Another Form of Relief

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I used to hate the whole remix concept, but I’ve been turned around on it over the past year. While a lot of remixes are pretty worthless, there are also a good number of them that do have some merit as works of their own. One of the more prolific of these remixers has been Metronomy, who has come up with new versions of songs by pretty much everyone. Architecture in Helsinki, Klaxons, Gorillaz, Dntel and The Teenagers (making these last few posts one big circle jerk) and now Kate Nash have had their songs turned into something completely different.

If I’m honest, this didn’t do a lot for me on the first couple of listens, but I’m getting quite into it now. This was probably because it’s so startlingly different to the original that it takes some getting used to. The piano has been stripped out entirely, as has the upbeat nature of the song. Instead we’re left with something far more sombre, employing vocal effects as well as adding a repetitive backing vocal and a heavy beat. Get past the differences though and there’s something very good here. Not quite up to the original, but a fun attempt nonetheless.

MP3 Kate Nash - Foundations (Metronomy remix) (expired)

Kate Nash: Website || Myspace
Metronomy: Website || Myspace

If bands had the same classification system that films do, The Teenagers would be rated R18. Whilst three French guys (residing in London) singing about young love and celebrity crushes may seem harmless enough, when you listen to their words, they become something altogether different. Their songs are littered with profanity and there’s a slightly disturbing sexual tone to them. None of which really matters as the songs are rather good, but anyone of a sensitive disposition could do worse than to pass them over.

Homecoming is the band’s debut single, a story of an English guy and an American girl, and the way they each view their relationship. Neither of these characters are likeable. He comes across as a dick (”I fuck my American cunt“) while she proves to be so vacuous (thinking he’s the perfect guy - “I love my English romance“) that she wouldn’t be out of place in Nada Surf’s Popular. I reference that song largely because this song covers much the same ground in both style and endorsing the lifestyle of the terminally stupid.

That said, the song has “indie summer hit” written all over it. It’s all lo-fi guitar and vocals that alternate between the subdued and the sweet. Without knowing what the song was about in the first place, you could easily listen to it and not even realise the darker undertones. Which is possible because I managed to for the first few times that I heard it.

The video suits the song perfectly, giving the story a look of a 70’s porn film. For fact fans, it’s directed by Kinga Burza, who was also behind the video for Kate Nash’s Foundations that I posted a few days ago.

The Teenagers: Website || Myspace

What’s the point in anything but money?
We’re gonna write a song like Coldplay
We’re gonna creep into the top 40
We’re gonna tour until we hate each other’s guts

Superman Revenge Squad, despite the name, is a man called Ben and his guitar. These are not so much songs as spoken word diatribes about anything and everything, from lamenting the past to the state of the music industries to amusingly tragic tales of private detectives. The music doesn’t really matter, it’s all about the words. Which is for the best, because as songs these are disjointed at best. These songs are littered with vocals that go wandering off on separate tangents and leave the music behind. But it doesn’t really matter as you’ll usually find yourself nodding in agreement with everything he’s saying.

MP3 Superman Revenge Squad - Idiot Food (expired)
MP3 Superman Revenge Squad - Been a Private Detective for 17 Months (expired)
MP3 Superman Revenge Squad - Kendo Nagasaki (expired)
MP3 Superman Revenge Squad - The Devil Has Two Hands (expired)
MP3 Superman Revenge Squad - A Funny Thing You Said (expired)
MP3 Superman Revenge Squad - When Everyone’s Dead (live) (expired)

Superman Revenge Squad: Myspace

Ben is also the lead singer and guitarist of the fantastic Nosferatu D2, so you should go and listen to them as well.