#16: March Mixtape!

OK, so I know it's nearly April, but here's our mixtape for March. Loads of bangers in there, so get down!

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - D.A.N.C.E
Arcade FIre - Black Mirror (Quarterbar Remix)
Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Superprince Edit)
Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
The Ghost Frequency - Never Before Have I Seen A Man Alive That Looked So Exactly Like A Skeleton (Zombie Disco Squad Remix)
The Count & Sinden - Beeper (Fake Blood Remix with Kid Sister)
Kanye West - Flashing Lights (Diplo Remix)
Midfield General - Disco Sirens (Them Jeans Edit)
Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up (DJ Ayres Remix)
Black Kids - I'm not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you (The Twelves Remix)
The Wombats - Bleeding Love



Download here.

#15: Back So Soon?

Yup that's right, two posts in one night, and with good reason.

While I've been working out how to put into words my love for The Twelves remix of Black Kids and my props to the work previous Shoplifters post stars The Shoes (read more here) have done on the Mystery Jets ace single, my partner in crime has already posted the tracks over at Black Country Grammar.

Therefore, this is but merely a sign-post, head over there now and download two of my favourite remixes of the moment... And Moby. Which I've not heard yet. Gracious, is that the time...

Hold steady,
JC

#14: Few & Far Between...

Ah, the club remix of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. Often attempted, rarely ever ever worth the effort.

However, Stockholm's Divide & Kreate seems to have made a half decent job of it which, if unleashed at just the right moment in a set and assuming all drunken parameters are set correctly and all 'ahem' limiters have been overridden, could safely hurdle the cheese barrier and hit the mark.

Essentially, in amongst all the dross, this is pretty good and worth having, yknow, just in case...

A bit of knowledge on its creator: D&K is Swedish. It's one guy. And his ego. Apparently. He's been remixing and creating mash-ups of decent quality since 2007. Check out his Myspace here, get more info over at Some Assembly Required and download the re-re-remix below...

MP3 Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Divide & Kreate Mix)

Hold steady
JC

PS Regardless of everything I've said above, steer clear of the Jolene remix on his MySpace. Un fromage trop loin. Watch this instead... Yup, just when you think you're bored of the track, the ballet shoes return to hook you back in.

#13: I Can Hear Tha Sirens Coming...

Over at my DJ partner-in-crime Grammar's other blog Black Country Grammar he's been discussing the various virtues of Midfield General's 'Disco Sirens'.

Announced by Radio 1's Annie Mac as "Justice vs Soulwax... What happens when Justice and Soulwax make a track together" (um?) the track actually features on the General's 'General Dissaray' record (set to drop April 28) and features production from Xavier from Justice, mixing skillz from David Dewaele of Soulwax and vocals from Bumblebeez.

I'd also bet those are the sirens from Soulwax's Samantha Fu record 'Theme From Discotheque'...

Anyway, this being Shoplifters, we're interested in the remixes and there's a tidy package backing up the track from Boy 8-Bit, D.I.M. and Them Jeans.

My pick's the latter, but to be honest it's only a matter of time before it becomes the siren you love to hate as it gets rinsed to bits across the summer.

Hold Steady,
JC

MP3 Midfield General - Disco Sirens (Boy 8 Bit Short Vocal Mix)
MP3 Midfield General - Disco Sirens (D.I.M. remix)
MP3 Midfield General - Disco Sirens (Them Jeans edit)

#12: Flashing Lights

Mad Decent have posted up a Diplo remix of Kanye's 'Flashing Lights'. And guess what, it's alright. Check it out here.

EDIT The post has vanished from Mad Decent! Looks like someone shouldn't have
been posting. We'll re-up it later for you.

RE-EDIT The post has now reappeared. Have a listen here.

Tracklisting: Shoplifters #12, March 2008

Afternoon!

Thanks to all that came down for the twelfth Shoplifters at Manchester's salubrious Bay Horse boozer. Twas a top night despite the somewhat biblical weather outside...

Birthday Bash Alert!

Next month is the year anniversary of Shoplifters clubnight. We're planning something special so keep your eyes peeled for details.

Anyway, here's the tracklisting from the night (strictly remixes and covers naturally) including a few mp3s to keep you dancing.

Hold Steady,
JC

Shoplifters #12: Tracklisting

The Hold Steady - Against The Wind (Bob Seger Cover)
Radiohead - Videotapez (Amplive Remix feat. Del Tha Funky Homosapien)
Four Tet - As Serious As Your Life (Jaydee Remix)
Dynamics - Whole Lotta Love (Led Zep cover)
Late of the Pier - The Bears are Coming (Emporer Machine Remix)
Jose Gonzalez - Killing for Love (Todd Terje Remix)
Midlake - Roscoe (Justin Robertson Remix)
Modernaire - Fait tes Jeux (Hemme Fetale Remix)
Tegan & Sara - Walking With The Ghost (The Rentals Remix)
MP3 - Santogold - L.E.S Artistes (XXXChange Remix)
MP3 - Spoon - Don't You Evah (Diplo Remix)
MP3 - Hercules And Love Affair - Blind (Frankie Knuckles Remix)
MP3 - Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Superprince Edit)
Rachid Taha - Rock The Afrikkkkkkan Kasbah (Clash Cover)
DJ Blaqstarr - Shake It To The Ground (Air Jared Remix)
The Arcade Fire - Black Mirror (Quarterbar Remix)
Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
Klaxons - As Above, So Below (Justice Remix)
Roisin Murphy - You Know Me Better (Nightmoves Remix)
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - D.A.N.C.E (Justice Cover)
Rocky Theme (Remix)
MIA - Boyz (Hatchmatik Remix)
Primary 1 - Hold Me Down (The Shoes Remix)
Turn The Phantom Page (Jon Claude Boot)
Yelle - A Cause De Garcon (TEPR Remix)
Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For (Jacques le Cont Remix)
I:Cube - Disco Cubism (Daft Punk Remix)
The Count and Sinden - Beeper (Fake Blood Remix)
MP3 - Muscles - Sweaty (Shazam Remix)
Annie - Heartbeat (Maurice Fulton Remix)
Kathy Diamond vs Soul 2 Soul
Elbow - Grounds For Divorce (Jon Claude Edit)
Youngstar - Futurecop!

#11: Girls who like boys to be girls.

No kids, this isn't a Blur cover remixey thing, more a continuation of last weeks 'D.A.N.C.E' post; Another acoustic cover of an electronic song. This time, it's folky sort Adem, who tackles Aphex Twins rather acidic 'To Cure a Weakling Child'. And like Get Capes cover, this doesn't disappoint, offering a genuine real insight into the subtleties of the track.

I can't claim the credit for this track, as it was James over at Yer Mam! who let this go yesterday. Still, it's a bit good, and well worth some more exposure.

MP3 Adem - To Cure a Weakling Child/Boy Girl Song (Aphex Twin Cover)

BONUS! - Here's a fan made video for the original track. It's a bit strange.

#10: !!!

Punctuation in music. Sometimes a good thing, sometimes not so great.

Everyone from !!! to Los Campasinos! to Does It Offend You, Yeah? to Hadouken! have used punctuation and general typography in their monikers to stand out from the crowd, and the latest to adopt such a naming strategy is Futurecop!

Inhabiting a world where it's always the 80s, Manzur Iqbal (for he is the founder and one half of the current 'cop! line-up) has something of an unhealthy obsession with said decade if the boys' MySpace is to be trusted. Terrifyingly so, in fact.

Regardless, alongside their own synth-tinged beats (download for free and check out a great interview at Ohh! Crapp), they're also behind a rather fine Dizzee Rascal remix of 'Stand Up Tall'. Lots of tasty loops, breakdowns and the afore mentioned synths.

And while we're on a Dizzee tip, I've also uploaded my other recent favourite Rascal remix; The DJ Beware treatment of 'Pussyole'.

Last night Xfm's John Kennedy reminded me of Dizzee's first Xfm session and interview in which he allegedly spent most of the time with his hands down his pants.

I suggest you adopt the same stance when checking out these two beauties

MP3 Dizzee Rascal - Youngstar (Futurecop! Remix)
MP3 Dizzee Rascal - Pussyole (DJ Beware Remix)

Hold Steady,
JC

#9: You were such a PYT

You might have noticed that the NME made rather a big deal this year of their celebration of the also-ran, the NME Shockwave Awards. Not only were we treated to 6 weeks of build up in the magazine itself, but most of the press latched onto it being a hipper and more relevant version of the Brits, yet in all actuality it proved to be pretty much the same stuff winning similar awards.

As part of this almighty annual dick-slap, a cover mount has graced the magazine featuring cover versions of popular songs (the Manics doing 'Umbrella'!) which while a little obvious, there's some good stuff to be found. Take this version of Justice's 'D.A.N.C.E': Just when you thought you couldn't stomach any more remixes of this tune, Emo-folkster Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly has turned one of the most loop-tastic ace versions of a track I've heard in fucking ages. Yes, it's THAT good. And I'm being serious too. Check it out.

MP3 Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly - D.A.N.C.E (Justice Cover)

#8: Fickle

Over at my other blog, I expressed a rather enormous amount of displeasure at Hot Chips lead single off their new album, Made in the Dark. "Ready for the Floor" in it's original form sounded more scary than I thought: Apparently Kylie had cast it off, but the 'Chip thought it was so good they kept it for themselves.

While I stand by my initial opinion, I must admit to the remixes growing on me. The Jesse Rose remix is good, the extended mix is too (until the vocal kicks in anyway), and I've played the Soulwax remix out quite a few times and it's always gone down well. And now, I find a new, smooooooooooth version that Hot Chip themselves have done, and while it's strange, it's actually quite good.

Not always does a new version of a track sound better, but certainly in this case it proves you can indeed polish (or redesign) a turd. Check it out.

MP3 Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor (Smooth Out RnB Version)

PS - Apparently, MTV Brazil ran a TV competition to find a new lady for "the most excellent" Bonde Do Role. Check out the new line-up over at Mad Decent.

#7: Marmite Time

Interesting one this... As I write I'm trying to decide whether my partner in crime Grammar will a) agree wholeheartedly with this post or is b) already halfway to my flat to smack me in the face. Interesting times...

Anyway, this post concerns those electro-Swedes (yes that genre exists) The Touch. Their first single 'Le Night Dominator' drops very soon and there's a sweet DJ Assault remix below as well as the new video for the track featuring Lina.

Slightly less safe is that recurring guilty pleasure - the Wombats electro remix. The CSS reversion of 'Kill The Director' was shit, the band's own KGB remix of 'Backfire At The Disco' was better and now we have efforts of The Touch.

Luckily they don't disappoint and, assuming you don't hate every single thing connected to The Wombats, you'll agree.

And finally, we have the most devisive track posted here to date. The Touch remix of The Spice Girls' 'Wannabe'. In the right circumstances this could destroy a dancefloor. In a good way. In the wrong hands it could destroy a dancefloor. But in a bad way. Listen, make up your own mind, and comment below.

MP3 The Touch - Le Night Dominator (DJ Assault Remix)
MP3 The Wombats - Moving To New York (The Touch Remix)
MP3 Spice Girls - Wannabe (The Touch Remix)

The Touch - Le Night Dominator (Video)



Hold steady,
JC