BOOTIE>>Best of Bootie 2006

MASHUPS
take two good songs, put them together and BAM, GOOD MUSIC!
Well, no not exactly. There are tons of terrible mashups out there that are too jumbled and chaotic because people do exactly what I just described.
However there are tons of good ones as well, which are fantastic for party dances and club dances.

Bootie is a big mashup party that's thrown in several cities across America, Paris, and also in Second Life (not so rad). This year (as well as last year) They've released a "Best of" CD for all their favorite mashups they've heard and played this year. I've already gone through the whole thing and it is filled with some major tracks. Of course there are a few that you'll probably want to skip through (like the Beyonce v Dave Matthew's track) but the majority of the CD is filled with quality mashups. The "Oh What a Night" and Jay-Z track has to be one of my favorites from this CD.

But anyway yes. The entire CD is free up on their site, but you gotta sign up for some music site thing in order to download it. I'll post that link, but I'll also update this post again later with a rapidshare link or something so you don't have to go through the trouble of registering. Just don't say I haven't done anything for you.

Bootie

UPDATE:
SendSpace

Michael Mayer - Immer 2

Michael Mayer
Immer 2
Kompakt

Alright, this was released a few months ago, but whatever. To begin, many don't like Mayer's style. Granted, it's one that I don't prefer; I prefer long mixes, making the tracks play simultaneously for awhile. Mayer makes very short cuts, prefering to play each track fully. Obviously, Kompakt's philosophy of tracks as songs rather than tools carries over to Mayer's mixes as well.

Immer 2 begins with "Ploosh", an intro that, like with the first Immer mix, makes you forget that you're listening to dance music. "The Dog" picks this up a bit, and the next three tracks all bring us into dance music territory. Things really start picking up with one of the best releases of last year, Justus Köhncke's "Advance", a great song with sweeping synths and a sort of disco-ish sound (something that Mayer, in an interview, said he sort-of welcomes the come back of). Lindstrøm's "Another Station (Todd Terje Remix)" is where the mix really reaches its most dancable.

Clearly, this is the climax of the mix in terms of dancibility, but it is past this point where the mix really begins to shine. The Rice Twins' "For Dan", released on K2 last year, was a great release that didn't get the attention that it really deserved. It's followed by SCSI-9's "Morskaya" from their album "The Line of Nine" which was a great release following the typical Kompakt sound. "Lying in a Bed of Mist" brings the mix down a bit more, and segues beautifully into DK7's "Where's the Fun (Sten Remix)". You might not exactly be dancing anymore, but this is where dance music shines and where Mayer's philosophy comes through. The mix ends with Supermayer's remix of Geiger's "Good Evening" which, for all of its 11 minutes, never once falters. It's not as "get up and dance" as their remix of Gui Boratto's "Like You" last year, but it's just as good.

Having to live up to both the first Immer and his mix for Fabric, Mayer has created something here that, on its own, stands up to any mix CD out there. Unfortunately, it is hard to look away from his older CDs, but it's unfair to expect him to be able to match the greatness of those two. For what it is, Immer 2 is a fantastic mix CD, and is easily one of the best CDs released last year.

The Knife - Silent Shout

The Knife
Silent Shout
Rabid Records

Lately, people still associate electronic music with the antiquated raves of old (which some still hold on to), but there are many who realize that one need not actually play instruments to produce quality music. Enter The Knife. After getting a particularly helpful boost from the Sony BRAVIA commercial and José González' cover of 'Heartbeats', 'Silent Shout' was released amidst a ton of hype. And luckily it all paid off, for 'Silent Shout' is undoubtedly one of the greatest releases of 2006.

'Silent Shout' opens with a bang, as the title track sets the stage for the whole album. It's creepy, unsettling, and brilliant. Karin Dreijer's voice is heavily distorted, but it is on the next track 'Neverland' where we hear her voice shine. It's probably The Knife's signature, for her voice truly sounds like nothing else out there. 'We Share Our Mothers' Health', 'Like a Pen' and 'Marble House' are all highlights, but the album flows together so well that there is really no low point.