Raging Contagion
Music so good it will make you sick!
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Usher – Climax (Them Jeans Remix)
July 6, 2012
— 2 Comments
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here, again!
As I said in the previous post, for your immense mastery in patience, you are rewarded with Double Whammy Remix Friday (in my mind, it’s said “Double Whammy Wemix Fwiday”). “Silk” was the chill song. This is the emotional one complete with the sound of tears falling.
Usher rose like a rocket with his smooth smile, slick moves, and y’know his voice, of course. He’s had R&B slams, won some grams (7!), and topped with numerous club jams. This fella is at the top of the pop food chain so really I don’t need to bore you as to how Them Jeans hit gold with choosing his voice for remixing. What I will tell you is that this rendition, which is a notch slower than the original tempo, is a heart break. This is the most vulnerable I have ever heard Usher sing in recorded song. It makes me want to weep for his pain of reaching that “breaking point” in a relationship (which I’m sure this is in directly from his first-had experience of a divorce). Before we get to the nitty-gritty, let me also add that mad props need to be given to Diplo for producing the original. It’s a brilliant piece.
The words “It’s too late” reverb throughout the beginning. It echoes through your head, reminding you of all those missed chances you had to say sorry, do something better, try a little harder to revive a romance. While the MJ-like “Beat It” drums might seem insensitive, the chords crank up as if they’re quivering in anguish. “I’ve fallen somehow, feet off the ground, love is the blood that keeps raining down. Where are you now when I need you around? I’m on my knees but it seems we’re going nowhere fast ” The lyrics to this are actually quite profound in how sometimes you need to concede your error to repair something worth fighting for, but when no one wants to admit fault, the chasm to reconciliation seems like an ocean (you’ll hear dripping noises in this remix too). Yeah, I don’t wanna be a Debbie Downer to the weekend so would it make you feel better if I told you that yes, this song is also FREE??!! Click the “Download” button on the player below to get yours.
“Where are you now when I need you the most?”
Giselle – Silk (Cosmic Kids Remix)
July 6, 2012
This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,
Thanks again for your love and support last week. Also, thanks for your extreme patience in waiting an entire week and a half between songs! Because you, young students (said in a karate master type voice), have mastered such patience, you shall be rewarded with not one, but two songs. And not just any two songs, but two remixes that will be more than sufficient to satisfy your boundless thirst for musical knowledge. I will post each song separately as they deserve individual mention and not to be overshadowed by each other (listen to “Climax” here).
First up we have a chillwave offering for you folks who love 80’s synth-heavy songs dialed back to a more relaxed pace. Giselle is only getting started in the music scene Down Under, but because she offers clear and sweet soprano vocals, her songs are quickly becoming favorites to remix, as is the case with here. Quite honestly on a musican scale, I’m not impressed with what she has to offer other than the timbre of her voice, however, she is only 20 so hopefully she can learn a lot in the next few years. That being said, Cosmic Kids have fabricated a mix of metaphorically musical uppers and downers which weave “Silk” into a trance-like tune.
To start it off, you’re introduced to bongo drums and island-esque guitar hits every 8 beats. A “rev” that’s borrowed directly from Mariah Careys 90’s hit “I’ve Been Thinking About You” slams you next accompanied by gentle claps that lure you in. After the first verse which ends with “You held me tighter when I pushed you away. You turned my sorrow into silk, you turned my sorrow…” the keyboard starts to crescendo and fry, turning into wave after wave of mandatory head bobbing delight. Get carried away in the current that is “Silk”. Best part about this song? It’s free (Cosmic Kids went over their allowed ‘shares’ on soundcloud so they posted it here)!!!
Loving the turtlenecks, fellas!
Phantom Planet – Something Is Wrong
June 26, 2012
— 3 Comments
This song is rated: 1 broken heart – anyone with any feeling at all can relate
Hello there, Dr. Whuzzerface here.
Usually our posts are bright, clever, and fun to be around. Today, however, I write this with a very tender heart and misty eyes. Losing things are never easy, especially people in our lives. At about 8PM last night I received news that a friend of mine passed away. I won’t delve into the details. I know how much this friend loved music. One of his guilty pleasure songs was “Walking In Memphis” by Mark Cohen. But the only band that I could think of that would sufficiently suit my feelings right now was Phantom Planet. Oh, the years of understanding we’ve had with each other. Simple songs sometimes say it the best.
There’s really nothing more to this song than guitar, the singer, and a little haunting glass harmonica in the background. The part in this song that gets me crying is when he gets to the halfway mark and says “Now I fear that I may taste these tears rolling down my face.” Tears are salty, bitter, and never a joy to taste, much like the crying that precedes them. Gosh, I cannot even put into words my feelings write now. I apologize if this was much more lugubrious than you anticipated. I will make it up to you next week. If you can’t handle it, here’s their slightly more optimistic “One Ray Of Sunlight”
Ewert & The Two Dragons – (In The End) There’s Only Love
June 21, 2012
— 1 Comment
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
ESTONIA WEEK is starting to come to a close so what do we do now? We’re pulling out some of our ringers! Todays selection is Ewert & The Two Dragons (pronounced “Ev-ert anne-d th-uh t-oo drag-ons”. Tee-hee!) These four fellas are making a name for themselves in the Baltic region with their indie-folk sound. I would liken their music to be a mix of Fleet Foxes, Sondre Lerche, & The Shins. Their debut album “Good Man Down” is rather impressive for an initial public offering (take note Facebook) and shows a maturity and range that usually don’t become evident in a bands sound until a 3rd or 4th album.
Let’s get back to this particular song though. I love many of the simple elements of this piece, it’s not a complicated song, but probably my favorite it the toy glockenspiel which adds a whimsical, lightheartedness to the almost fast-paced song. The hand drum is a lot of fun in the mix as well. Another point of appreciation is that they incorporate a cascading splinter 3-part harmony that makes this song a fast favorite to sing along to with friends in the car. Have fun with this song, and with your life, because as this reminds us again “(In The End) There’s Only Love”!
Amazon MP3s – Ewert & The Two Dragons
Wikipedia – Ewert & The Two Dragons
Kerli – Zero Gravity
June 19, 2012
— 2 Comments
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
What do you think of ESTONIA WEEK thus far eh? I’m sure you’re surprised at how awesome and different their sound is all at the same time! Then you’ll be even more surprised to find out that we actually first heard of the country of Estonia when we caught wind of a force of nature in a deceptively delicate-looking creature named Kerli back in 2009. After the first chorus of her song “Walking On Air”, we were hooked. So it’s rather funny that C-Bisiquit ended up living there for a while. First thing we thought of when we found out was “KERLI IS FROM THERE!”
Kerli (for Americans, the way to pronounce her name is closer to Keh-rrlie, but Care-lee works too) has been dubbed as Queen of Bubble Goth music and lives up to in her costumes on stage and in videos. We like to think of her sort of as Iiris’s older sister in song! Her rise to fame is actually a Cinderella story. She knew at a very young age she wanted to be a singer, despite all the classical training she had received in dancing and piano. At age 14, she signed up for the Baltic equivalent of American Idol back in 2002. She lied and said she was the minimum age of 15 but what do you know, she blew away the competition and won the show anyway, winning a recording deal over there and eventually getting a contract signed on the spot after singing for Island Def Jam Records execs in the US shortly after.
We’ve been almost foaming at the mouth to share this song with you and are so glad the moment is finally here! Today’s nugget of bliss comes in the form a a club-worthy number called “Zero Gravity”. You can’t NOT dance to this (to simplify that double-negative for you, you MUST dance to this). It’s such a choice beat, positive message, and space opera-centric video theme. There are even a few moments where she breaks it all down dubstep style while rocking out as what I imagine Pop Princess Rainbow Brite would look like. Can I also add these next words without making you too wary of the video: Alien space butterfly glam football. That will make sense toward the end of the video but it is really a rather rad combination of words I bet you’ve never seen before, much like you’ve never seen anything quite like Kerli before. I hope you enjoy it and keep it on repeat!
RAC – Hollywood Feat. Penguin Prison (free download)
June 15, 2012
— 2 Comments
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
Collaborations of several artists on a music project can be a double-edged sword. Santana for instance, incredible guitars but there was a phase in the last 90’s/early 2000’s where he seemed to think that he could take any top 40’s artist as the vocalist for a song and it would be an instant hit. Yeah, there were some definite trainwrecks with that formula. HOWEVER, when you get someone as disco-ly clever as Penguin Prison and master of crafty remixes like RAC, magic happens! As you may recall, Penguin Prison was briefly mentioned for his dance remix of Kimbra’s song “Settle Down“, which we posted a few weeks back. Not only does he remix like a mad man, he sings also. LUCKY US! Penguin Prison (or by his real name of Chris Glover) has a very unique timbre of voice. I can’t figure out exactly how to describe it to you but when you hear it, you’ll remember it. RAC (which stands for Remix Artist Collective) is a mastermind and rising star in seeing the potential of original songs and then making them better. Truly, I think I have about 30+ remixes of his in my possession and each one is a gem to listen to.
“Hollywood” is about losing touch with friends. Not just friends that move and drift apart because of physical distance, but friends who drift apart because of “ego distance”. You know, they get a promotion, befriend someone by the name of Rumor, and then buy a pair of French imported high heeled shoes and all of the sudden, they’re a changed person, and not in a good way either. They get too full of themselves and create an intangible barrier between themselves and the perceived hoi polloi, which apparently you’re part of too now that you can’t keep up with them. Their ego is so big that they’ve made themselves unavailable as a friend. Which is why Facebook invented the “unfriend” and why this songs like this are made. The best ‘ouch’ moment is right at the beginning when he says “I’m not telling you again that what you need is just a slap around!” It’s a danceable number that I know you’ll fall in love with by the chorus.
On the plus side, it’s all free! Free things make Fridays even more amazing.
I hope you like it and please remember to follow or leave a comment. We love hearing from our Ragers!
Click here for the free download, courtesy of Green Label Sound!
Check out the new video for this too.
Bleu – Watching You Sleep
June 8, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
We’ve all heard those scary stalker songs about being so in love with someone from afar that you follow their every move, learning all about them to the point where you practically know them better than they know themselves. This is not one of those songs. OK, this is not entirely one of those songs. My favorite way to introduce this song is, “The cutest/sweetest stalker song in the world”. It could be that I just love listening to Bleu sing so much that I’d be ok with the thought of him stalking me (I mean what girl wouldn’t be? He has incredible facial chops and used to wear his hair like Wolverine!!) But there are a few lyrical confessions in the song that make it rather tender too. For example: “I confess! I looked up your work address. It wasn’t fate I bumped into you that but it’s still me who holds your hand while you’re asleep.” Everyone say it together, “Awwwww”.
Musicality wise, the song isn’t complicated. It has a basic acoustic guitar, a sort of lazy clap & snare beat, and some solid vocal harmonies in the chorus. This song can be found on his album “Redhead” (Which is a treasure trove of audio goodness. Three of the songs ended up on 2 soundtracks back in the the early 2000’s!).
While I don’t condone stalking for the most part, this song will be stuck in your head so badly that you’ll be obsessed with it to the point where if it were a person, yeah, you’d stalk it too.
Happy stalking, er, I meant FRIDAY!
Amazon – “Redhead” album by Bleu
Diplo – Set It Off
May 31, 2012
— 2 Comments
This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
I want to apologize briefly for the botch of “Kimbra Week”. We had such bigger plans for it and it coincided with the epic Phoenix ComicCon, which is what diverted more of our attention that we had anticipated. I promise we’ll make it up for you by saving our favorite 2 songs of hers for early June posts.
Back to biz-nez! Get yo’ fine self ready for dancing and Friday because this song practically screams “I’m ready for the weekend, get me out of this office NOW!” It could be that the lyrics “I wanna set it off” and the gun shot cocking could literally be a warning of a person about to go postal…but we’ll think happy thoughts and say that it’s a party song. “Set It Off” doesn’t actually come out until June 12th, but i’m sure if you ask very nicely, a friend or two would consider giving it to you for your unbirthday! (hint hint) If you’ve never heard of Diplo, there’s no better time than now to start getting acquainted with his distinct electronic deliciousness.
Let’s break this song down for you. Do not be deceived by the seemingly ChillWave-esque beginning, there’s a serious reggaeton punch and beat that get cracking about :53 into the song. I’m loving the oscillating pitch wave going on too, it’s entertaining. As I said above, the phrase “I wanna set it off” peals through in an ultra high pitch throughout, getting gravely and highly distorted on occasion. This song even takes a turn to the hip-hop at one point (which leads me to think that there are going to be so many good rap remixes from it!). What I like best about this is that the beat doesn’t force itself onto the listener, there are definite moments where Diplo takes a step back, lets you rest and then eases back in.
Hope you enjoy it!
Amazon – Diplo “Set It Off” (available on June 12th)
Kimbra – Two-Way Street (Day 3 of KIMBRA WEEK!)
May 24, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
We are half way through Kimbra Week on Raging Contagion. What do you kids think so far?? Well get your seat belts on because this next song literally talks about driving (and refers to crashing, so you might just wanna be on the safe side). I have a very limited personal experience with falling in love but from what I’ve had I can tell you every lyric in this song is exactly true. You can’t force it one way or the other, it requires give and take by both. A meeting in the middle. Perfect timing. All of these somehow are what make that moment when you both confess that you love and that your love is returned so incredibly magical. For those who’ve been fortunate to have had this happen multiple times, you are truly lucky. For others (like me) who seem to keep hitting all the red lights and missing it but a few minutes/days, maybe one day we’ll have good timing like you.
Anyways, back to the song. I love that Kimbra not only makes this song incredibly visual with how the flow of traffic is compared to love, she’s also creative in the sounds you hear. If you’re attentive, you’ll notice there are several times throughout the song where she talks about how “the cars could all collide, the shards of glass won’t catch my eye…” and not too long before and after there is literally the sound of glass breaking. It’s incredible how much a an impact that adds to the lyrics when you hear more of them. Best part about this post today? This is the official video WITH illustrated lyrics! Best of both worlds. So yeah, while you’re listening/reading, think about this crazy process of falling in love is and how much of it has to do with crossing each others paths at the right time and place. Enjoy!
Living Days – Let’s Kiss
May 15, 2012
— 1 Comment
This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
I’m in a bit of a phase right now. My last few posts are heavily 80’s influenced and this goes right along with them. This song is a mixture of The Cars, The Cure, Berlin, & Gary Newman in a delicious blend of romantic newwave. Probably the best track off of Living Days “Make Out Room pt. 1” album (do you think they’re trying to get a message across??), Stephonik Youth sings her heart out (and yes, it’s a woman singing) to a person and oh-so-unsubtly states the fact that “You were the one that got away….Let’s kiss!” A fun peppy and yet alluring tune which makes me also want to just walk up to a perfect stranger at a punk concert and say it. Buuuuuut who am I kidding, if I have to type it out to think about it, I’ll never actually do it…..or will I??
Well, I hope you enjoy this song (and any lip action you may get from it!!!).
Raging Contagion 