30 Songs, 30 Days, Day Twenty Five: Dress (High Fashion Remix) by P.J. Harvey

She's looking at you looking at her...do you really want to
know what she's thinking?

This one's for you, Fil....

And let's be honest, it's not just my friend Fil (maven of the Pogo-A-GoGo Blog) who went insane for Miss Polly Jean back when she first grabbed hold of our collective shirt collars, announced her arrival and threw us down on the floor so she can walk all over us. She wasn't the first female artist to take the male gale and turn it back on her audience as part of her onstage persona; hell, she wasn't even the first one who did it in the 90's. But unlike many of her contemporaries (I'm looking at you, Liz Phair), Harvey has never softened to the point where she was Safe For Lite-FM. Sure, she's softened, and she's cast her musical net much wider than she did when she fronted the P.J. Harvey Trio....but she's kept her output more or less consistent. Much like Tori Amos, the impression I get is that Harvey writes for herself first and foremost, and worries about whether other people will care to listen later.

This is a remix of the very first single Harvey released with the Trio in 1991...and even in this dance-friendly form, it's an angry little song (But then, weren't most of the songs she released as singles from this period? I can't imagine anyone thinking 'Sheila-Na-Gig' a good time anthem, after all). It's about how the female body image is shaped by the aforementioned male gaze, with Harvey at turns hoping the dress she's wearing will make her 'clean and sparkling' for a man when she goes out dancing...all the while being very aware of how uncomfortable the garment is, and how difficult it is to move in the constricting thing, and how it results in her 'spilling out like a heavy loaded fruit tree.' It's the sort of thing Harvey did a lot in her early career, making the listeners uneasy by grinding our face in a reality most similar song scenarios won't give us.

I think it's telling that Harvey continues to be able to do what she wishes musically while others of her class have surrendered to a softer, more commerical sound. While an argument can be made that there was a slight immaturity in these early songs, they are still the seeds from which later, more complex and nuanced albums have sprung from. She has continued to stretch her musical muscles both on her own and with frequent collaborations with other artists. And I always look forward to what she's going to pull out of her bag of tricks next.

Here's the video....

40 Songs, 40 Days (2011 Edition), Day Eighteen: Soul Love (ATOM's Pink Innards Mix) by David Bowie

This is a version of the classic Ziggy Stardust track from the project that saw modern mash-up DJs remix the classic album. And it's....odd. ATOM has done a lot to submerge Bowie's vocals except at very key times--in many spots, it seems like he's playing with the gain too much to give Bowie the sound of someone trying to keep his head above water--and has done something that makes the drum line sound distorted by blown speakers. I have to say that I don't think it does Bowie's song about the way the meaning of love can change from person to person (a mother's love for her son, who lost his life for love of country; new lovers discovering each other; the love of God being used by a priest for comfort) any service. It's too busy, drawing attention to the mix more than the song itself.

A good remix, like a good cover song or a good mash-up, should illuminate the original in some way. I fear that the art of the remix is lost when it comes to genres outside of hip-hop. There was a time not that long ago when even the most inconsequential single got a 12 inch remix--Hell, I have very vivid memories of listening, with some incredulity, to a remix of Warren Zevon's "Leave My Monkey Alone" on that aberration of a radio station we call Z100. Don't get me wrong, there are mash-up DJ's who do some great straight remixes--I've talked briefly about DJ Earworm before, for example--But ATOM's efforts here do not give me much hope that art will return.

If you're curious about the whole project, which also includes remixes by other famous mash-up stars like A Plus D, ToTOM and the project's compiler, DJBC, go to The Ziggy Remixed Page.

No video for this one, but here's one for the more effective, pure mash-up that A Plus D put together for the very same project, "Stardust Kids."