which means Daft Punk’s electronics will be mixed with orchestral motifs and it will be all sorts of epic. Third of all, it is really, really very good, and it makes me want to see the film as soon as possible despite having no previous connection to the TRON franchise in any way.

From the huge drums on ‘Rinzler’ to some shivers-down-the-spine shit on ‘The Grid’ to the flashes of ye olde Dafte Punke on ‘Derezzed’ to the incredible ‘The Game Has Changed’ to ‘Adagio For TRON’, which sounds nothing like anything this duo have ever done before, this soundtrack is a journey, and a story is told here that doesn’t even necessarily need visual accompaniment – although I’m certain this will become even better once I’ve seen the film. It all sounds so exciting, I haven’t been this enthralled by an almost-entirely-instrumental album since the Titanic soundtrack, and that was the first CD I bought, 13 years ago.

Is it possible that this is the way forward for Daft Punk? Have they done all they can do with house music, and are they ready to move on into more “sophisticated” areas, such as film scores? Could we be seeing more and more films with soundtracks by dance acts? Yogi Bear 2: soundtrack by Groove Armada? Harry Potter And The Dealthy Hallows Part 2: score composed by Calvin Harris? Whichever direction this leads us in, one thing is certain. Daft Punk’s TRON Legacy: Original Soundtrack is the future.