Sebastian Komor - Game Of Thrones Theme (EDM Industrial Version)

Sorry for the long break! I usually try to get a post in at least four out of the five week days, but plans got in the way towards the end of last week. Another problem, of course, is that new music tends to come in waves. I've always striven to post only music that I absolutely love, not just what's popular or what's passed on to me through email and other media. I also try not to post songs that everybody else has already written about, unless I absolutely adore them. Add the fact that I'm a RIDICULOUSLY picky listener, and it's a wonder that I manage to keep up with my own quota of 4-5 posts a week! That being said, I expect to hear a ton of new music in the next couple of weeks that I'll end up loving.

For today, I'm going to post a song that won't be on any radio playlists, but is actually really awesome. In the past few months, I have well and truly jumped on the Game Of Thrones bandwagon. I am obsessed. It's also got a kickass theme song, which is suitably epic. While searching online, I found this amazing remix of the theme, which really just beefs up the original with a bit of a dance/industrial/symphonic bent. If possible, it makes it even more epic (epic-er?). It almost sounds like Trans-Siberian Orchestra doing a cover version. Whether you watch the show or not, you'll want to give this a listen. Prepare to be impressed.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the actual soundtrack here. Follow me on twitter and facebook

Friday Remix: Rhythm Scholar

I love trawling soundcloud for remixes. I've learned to really appreciate a good remix, and one thing that the internet has done is allow anyone to get into the game. Oftentimes, the best mixes are not the ones released professionally. So, I thought it would be cool to periodically feature the work of these amateur djs. Sometimes it'll just be one song, and other times (like today), it'll be a few. Rhythm Scholar is the first remixer I want to feature. He's made me absolutely fall in love with Kid Rock's All Summer Long, and done wonders for Journey and INXS. This is work that pays attention to the details. It's not straight up club mixes -- more like adding funk that completely compliments the original song. Really wonderful stuff!



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Listen to more of his stuff here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Jewel - Foolish Games (Cutmore 2013 Remix)

"These foolish games are tearing me apart"

Ooh, boy, do I ever love an unexpected remix. I would've never thought Jewel's fantastic 1997 hit Foolish Games could have been turned into a club track, but lo and behold, it absolutely works wonders. Despite not really being my genre of music, I've always been a fan of Jewel. I also feel like 90's nostalgia is on the cusp of taking over pop culture. For a teenager of the 90's like myself, this is a great thing. The way Jewel's vocals wrap unexpectedly around the hard dance beat is a real treat, and who knew that the song's chorus could become so anthemic and huge? I think it's going to prod me into rediscovering the original. The song's taken from a full-length remix album, though most of the tracks on it don't really interest me. Give me a remix of Hands, already!



(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.

Meat Loaf - I Would Do Anything For Love (SuperCHEAP! Remix)

"I would do anything for love, but I won't do that"

I am a massive fan of Meat Loaf. I am also a massive fan of dance music and remixes. As a result, I'm always on the lookout for Meat Loaf remixes. I'm aware that this is a... niche "genre" at best, and that would explain why there aren't many out there. But, I'm absolutely in love with the idea of reinventing classic rock for the dancefloor. It's not the easiest thing to find, and I always get excited when I discover something that makes me sit up and pay attention. I stumbled across the soundcloud page of SuperOkMusic--and this song specifically--and instantly fell in love. They take the piano hook and the main refrain of the track and use it to structure a dance remix that doesn't betray the original song's sensibilities. For now, it's the closest I'm going to get to Meat Loaf himself recording a club album, which I still think would be the most awesome thing ever.



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

The Sound of Arrows - Remixed

This isn't really a "song" post, but any Sound Of Arrows news is worth noting. They had my favorite album of last year and continue to treat their fans to awesome videos and surprise downloads like this one. The guys have taken remixes of their excellent singles and collected them all together in one album. Best of all, the album's free to download! All you have to do is visit the band's facebook page (link here). They were even generous enough to include printable inserts for cd cases. This is a band that truly appreciates their fans. Now, all we need is a second album of original material ;)

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

Ulrik Munther - Soldiers (Stormby Remix)

"Before it's all over, you'll never be unforgivable"

I love this remix. To me, the best dance mixes take a track that's as far from dance as possible and totally switch it up. Ulrik Munther is not known for his club hits. I enjoy his music for what it is, though it's not necessarily my favorite genre in the world. But this mix takes his Melodifestivalen entry, Soldiers, and makes it something really anthemic. What I especially like is the way the remixer took the drum section in the middle eight and expanded it, adding it to the beginning of the track as well. Even more of this would have been cool. Beyond that, it's just surprising how well this works in a dance setting. The melody really shines, which is a rare thing in the remix world. If you like this, be sure to check out the guy's soundcloud page. His mix of Loreen's Euphoria is also really good.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Listen to more of Stormby's remixes here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Fun. - We Are Young (Alvin Risk Remix)

"We can burn brighter than the sun"

More and more, I'm coming to absolutely covet a good remix. I especially like it when slow to mid-tempo tracks are converted into full-on club stompers. I also really like the fact that Fun. have hit number one in the US with their slow-burning single (seriously, it was released like half a year ago) We Are Young. Though I'm not 100% sold on their album, I can't even describe how awesome it is that a pop/rock single hit the top spot. It shouldn't be such a rarity, yet it is. This remix is just... I have no words, honestly. It's exactly what a good remix should be. It turns the track into a surging, euphoric dance anthem, yet retains the structure and melody of the original. The instrumental bits after the chorus are EPIC. Play this loud.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Listen to Alvin's other stuff here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Doug Naugler - Smells Like Teen Spirit

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous"

Time for something a little different. Vancouver-based musician/producer Doug Naugler has created something very special with his free online album of covers. He's taken classic rock songs, stripped them of instrumentation, and rebuilt them using electronic music. The result is really, really cool. I'm a big fan of mixing rock and dance in the first place, but these reproductions have amazed me by just how seamless they are. I had a hard time picking which one to post (you can listen to them all on his soundcloud), but I decided to go with Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. It's obviously a super well-known song, but it's augmented in just the right way to make it (if possible) even more powerful. Nirvana as a dance anthem? Yes, please! If you like this, be sure to download the album and spread the word.

Doug Naugler - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Re-Production) by dougnaugler

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

The Ark - It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane (Extended Dance Mix)

"Wasn't life supposed to be more then this?"

I've been really into remixes this summer. Maybe it's because there hasn't been all that much new music that's struck me the past few months. I especially love remixes that take a song and totally shift it into something else (a dance mix of a dance song is sorta superfluous, right?). Given that I'm a super fan, I've always wished that there were more remixes of songs by the Ark out there. They did just come out with some mixes of Breaking Up With God, but I'd love to hear some new interpretations (or, dare I wish, a megamix?) of their older classics. I'm not even sure if the mix I'm posting today was done by a professional. It's not an official mix, but I've had it in my collection for years now. At first, it's nothing special. Just a basic dance beat. But once that simple piano riff starts, everything kicks into gear. This song may end up being known as the Ark's crowning achievement, so I'm surprised it doesn't have any official mixes. It's such an anthem... there's so much potential for something earth-shattering and floor-filling. For an unreleased mix, though, this is pretty good. And as is always the case with remixes, it all comes down to this: a great song is a great song, no matter how it's presented.

The Ark - It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane (Extended Dance Remix) by alienhits

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