Elton John vs. Pnau - Karmatron

"I can see it very well"

I'm really in love with this new album by Elton John and Pnau. Technically, I guess it's actually by Pnau, since they're the ones who re-swizzled Elton's master tapes into modern dance music. But Elton's vocals are all over these songs, so it's really his 70's persona that comes through most clearly. Anyway, I'm obsessed. My only complaint is that, at only eight tracks (one of them instrumental), the album isn't long enough. My favorite tracks, unsurprisingly, borrow from some of my favorite Elton songs. Karmatron is an absolute marvel. It takes some of his most bombastic recordings, like Funeral For A Friend and The Ballad Of Danny Bailey, and makes something even more dramatic. This song simply explodes. It reinterprets Madman Over Troubled Water like you wouldn't believe. And oddly, it doesn't sound miles away from something that could've been included on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, way back in the 70's. Excellent job, Pnau.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Elton John Versus Pnau - Sad

"I used to know this old scarecrow"

I don't generally post radio rips (which this is), but I'm so taken with this project that I can't help but get excited any time something new is released. I'm a big Elton John fan, and a big Pnau fan... so seeing the two combine in a dance/electronic/mash-up project is just really cool. Sad is what I assume will be the next single from the yet-to-be-released album, and it's more laid back and lyrical than their first. While it includes samples from Nice & Slow, Crazy Water, Curtains, Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word and Friends, it's likely the lyrical chunks of Curtains (some included above) that you'll recognize first. Luckily, Curtains just happens to be one of my favorite Elton album tracks. It's wonderful to hear it reinterpreted as a slightly jazzy, new age electronic piece. It has a very soothing feel to it, which honestly I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I am.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Elton Versus Pnau - Good Morning To The Night

"Turn around to say good morning to the night"

We've got a really cool project on our hands here. Australia's Pnau, who had my favorite single of last year, have been granted access to Elton John's masters from his back catalog. Given this incredible wealth of material, they've been charged with reinterpreting/remixing his hits. An album is forthcoming, but for now we've got the first taster. Good Morning To The Night is a reswizzling of the classic Elton track Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters, though to be honest you're not going to hear much from the original melody. It's really just a line from the chorus, and not the one you'd probably expect. I hope that further tracks utilize more pieces of John's indelible melodies, but this is still very cool. I need to hear the rest of the album NOW.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Follow their soundcloud page here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Top 50 Singles of 2011: 5-1

5. Rihanna - We Found Love



Sometimes the most amazing songs are also the simplest. Rihanna's got a lot to thank Calvin Harris for. His production on this is just stunning, but it's the gutsy, battle-cry vocals that put this over the top. Her best single yet? Maybe.

4. Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me



An example (haha) of how to mash genres successfully and create something that's better than the sum of its parts. Electro, rap, pop... everything gets its fair share in this track, all tied together by some of the best production of the year.

3. Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory



Gaga goes full-out rock goddess. So good that listeners demanded it as a single. This is what happens when a mainstream pop star refuses to settle, going for something bigger and more majestic than anybody else.

2. Nightwish - Storytime



A symphonic goth-rocker from a Finnish band. I didn't see this coming, but I love surprises. This track meshes so many of my favorite things into just over five minutes. Catchy, Abba-esque vocals, symphonic bombast and a choir of rock angels.

1. Pnau - The Truth



Released at the very beginning of the year, this track takes the top spot because no other song represented everything I loved about 2011 music better than this. It wraps it all together. Drama, dance, rock, bombast, melody. It's all here, and it sounds new each time I listen to it.

Top 20 Albums of 2011: 8-7

8. Pnau - Soft Universe



More song-oriented than their last album, this was a very pleasant Summer surprise. It's the perfect mix of electronic music and indie rock. More than that, it has an epic scope when it comes to the sounds and structures used. Though it's buoyed by a handful of remarkable tracks, the entire thing is actually pretty consistent, especially in this genre

7. Rihanna - Talk That Talk



Rihanna's not necessarily an albums artist, but she's got about three fantastic ones under her belt. This might be the best. It's a clever distillation of aural highlights from her past. It's very poppy, but retains the darkness and experimental production that highlights her best work.

My Top Songs of Summer 2011

Summer is over this weekend (though from the weather around here, you'd think that it was finally just beginning). I was seriously underwhelmed in the album category this year, but there were a ton of great singles to choose from. Here's an album's worth (in no particular order) of what I've been listening to over and over again. What about you?

Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me - Such a leap from his earlier work, which I also loved. It's just a gargantuan song waiting to crossover to the US.

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful - I was a huge supporter of theirs during X-Factor, and now that I've heard this I like them even better. 100% on the mark.

Martin Rolinski - Blame It On A Decent Matter - BWO frontman goes solo with a track that nearly out-BWOs BWO! Big, plastic Swedish synths (MUCH better than Swedish meatballs).

LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem - This was, for better or worse, played so often this summer. A triumph in infectious stupidity.

Pnau - The Truth - It really caught on with me over the past few months. That chorus hits you like a freight train.

Adele vs Robin S. - Show Me In The Deep - I tired of the Adele original very quickly, but never wore out this excellent remix. She should do dance more often. The remix of the year, without question.

Nero - Promises Dipping my toe into dubstep (and this is really watered down dubstep), this was the La Roux track of the summer (without actually being La Roux).

The Sound Of Arrows - Magic - They get better and better with every release. This never failed to cheer me up.

Foster The People - Helena Beat The world's still reeling from their debut, but I was onto the next single months ago. This one's better, anyways.

Mika - Elle Me Dit - Who would have thought Mika would've wormed his way back into my good graces with a french dance track?

Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger - Even stranger, this was a band I couldn't stand two months ago. Cue this track, which turned it around with that incessant whistle. Xtina couldn't even ruin it.

Le Kid - America - A soaring pop confection from Sweden, in a year where Sweden isn't quite living up to the hype I always give it.

Katy Perry - Last Friday Night - With each single, I like her more and more. The video to this song clinched it.

The Wanted - Glad You Came - I have a feeling that this will be known as the year of the boybands in the UK. But when they're this good...

Skyship Academy: The Music - Day One

It's hard for me to even process, but my debut novel, SKYSHIP ACADEMY: THE PEARL WARS, will be released in just over a month (Sept. 8th, to be exact). In honor of that, all this week is going to be a fusion of the largest portions (non-day-job) of my life: music and writing. Each day I'll take a character from the book and post two songs that not only sound futuristic and awesome, but fit that character as well. Should be fun! And today, we start with one of the main characters:

JESSE FISHER

Who: fifteen-year-old Skyship Academy trainee ** slacker/klutz deemed all but hopeless by the faculty ** mysterious past may lead to a truth both powerful and dangerous

Songs:

Pnau - The Truth
Much of Jesse's past is shrouded in mystery. His parents were killed in an Academy mission when he was only a few years old. The faculty of the Academy act strangely around him, and he's never sure who he can trust completely. This, understandably, leads to a lot of confusion, self-doubt and frustration. The lyrics to this track express all of this, but the giant, aggressive melody does it one better by truly summing up all the feelings swirling around in his mind.

The Truth by Pnau

The Sound of Arrows - Into The Clouds
Because of the isolated nature of the Academy, Jesse often expresses a fantasy of breaking free and leaving for good (preferably with his crush, Avery Wicksen - more on her later this week). Of course, the teachers and staff aren't about to let this happen. This song has the wistful sound to it that compliments the first track as well as presenting more of the optimistic, adventurous side to his personality. Plus, I think the general feel is very Skyshippy.

Sound of Arrows - Into The Clouds by jonnylightning

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Pnau - The Truth

"You say you lost your lover"

Dance duo Pnau's new album came out over the weekend in their native Australia. The anticipation was high and, even though I wasn't in love with the last one beyond the singles, when I first listened to Soft Universe I was blown away. As I've settled with the album, I've come to the realization that my initial thoughts were just a little too rosy. I still wholeheartedly recommend it, especially for fans of electro, but it's lost some of its luster with repeated plays. However, I was shocked when I discovered that I've never mentioned this track on the blog before. As the album's first single, this has been out since the beginning of the year. And through the months, it has only grown in my eyes. The Truth may just eclipse Embrace as my favorite Pnau song (I really consider Embrace as more of a Ladyhawke song anyway). The chorus is monumental, epic stuff. it's exactly the rock-influenced, gargantuan sound I wish they would stick with. It's got that surging, running-through-endless-wheat-fields sound that's a hallmark of my favorite pop songs (think the Ark's Calleth You, Cometh I). Keep an eye for this to be brought up again in my year-end countdown. I've really become quite obsessed with it.

The Truth by Pnau

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.