The Not-Pop Jukebox

With a hearty thanks to +Hadrian Micciche for introducing me to Schlachthofbronx, I bring you a bangin', clappin', chantin' good time. I'm not altogether clear on the point of Songstar, though the lyrics are relatively easy to understand. Given the title of the song (and the mention of bouncers) I'm guessing it's about an obsessed fan.

Here's my suggestion: put on your headphones, crank up the bass, and have a listen. Then you tell me what you think the song is about. You'll probably want to listen again while you do, like I am right now.

The whole purpose of mashups is to bend genres, to blend decades into wholly new music that a wide audience can appreciate…in the form of getting down to songs that all but demand you dance. Forme has taken this to a new level by combining a nonsense song that personifies the 60s surf scene and mashing it with Skrillex.

Now, everybody’s heard about the bird if they’re over the age of 25 or so but I’d bet a good portion of those folks who know the word are unfamiliar with the Bangarang. Here we have a mashup to bring generations together, a real wedding-dance winner guaranteed to fill the floor. Okay, it does in my living room, where the kids and I pretty much take up the available dancing space.

Give it a shot yourself and see if it doesn’t get you moving. Whether you come to is as a fan of The Trashman or of Skrillex, Surfin’ Bird Bangarang gives you a lot to enjoy. Naturally, you can download this Mashup of the Month for free via the link on Forme's SoundCloud upload.

It's been ages since I shared some Portugal. The Man. As I've been grooving to the "Evil Friends" album I thought it high time I brought him back to your attention. To that end, have a listen to Atomic Man, a song which has gifted me with the insult "after you hell will be easier". If you like this one, try Modern Jesus or Purple Yellow Red and Blue. The latter is the one that brought me to the album in the first place and well worth your attention.

The other day I spent some quality time listening to versions of Tu Vuo Fa' L' Americano but somehow none of them quite clicked for posting. That's because I forgot Tango Conspiracy. One wouldn't think a sort of electro-Tango group focused on Argentinian music would tackle a WWII Italian song, but clearly one would be wrong. You don't get much farther from the song's swing roots, either.

That's all to the good, though. This is a wholly new take on Tu Vuo Fa' L' Americano, more conversational than flashy but still packed with groove and attitude. Have a listen and let me know if you think it's a great read on the concept--and if you're a Tango Conspiracy fan let me know what your favorite song is.

I can't help it, I love MIA. Technically she's not a chart-topper, at least here in the US, but this video does have well over 8 million views. It's over four years, but still that's pretty popular. That plus a SuperBowl performance with Madonna pretty much makes her pop music.

I don't care. I listen to a song like Buckly Done Gun and three beats in I've forgotten all about music snobbery and self-imposed rules. I'm too busy dancing. For a full-on Friday, add a little MIA. If you can take another after this one, have a listen to Galang or Bad Girls.

As I was jamming all over the living room I was thinking about her sound and thought, "What if MIA did a song with Die Antwoord?" Then my head exploded so I had to stop thinking about it. You go right ahead, though, and tell me if this is an idea for which the musical world is not ready or if it's another of my psychotic collaboration ideas that would never work.

Y'all have gone nearly a year without lynching me for not sharing more Robotic Pirate Monkey and I thought I'd let you know how much I appreciate that by bringing you--perhaps predictably by this point in the sentence--more Robotic Pirate Monkey. As it's dinner time and the song made me get down while cooking up (a storm, that is), it seemed appropriate to share Shake n' Bake.

I don't know if you remember that culinary oddity (and I don't know if they still make it) but it seems to me this song would be perfect for flapping a bag of pre-seasoned bread crumbs and raw chicken about the kitchen. I also suspect, given some of the other titles and sound clips, that baking chicken isn't exactly the sort of thing they had in mind.

Whatever the reason, have some down-and-dirty, fuzzed-out electronica. If you've got a box of Shake n' Bake in your cupboard maybe this will give you the inspiration to finally get it out and make some non-fried chicken!

It's incredibly rare that a song moves me enough that I have to stop everything for a few minutes after hearing it just to absorb what I've heard. Requiem Dem accomplished just that.

Normally I focus on up-beat songs, some dark but few slow. Today I find myself unable to think of anything you more deserve to hear, my darlings. DJ Champion (and Pilou Côté...and an orchestra...and a bunch of other people) have finally released a new album and you can stream the whole thing on YouTube. Naturally I immediately began to do so.

I haven't made it through all seventeen songs, yet. I had thought to share Half a Mile at first but wanted to hear more. Then I hit play on Requiem Dem. Keeping the song in context, knowing that the four-year period between albums had been filled with a cancer battle that almost claimed Maxime Morin's life, this song moves from piercing power to intensely personal. It literally brought tears to my eyes.

And so, while I normally would have chosen something fun or just danceable I had to share a song that struck me hard. Requiem Dem is deep and complex, anguished and hopeful. It's a powerful piece from a talent that the world nearly lost. Then go get the album, "#1", from Champion's site. You should be able to explore the videos for the whole album right here.

Some days you need a massive mash to make your day. Today is one of those days. Conveniently for you, my darlings, I have here a 24-song mash-stravaganza from JT & C (that would be John Twig & Crowfield) guaranteed to get your bootie rockin'.

Save Them Mashups takes a pile of hits from the past decade or two in a few different languages and makes a big mess of awesome. There's Etta James, Skrillex, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Lady Gaga, and Duck Sauce, to name but a few.

You can find the download link on the SoundCloud page linked above and below. JT & C are new to me so I'll be listening more. If Save Them Mashups is any indication, I'll be sharing more in the near future. In the meantime, have a listen and let me know if you love this one as much as I do.

Ecstatic Dancer portrays how a long weekend makes me feel: I don't have to work on Monday? Let's dance! It's also a slightly mellow electro groove from the ever-intriguing Fujiya & Miyagi, which makes it doubly fun. After two days of hard labor, that's about all the energy I have to spare encouraging you to enjoy the song. Let your Ecstatic Dancer out and hit the floor while I look for some pain reliever.

It's difficult to resist the affirmation of a band name like You, You're Awesome. It's even harder to resist their doodly, pop-y electronica. As a case in point, consider the temption proposition Let's Be Villains Together. In essence, the lyrics are simply the words "science experiment" distorted and repeated in barely-discernible fashion.

It's difficult to imagine Ohio natives coming up with anything too terribly sinister. Somehow I imagine their idea of villainy would be putting training wheels on their buddy's bicycle.

Whatever you think of their potential for evil, have a listen to You, You're Awesome and let me know what you think. Is there more potential lurking in these bleeping hearts than I think?

From time to time it amuses me to realize that there are pop songs out there that I know thought I’ve never heard the original. When I think of Adele, for instance, I think of her as re-imagined by Marc Johnce (with all sorts of pop music) and DJs from Mars (with Robin S). I’ve heard her over thrash metal and slowed down to a lady Barry White. I have no idea how the song is “supposed” to sound.

Daft Beatles mashed Rolling in the Deep with Sweet Dreams. DJ Maya Jakobson added some classical and some Britney Spears to make ‘Til the Swan Lose Deep Control. Dan Mei chose to lay Adele over Fire and Flames to give her that 200-bpm, flame-broiled bite. ShyBoy slowed her and rolled her with Underworld to make Born in the Deep (Rolling Slippy).

Then there's Ryan Nellis, who rolled Adele through the Eye of the Tiger and the one that slew me, the piece de resistance, Wick-it the Instigator's Rolling in the Fire, which takes Rolling in the Deep and gives it some deep funk.

Naturally, you can download all of these for free. Just click the links above. I've got a set at SoundCloud so that you can hear them but Dan Mei's track isn't there so you get that one on a separate player. Have a listen and let me know which you like best, or if you're true to the original.

I got an e-mail that Cuñao had released a new album but, as I'd never listened before, I got sidetracked by the one before it. Once I listened to it, I knew I had to bring you all a taste, just to get you interested.

Now, if you don't speak Spanish (as I do not) you can still settle into the grooves. As a bonus, El Hambre starts in English to give you a sense of the song. The it grabs a hold of your hips and starts to move you. Someday soon I'll have a listen to the new album but, for how, I'm enjoying "Trabajo y Ron". I hope you do, too!

"

What's more high-energy than disco funk? An All Hazards remix thereof, of course. I can't imagine a song more likely to get me out on the floor than Party Down. It takes serious boogie and cranks it up to eleven, which is pretty much what All Hazards does to everything.

Party Down is one of those songs that I've been enjoying for ages and thought I'd long posted for you all. Luckily for you I think to check, from time to time, and realize when I've deprived you of yet another San Francisco treat. The duo has a lot of dancing just waiting for you. Head on over to SoundCloud for lots more.

I bumped into Claude VonStroke yesterday and spent a fair chunk of time giving his music a listen. While I like a lot of what he does (and am fairly worn out from dancing), it was Beat That Bird that I knew you had to hear.

Distasteful as I find the song around which it's based, I can't resist the bizarre flavor of it. And, of course, it put me in mind of Nuclear Rabbit's Sweet Nothings. Naturally, that means you get both, my dears.

I've decided not to make this a You Pick the Winner post because Sweet Nothings is so short, though it can definitely stand up in the "freaky" category. Have a listen to the pair and let me know if you don't think they go together like...bats and chickens.

Was Boogie Nights in Saturday Night Fever? Who knows? Who cares? All I know is that it should have been, and that I bet John Travolta boogied his bootie off to Heatwave, back in the day whether on film or not.

I certainly did, and still do. While this was definitely a pop song, long ago, you don’t hear a lot of disco any more. I prefer this sort of aged cheese to the modern-day versions by Kesha and the like. Neither is deep or particularly good music but at least disco made the vocalists actually sing about partying at clubs rather than letting the computers do it.

(In case you were about to point it out, I do know that Boogie Nights was the titular song in the movie Boogie Nights, not Saturday Night Fever. That was tongue-in-cheek, kind of like this paragraph. Shush it and boogie, darlings.)

Once upon a time, Thomas Dolby had an enormous hit and then fell from the chart's graces with an almost-audible thud. That, my dears, was a crying shame. For proof that he had more to offer, have a listen to Hyperactive!, a song that's only gotten more relevant over the decades since it was released.

In case you weren't aware, Mr. Dolby is still out there making great music. Proof? How about "A Map Of The Floating City"? You've got an awful lot of catching up to do.

With a name like Intergalactic Republic of Kongo, you might presume a few things about this band. If you make the same leaps I did, you'll be as wrong as I was about I.R.O.K. That's okay. Some of them sound right even when you listen to the music. Then you look them up and realize they just had the album release party in January of 2013.

I Work not only spearheads the album but gives you an excellent introduction to the band. It demonstrates their combination of electronic, raging guitars, shouting, and mellow moments that carries through the whole album. It's also got a driving beat that keeps you dancing even while you're trying to understand some of the lyrics.

Trickily, I.R.O.K. intentionally mixes and mashes genres so they're pretty defiant of labels. That's why I've given them so many. Have a listen and do click over to SoundCloud to hear a All My Children, Earthy Girls, and God, all helpfully posted by Acid Bath Records.

Do let me know what you think. Now pardon me while I get back to flailing about the living room. If you can get your digital fingers on Worms from Mars, put that one on the top of your intergalactic play list.

While Bassic probably strikes you as something quite a bit more mellow than the usual fare, here at The NPJ, I have to say that I quite enjoy his musical endeavors. Perhaps it's because I've following a lengthy conversation about original music in video games, but I have to say that I can really picture Rise and Shine as the opening music to an epic story. Then again, I might use this as my alarm clock. Maybe I could have an epic day!

Whatever the case, have a listen to Rise and Shine. If you're looking for more from Bassic, click over to Grooveshark for plenty more. In particular, I'd recommend Every Man Can Be His Own Rocketship and Omniom from his latest release.

If you could make Rick James even funkier, would you? DJ Zebra would. In fact, he did, by mixing him with LCD Soundsystem. I know, I didn't think it was possible, either, but here it is.

You can't get just Superfreak Is Playing at My House, but you can download a whole album's worth containing DJ Zebra's best of 2005 from his site. Naturally the Mashup of the Month is included.

I don't know how many of you remember Safri Duo, the Danish drumming wonders who hit the scene big and then more or less disappeared. I do know that you'd likely never peg them as the movers behind Ritmo de la Noche. You'll be happy to know that I've brought you this Latin-flavored happy song for your jamming pleasure, today, just to fill that little gap in your musical knowledge...and you make you dance. So get to it.