The Cardigans & Tom Jones - Burning Down the House

Today I was in the car and the 1983 Talking Heads song 'Burning Down the House' came on.  Despite the commercial success hitting in the top 10 at the time, their song lives in my memory as the remake by The Cardigans and Tom Jones.  Just to recap, the song is a late 90s pop hit featuring The Cardigans and Tom Jones and is as delightfully silly as it sounds.  The swingy pop beat is infectious and Tom Jones brings his Vegas crooning in full effect.

Released as a single on Tom Jones' album 'Reload', the track came out in 1999.  I haven't seen the video in over a decade and forgotten how wonderfully weird it is.  I am pleased to share this odd throwback to you over 15 years later.

Party Ben - Boulevard of Broken Songs

Though the mash up era has come and gone, I kind of wonder when my interest in it stopped.  One of the pinnacles of the mash up era hit with the song 'Boulevard of Broken Songs' by mash up DJ Party Ben.  The California-based DJ worked on local radio with his half hour show 'Sixx Mixx' and built a name for himself with the rise of the mash up.  Currently, Party Ben works at Pandora Radio working with dance and electronica.

'Boulevard of Broken Songs' was Party Ben's break out song and went viral on the internet pretty quickly.  The track takes samples from 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Green Day, 'Wonderwall' by Oasis, 'Writing to Reach You' by Travis, and 'Sing for the Moment' by Eminem which was later replaced with 'Dream On' by Aerosmith.  The result is what all mash ups aim for: a hard driving hook-heavy song that mixes perfectly in key, tone, and tempo.  I absolutely love this song and toss it on whenever I want to transport myself back to the early aughts.

Kiiara - Gold

Recently, I discovered Kiiara with a random youtube playlist was playing in the background.  As soon as I heard 'Gold', I had to immediately stop what I was doing to listen in.  With my excitement for the upcoming Flume album, I've been browsing chill out electronica and this song definitely fell into my wheelhouse.  The heavy bass and chopped up sampling is great and the 'Gold' is perfect match of indie roots with pop sensibilities.  Also, the lyrics of the song are catchy and easy to sing, despite being nonsensical.

The 21 year old Illinois native released her first single 'Gold' with her 6 track EP 'Low Kii Savage'.  At this point Kiiara is still new, but 'Gold' has already reached international audiences getting platinum sales in Australia.  Signed by Atlantic and with over 5 million views on this single, it's safe to say that we will be seeing Kiiara again soon.

DJ Jazzy Jeff - Peter Piper Routine

Following the incredible Mix Master Mike from last week, I decided to do a post about another amazing DJ from back in the day.  The Fresh Prince (Will Smith), was a phenom of raw talent which he honed into his acting career, but what ever happened to Jazzy Jeff?  Staying true to his name, DJ Jazzy Jeff continued on the music path and continues to DJ today.

To display his talents, Jazzy Jeff was invited to perform his 'Peter Piper' routine for the Serato channel.  In the video, Jazzy Jeff shows off the skills that helped launch the success of 'The Fresh Prince' and how he never lost them.

Currently, DJ Jazzy Jeff continues to tour and has a web series that goes behind the scenes during his shows around the world.

Beastie Boys - Intergalactic

To me, the song that captures the soul of the Beastie Boys is 'Three MC's and One DJ'.  When I think back to the most iconic song from the group, however, I point towards 'Intergalactic'.

From the masterpiece 'Hello Nasty' album released in 1998, 'Intergalactic' was released along with incredible tracks like 'Body Movin' and 'Remote Control'.  'Intergalactic' hit right as I was entering my teenage years, and I still have strong memories of the Kaiju-inspired music video.  Looking back at the low budget giant robot and bright construction worker outfits, I was surprised that I didn't realize the video was actually shot in Japan.  Looking at the video now it's so obvious, but I guess my 14 year old brain just didn't register it.

While writing this, I've fallen pretty deep into a rabbit hole of Beastie Boys songs, and I hope that you all take the same journey.