So Champions of Breakfast and Kommie Kilpatrick pulled together a pretty cool idea and have executed it quite well. They took 5 songs from one another a covered/remixed them in their own style. Kommie Kilpatrick is a synth/electronic based dance duo that sings over laptops and mixers whereas Kommie Kilpatrick are high-speed thrash punks that have quick-to-the-point 1 minute songs. Needless to say, the take on songs from one band to the other will very very interesting. To commemorate this endeavor they are releasing a limited run of 50 cassette tapes. You can catch live performances and procure said tapes this Thursday (tomorrow) at the Lager House.
There is a really good interview about the project hosted by Jeff Milo over at Deepcutz here where the bands interview one another. I really suggest getting an early start to your weekend and checking out the culmination of this project as something this unique doesn't happen too often.
Personally, I am a fan of the remix/cover phenomena that has become prevalent as of late. I really saw the exponential increase within the indie circuit flourish when Crystal Castles and Health became mainstream entities and released 45's and mixtapes completely compiled of remixes. This was something that was common already in the worlds of hip hop and electronica. Lately, everyone is taking part in the whole remix avenue, from Devendra Banhart remixing Phoenix to Thom Yorke remixing DOOM. Even Lykke Li torrented a remix comp of all the songs from her debut LP. It's really a cool way for an artist to fall in love with a song and say, "If I wrote this song and did it my way, this is how it would sound." The line is increasingly blurred between the definitions of remix and cover. Take Crystal Castles for instance, their remix of Health's Crimewaves is for the most part an original song, simply using a tweaked 5 second vocal from the original. This remix/cover is the work that shotgunned Crystal Castles from the underground to indie overlords (that and their nonstop touring habits). So call it what you want, remix or cover, it's becoming a cool and original way to springboard your ideas of something you like and connect your originality with someone elses. Here's to remixes!
-jr
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-jr is a musician/dj/blogger/writer from Detroit, MI. He performs in the band The Jesus Chainsaw Massacre and writes a cultural blog under the same moniker. When Dj'ing he uses the handle DJ JCM. He has been an integral part of the Detroit Music mechanation for the past 10 years. He knows just about everything about music on both a local and national level. His opinon is gold and is infallible. This is what's been in my ear lately.