ashley breathe: single ladies remix.

dl: Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (Ashley Breathe remix) (alt)

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It's a shame that my favorite apocalyptic remixer GotdioN appears to be hibernating, as I'd imagine his take on Beyonce's "Single Ladies" would magnify the angry woman power vibe of the original. Luckily I came across Ashley Breathe's take on the tune, the over-caffeinated sister to Tricky Stewart's track.

You may remember producer and songstress Ashley Breathe from "Body and Soul", a track that was mistaken as a Britney Spears comeback track a while back. After listening to tracks off of Brit's new album Circus back to back with some of Breathe's tracks, it's clear that Ms. "Queen of Pop" Spears could learn a thing or two about confidence from dear ol' Ashley.

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BONER TRACK: ERYKAH BADU - Bag Lady (GotdioN remix) (alt)

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- SPACE IT -

gotdion: britney remix.

dl: BRITNEY SPEARS - Break The Ice (GotdioN remix) (YSI)
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Months ago, I was standing in a Hudson News at Penn Station when some British woman began ranting-- "These stupid Americans! They just worship her!" While nearly shouting this, she pawed at all the magazines with Britney Spears on the cover. I really wanted to grab this lady and be like, "Do you not see that every one of these magazines is depicting her in a negative sense?" Perhaps she operated under the "all press is good press" philosophy, in which the tabloids' giving Spears exposure was some sort of "worship". Or she was just dumb.

But maybe she was prophetic? With barely any promotion and an awful performance at the MTV VMAs, Blackout sold 2 million copies worldwide. By "barely any promotion", I mean that the majority of the promotion was provided by Britney's constant spot on newsstands for being a complete wreck-- a superstar gone wrong. While this tabloid-fueled 2 million may seem scant, consider the state of the music industry!*

"Gimme More" and "Piece of Me" broke into the US top ten, keeping Spears relevant for her stripper antics and usage of the word "derriere" in a pop song. And then, while Spears was too much of a wreck to even appear in her own video, they released "Break The Ice". Really? Maybe it's just me, but this was one of my least favorite songs on the album. Why didn't they just throw T-Pain onto a remix of "Hot As Ice"? "Toy Soldier"? "Radar"? "Get Naked"? Something remotely catchy? I'm clearly not the only one who wasn't digging this song, as it hasn't even come close to charting as high as the previous singles...

Given my disdain for this song, you can imagine that I wasn't overly pumped when I received a message from GotdioN that he remixed it. Oddly enough though, "Break The Ice" is almost good now? GotdioN's take allows the song to move forward more than the original, and it's poppier than all the shitty dance mixes I've heard elsewhere. The verdict from people who (probably) like the song seems to be that this shit is "hot", even if the man himself mentions that it's held back by "a few timing issues with the vocals".

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BONER TRACK: TIGARAH - Everything (GotdioN remix) (YSI)
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- SPACE IT -

* And the fact that Spears isn't a particularly good singer and has completely obliterated her reputation for making up for it with performances...

gotdion: drama.

dl: ALANIS MORISSETTE, DIZZEE RASCAL, LUPE FIASCO, LUDACRIS - Drama (Part II GotdioN mix) (YSI)
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As odd as it seems, it's been nearly a year since the internet was ablaze about a certain video of a certain Canadian singer-songwriter reinterpreting a certain hit by The Black Eyed Peas. And as odd as it seems, it's been months since you've seen anything from GotdioN on this blog. He's been featured here so often that it's almost beyond odd.

Even odder is GotdioN's reinterpretation of Alanis Morissette's reinterpretation of "My Humps". GotdioN brought together the "You don't want no drama" vocals (from this very youtube video) with his trademark apocolyptic sound and three different rap verses. The results first appeared on his WTFD Volume 2 mixtape featuring Dizzee Rascal, Lupe Fiasco, and Andre 3000, while the revamped version appears on his new mixtape FTW Volume 2 with Ludacris in place of Andre 3000. Even if you can't get behind the sound of the song, you have to appreciate the concept. What if Alanis made a total Nelly Furtado hip-hoppy crossover?

The latest mixtape also features a diverse roster of remixes including JVonn, Yutaka Furukawa, AZ, Britney Spears, Tigarah, Keri Hilson, IllDotLogic, Garlic Bread, Beyonce, A Perfect Circle, Shenanigans, Ashlee Simpson, Chism, TandemPanda, Lupe Fiasco f/ Matthew Santos, and Jay-Z.

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BONER TRACK: ALANIS MORISSETTE, DIZZEE RASCAL, LUPE FIASCO, ANDRE 3000 - Drama (Part I GotdioN mix) (YSI)

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- SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

britney spears: gimme more remixes.

BRITNEY SPEARS may have been cool to post about a few weeks ago. Hell, maybe she's even cooler to post about right now. I'm not really down with the kids these days.

All I know is...Despite the MTV VMAs "disaster", Ms. Spears has rocketed to the number one spot in the iTunes music store, only two days after her single was released. It is also the number one ringtone. This is no indication of whether or not America actually likes Britney these days, but they can't hide that they're loving her new single. The iTunes Music Store tells no lies.*

Lips don't lie either. Word on the street is that this song is the shit. A possible skeptic (who is close-to-my-heart) contacted me through his iPhone** with this urgent message: "'gimme more' is shockingly good" None of us actually had faith in her to recover from the phase of the Federline, but I think she's surprising us a bit. Sure, the track didn't debut all too high on the charts...but I bet we'll see a jump with this digital release. But this isn't the reason I'm making this post. I have nothing to say about "Gimme More" that hasn't already been said. Few people can deny that this is a terribly addictive, lovable pop song. God bless Danja and Keri Hilson.

Now bring on out the remixes:

• BenG STFC remix-- I have no idea who BenG is, why his website doesn't work, why googling him only tells me that he remixed Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey, or why this remix is SO DAMN GOOD. The STFC stands for "strictly for the club", and while this version is not exactly any better for the clubs than the original...it has a simplicity and charm that I cannot get enough of.
• GotdioN remix-- I got this mix a while back, and it had to grow on me. As usual, GotdioN comes through with a mix that is adrenaline-rushed and nearly apocalyptic. The song becomes sexy in the creepiest way possible. I imagine a sex-starved, monstrous Britney prowling through a club, clawing through uneligible bachelors until she finds her prey. For some reason, I gyrate in my bed while listening to this. Was that TMI?
• Dirty Pop remix-- Blender picked up on this one, and apparently they think that Lil Wayne decided to "add a couple quick verses". I find this hilarious because they fully acknowledge that half of his verses are exactly the same as those on Enrique Iglesias' "Push"...yet they still think that Max Methods managed to get Lil Wayne in the studio for this unofficial remix. But this isn't a rant against Blender, for they make a very good point-- "Basically, this new "Gimme More" sounds like a Timbaland remix with Lil Wayne on it. We're not complaining." I'm not complaining either.
  

dl: BRITNEY SPEARS - Gimme More (BenG STFC remix) (YSI)
dl: BRITNEY SPEARS - Gimme More (GotdioN remix) (YSI)
dl: BRITNEY SPEARS f/ LIL WAYNE - Gimme More (Dirty Pop remix) (YSI)

Britney: buy it - site it - space it - wik it - hype it -
GotdioN: space it - hype it -
Max Methods: space it

* At least...I don't think it does. What has it been telling you?
**Why is this post coming off as a commercial for Apple?

gotdion: erykah badu remix.

GOTDION wowed me on this one.

I've been in a real music drought now that I've started my job, and I know it's a blogger faux-pas to post about a single artist/producer after only a short period of time...but I honestly don't give a fuck. I've been pumping this jam everywhere I go-- from my desk to my car, and I am proud to say that it is significantly better than his "Lip Gloss" remix.

Erykah Badu's "Bag Lady"* may be one of my favorite songs of all time, and it certainly is my favorite R&B video of all time (link). The simple multi-colored costuming, choreography, and sheer attitude of this video collectively blow me away for some reason. There's this great sincerity in both the song and the video** that only Ms. Badu possesses. To put it simply, Erykah Badu is kind of crazy. And I love her for it. She's got Badu-tude, and I can only dream of gaining this quality.

While I generally have considered most of GotdioN's best work to be remixes that are better than the original, "Bag Lady" doesn't fall into that category. It's not better than the original, it's a complete reinvention of the original. The heavy drums and drawling synth add an element of urgency to Badu's message to "pack light", contrasting with the smooth laziness of the originals. It would seem that an electro remix of Erykah would strip the song of its integrity, but instead it adds a new element of truth-- a harsh truth. It may not be the way Badu intended to deliver her message, but it totally works...and rocks while doing so.

* Both the radio mix and the album version. They're incredible.

** Thanks to wikipedia, I learned that this is largely because the entire video was shot on Mini DV digital video.

d/l: ERYKAH BADU- Bag Lady (GotdioN remix) (YSI)
(electro reinvention of R&B goddess)
- space it / buy it - site it - space it - hype it - wik it -

WEBBYVANDERQUACKIN': Speaking of remixes, there were some particularly good ones on the most recent Remix Sunday on Palms Out Sounds, particularly a great Valiant remix of The Roots.

gotdion: lip gloss remix.

GOTDION is back again with a remix of Lil Mama's "Lip Gloss", presumably off of his upcoming mixtape WTFD Vol. 2.

I'll make it known that this isn't my favorite remix by him, but that's probably because I'm a bit too obsessed with Leif's "Glossy Pop" (download at Chazology), Mashed Potatoes blend with The Knife, and a few others that are floating around. Beyond that, I'm just getting a little tired of "Lip Gloss". Don't get me wrong. It's great...but well, I just want to hear Lil Mama on a song that's a "lil" new. Sure, a few other songs leaked...including the rumored second single "Make It Hot", but if Lil Mama wants to be known as more than just "The 'Lip Gloss' Girl" she needs to step her game up, do something notable, and stop talking about make-up on her damn myspace. Hopefully her work with producer Swizz Beatz (Busta Rhymes "Touch It", Eve "Tambourine", Beyonce "Upgrade U") will be as exciting as "Lip Gloss" was when I first heard it. Right now, I can't say I've been impressed by the leaked stuff. I know, I know. I'm being way harsh on this 17 year old girl, but the reality of the situation is that she needs a bangalicious follow-up if she doesn't want to fall into the realm of one-hit-wonder.

Going back to the point of this post, GotdioN's mix gives the appropriate edge to Mama's aggressive "What you know 'bout me", however it may be a bit too aggressive for a song about beauty products. Take a listen and decide for yourself.

d/l: LIL MAMA- Lip Gloss (GotdioN remix) (YSI)
(aggressive pop-rap remix)
- space it / site it - space it - wik it - hype it -

gotdion: missy elliott remixes.

GOTDION's contributions to Masta & GotdioN present: Missy Elliott provide a tricky bunch for critique.

As a huge Missy Elliott fan, I was hesitant to listen to these tunes. GotdioN and Masta aren't just mixing Missy...They're mixing classic Missy from Supa Dupa Fly to This Is Not a Test! (any representation from The Cookbook is strangely missing).

I can't say that I was wrong to hesitate. On the majority of this album, the instrumentals have a tendency to overpower the vocals. While Masta and GotdioN are both influenced by Timbaland, their styles of production don't necessarily work on Missy. Of course, there are exceptions.

GotdioN's version of "Hot Boyz" transforms it from boring mid-tempo R&B jam to an apocalyptic electro-rock masterpiece. The frenetic beat suits Missy and Eve on their mission to acquire these so-called "hot boys", but the song isn't entirely perfect. While a repeated chorus of "keep it movin" literally helps to keep the song moving along, an added verse by Elephant Man sounds entirely out of place. Who invited Elephant Man to this party? Not I. He is not a hot boy. And he certainly did not have what I wanted.

I'm pretty sure that GotdioN wasn't really going for an end of the world/battleground vibe on this project. However, his mix of "4 My People" makes me feel as if an army of Missy Elliotts is marching towards me, ready to destroy me if I don't join their band of party people. When Missy screams "YO, I'M ON FIRE!", I'm convinced that she may actually be on fire. Admittedly, it's a little creepy.

d/l: MISSY ELLIOTT f/ EVE & ELEPHANT MAN- Hot Boyz (GotdioN mix) (YSI)
d/l: MISSY ELLIOTT- 4 My People (YSI)
(apocalyptic Missy Elliott remixes)
- dlo it - space it - hype it -

BLOGWATCH: La New Shit brings us an Sta remix of Yelle. Sta himself has a new mixtape on his own blog. The Rich Girls are Weeping shows some love for Lil Mama's "Lip Gloss" and gives us a taste of her remix of Rihanna's "Umbrella".

gotdion: remix, ciara's "like a boy".

GOTDION has been getting a lot of mentions on this blog, but that's because nearly every song he remixes tends to be better than the original.

"Like a Boy" has to be my least favorite song on Ciara: The Evolution. I seem to be one of few people who think she looks totally gorgeous dressed as a man in the video, yet I also seem to be one of few people who have extreme problems with the message of this song. I'm 100% behind female empowerment jams, songs about triflin' men, but I have no tolerance for the generalizations in this song. Here, the title itself implies that to be "like a boy" means that you have to lie, cheat, keep secrets, and play games. There are plenty of respectable boys in this world who don't do any of these things. I can't be mad at Ciara for this song. She is merely a performer, and the songwriters are none other than The Clutch, the people who brought you Mary J. Blige's "Take Me As I Am", LeToya Luckett's "She Don't", and Omarion's "Icebox". The Clutch are great at writing catchy R&B pop tunes, but I don't include "Like a Boy" in this category.

Rant aside, GotdioN's remix pops out the usual adrenaline-rushed beat that propels me out of my computer chair and gets me dancing around my room like a cracked-out Michael Jackson. I'm too busy dancing to pay attention to the lyrics, and even if I did...the song sounds appropriately angrier, to the point that I can forgive everyone involved for their problematic gender statements.

d/l: CIARA- Like a Boy (GotdioN remix) (YSI)
(energy-infused remix of a boring Ciara song)
- space it / buy it - site it - space it - hype it - wik it -

BLOGWATCH: Speaking of Ciara, Kevipod brings us "Do It" a bonus track off of the European edition of The Evolution. This song was produced by will.i.am and samples Salt 'N' Pepa's "Push It".

gotdion: kelis remix

download: KELIS- Get Along With You (GotdioN remix) (YSI)
(electro-rocked version of a sad R&B jam)
- space it - cop it - / buy it - site it - space it - wik it -

I've told you how much I love Kelis, so you can forget that. This post is really about GotdioN. He's underground, but he's been pushing out some of the best mainstream hip-hop/R&B remixes that I've heard in a long time. Check out this adrenaline-rushed remix of the second single off of Kaleidoscope by Kelis. Strangely, he says that this is one of his least favorite mixes...so maybe my ears are flawed on this one. Either way, make sure to cop his mixtapes on the space before he gets famous! You'll certainly be hearing more of his mixes here on THE MONEY SHOT.