Music Remixes

Art is a form of expression meant to try to resonate with he who observes it in some way, be it emotionally or situationally or something else in that space. Another part of art is the fact that it also serves as a way to get people to express themselves, often on top of or based on other people's work. Consequently, as it is also an art form, music is not exempt from this idea, and it is absolutely no stranger to it. People will take a song and make their own cover of it, or sample bits and pieces of it to fit it into a new artistic vision, or remix the song and add their own artistic vision into that very piece.

Remixes will be the topic of discussion today.

This blog is inspired by a conversation I had with a friend in a study hall period the other week. She had taken notice that I had Tame Impala's "Deadbeat" downloaded on my Samsung Galaxy S5 that I use to listen to music, and immediately thought about the song "Dracula" from that album. She went on a bit of a tangent and said that JENNIE's remix of the song was way better than the original.

I will tell you this in the most objective way I reasonably can: it is not.

I guess a lot of my gripes with the song have to do with the inherent nature of JENNIE's singing style. I don't think her voice really fits into the song very well, which has to do with the way her voice is mixed, because with the way I hear it, her voices is heaps more in-your-face as Kevin's which makes it a little more jarring to hear her sing right after Kevin as she takes over a couple of Kevin's verses. Even the reverberated ad libs just don't seem quite right working with Kevin. She just can't get as in-your-skin as Kevin's original vocals do. The way that she sings also does a disservice to the song, as it's more of that standard girly poppy voice to me as opposed to the kind of softer voice Kevin has that further adds to that spacey, almost hypnotic feel. The verse that she writes also just doesn't sit well. I guess it's more of a personal preference to say that I would prefer it when added verses and lyrics to remixed songs feel more like they were meant to be part of the song rather than simply something haphazardly slapped in, which is how JENNIE's verse feels like, and in a way even feels like a self insert fanfic, talking to Kevin as if she were there in the moment with him, which feels off having listened to the original song when it came out. In general, I don't really like it when music, unless it's really personal, addresses the artists in the song directly. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving Kevin the pass for that "shut up, Kevin" line, but the way JENNIE does it makes it feel more like that self-insert fanfic thing that irks me so much about her verse. With all of these, it makes her additions feel more like a middle-schooler's side project than an actual track to be taken seriously.

But that's not to say that music Remixes are all bad. Take the "Golden Remix" of "El Farsante" by Ozuna and Romeo Santos. The song talks about not being great at love, but still being committed to changing for good, for the better of the relationship. Romeo's verse portrays that decently well, along with his voice being mixed in a way that makes sense for the song. Yes, he still falls victim of the whole self-addressing thing that I complained about earlier ("Ozuna y yo somos farsantes, nos ahogamo en el fracaso" (translation: "Ozuna and I are phonies, we're drowning in failure")), and yes, it does feel weird, but at the very least it doesn't take away from the song, or more importantly does not add to any sense of uncanny-ness which his verse may already have. Cardi B's Remix of "Finesse" by Bruno Mars is also the same way. The song's upbeat, celebratory party vibe feels just right with Cardi B's voice, and she carries it out very well (likely in part thanks to her Dominican heritage. I'm Dominican too, so don't get your panties in a bunch for me making that connection). Again, for some reason she also falls victim of that whole self addressing thing, but her energy just amplifies the song more in spite of it, which is best shown when she takes over the whole "we got it goin' on" breakdown, which she gives more energy to than the original. 

With that said, when it comes to music Remixes, they can be good so long as they maintain the vibe of the song and the style and mixing of their voice remains consistent with the purpose of the song. JENNIE is a good example of how things are when those ideas are absent in a remix, leading to a stylistically jarring and lackluster-in-content feel. Sticking with those principles, like how Romeo Santos and Cardi B did in their respective remixes, will augment the vibe of the song and keep it interesting and pleasant to listen to, allowing for a better listening experience.

-R.C.