Remixes that butcher the original song

Started by Andy, September 10, 2005, 12:43:15

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Andy

Just got hold of the second CD single released for Gone!
This is one of very few UK CD singles I didn't already own and the tracks on it I didn't already own were The 13th (Feels Good Mix) and Strange Attraction (Strange Mix).

What a complete disappointment The 13th remix is - nothing like the original song and quite shockingly bad! Why do bands allow this kind of garbage to happen to their music?? This really does annoy me when there have been some mixes of Cure songs in the past that I have thought were fantastic, in particular some of the extended mixes on the singles from Wish and Disintegration. There was a remix of Gone! on the first CD single which I thought was really quirky and cool (Critter mix, I think it was called). Then again, probably some of you out there hated that one!

What are others opinions on remixes and do you agree that in general the quality of Cure remixes has deteriorated in recent years?

meatfeeder

Mixed Up was a terrible idea! ,The Cure just ain't a Remix kind of band their songs should just be left alone!
Why not put on live tracks for the other B-sides they would be much more welcomed instead of crappy remixes you would only play for 30 seconds ever!!

Janko

Now, now...
Its just the format trouble...
74 minutes to fill.


I LOVE remixes becouse they are "what could or should be"... you know, longer, bigger, free, unchained stuff that has good production. The Cure are NOT the band that will often make long extended radically reworked live in concert versions (as they do well with A Forest, but lousy with Forever) - so not being able to do free form stuff live - the band makes (made?!) remixes - and they are great!
And then - The Cure are NOT hard rock band and they clearly addopted other influences. So, why not? It expands their fanbase, brings more airplay, and THEY ARE NOT LOOSING ON QUALITY with remixes...
So, as long as its good music from the guys - bring it on!

:?
Fatter than Bob, balder than Porl, as sober as Simon, as amusing as Jason

smitha

still not convinced. :?  
I rarely like remixes.

Andy

I agree with Janko on this.

My original point was that the quality of most recent remixes has been pretty poor, compared with older remixes which often gave an interesting different take on a song. I enjoyed most of mixed up and the other mixes that appeared on singles in that period.

Surely The Cure always have been a "remix kind of band", as there are remixes going back to a lot of their very early material?? My ideal for a single has always been a decent remix and a couple of new tracks, which used to usually be the case with The Cure. This is the reason I have nearly every single as well as albums.

splitmilk34

I think that many of the "remixes" have been pretty sub-par, but good things (like a larger fanbase) do come out of it.  There are some cases where the remix rivals the original version... the remix of Lullaby on Mixed Up is awesome, and there are like 7 different remixes of Close to Me, and the Tree Mix of A Forest is also excellent.  It's just a matter of taste, I guess?
"... sleeping less every night"

nausearockpig

i rate most remixes / ext versions.
i think it gives us a chance to hear a different side of what we love. not that i would substiture the original with remixes but still i find it interesting.

sometimes it gets a bit too much, i'm not sure of the exact number but i know there are some songs that have stacks of remixes - Wrong Number for example.

i really liked the mix of Primary on the Close To Me remix single that appeared.

as mentioned in another post, all up to personal opinion. if the Cure were exactly the way one of us wanted, the other zillion fans would be disappointed...
or maybe not.

just spouting crap as per usual...

Javier

lostflower4

Starting in '96, it seems like the Cure pretty much gave up on remixes in the traditional sense. Either they were extreme departures of the original, or barely different at all. Listen to the remixes that appear on the 13th and Mint Car singles. They're barely "remixes" at all.

1997 gave us about a bunch of Wrong Number mixes. The only one that really strikes me is the Crossed Line - Warm Vocal one. I find it very hypnotizing.

Then comes 2000. All we got is 4 remixes of Maybe Someday, 3 of which are exactly the same except for the length. And oh yeah, the strange Watching Me Fall remix that most of us probably hate.

And finally, 2004. No remixes at all, unless you count the single mixes which are the same but just shortened a bit.

Has the era of remixes come to a grinding halt? :(

splitmilk34

It seems the most of the newer Cure stuff doesn't lend itself to remixes, which may well be a good thing.  However, I think it'd be interesting to hear some remixes of Anniversary, Going Nowhere, Before Three, and This Morning off of the last album.  What does all this mean... probably nothing.
"... sleeping less every night"

revolt

Quote from: splitmilk34 on October 05, 2005, 17:41:24
It seems the most of the newer Cure stuff doesn't lend itself to remixes, which may well be a good thing.  

Well, with the new Hypno-something remix EP coming on, we'll have a good opportunity to see if you are right or not...

Anyway, sometimes remixes can butcher a good original and still somehow come out fine. A good example, if my memory serves me well, is the Flicker mix of 'The Catterpillar' (included in the 'Mixed Up' album).

Another issue here is that sometimes it is easier to do a good remix of a lousy song than do the same with a great song. If the song is bad, you feel free to just get from it the little bits that sound OK, work from there, and throw the rest of the song in the garbage can. If the song is great and you are a conscious remixer, you might get a sort of a block and think - now, what the hell can I do with this song that will improve it?

Bloodflower

Quote from: lostflower4 on October 05, 2005, 16:50:09
Starting in '96, it seems like the Cure pretty much gave up on remixes in the traditional sense. Either they were extreme departures of the original, or barely different at all. Listen to the remixes that appear on the 13th and Mint Car singles. They're barely "remixes" at all.

1997 gave us about a bunch of Wrong Number mixes. The only one that really strikes me is the Crossed Line - Warm Vocal one. I find it very hypnotizing.

Then comes 2000. All we got is 4 remixes of Maybe Someday, 3 of which are exactly the same except for the length. And oh yeah, the strange Watching Me Fall remix that most of us probably hate.

And finally, 2004. No remixes at all, unless you count the single mixes which are the same but just shortened a bit.

Has the era of remixes come to a grinding halt? :(

I have to take exception here -- I happen to love, for instance, Mint Car [Buskers Mix], then there's the Ambient Mix of This is a Lie, I TOTALLY dig the Analogue Exchange Mix of Wrong Number, the radio edit of Maybe Someday cuts off a bit of unnecessary time, and I'd completely LOVE the radio edit of Out of this World if it wasn't so loud and the beginning wasn't so sloppy. As for 2004 -- I believe that the single mix of The End of the World raises the levels on the... I don't know what it is, some synthesizer -- anyway, it just sounds better to my ears.

And yeah, post-'92 remixes have generally been tamer, less reimagining of songs than, you know, remixes, but some songs, and here I refer you back to This is a Lie [Ambient Mix] and the Buskers Mix of Mint Car, just need a bit of tweaking. I mean, if the extended version of Fascination Street cut off about three unnecessary minutes, but kept keyboard part, it'd be freaking amazing.... -er, anyway....
Another Curefan for The Dark Christmas album.

KingOfSomeIsland

I like hearing new remixes and alternate versions and I was dissappointed that the last album had so few of them. My favoruite remixes are the Closer Mix of Close to Me and the 12" Version of Pictures of You. Something about that version (of Pictures) is just so amazing and just adds so much even though its so similar to the album cut, It makes it so much more wistful and dreamy. And the Closer mix of Close to Me is just pure fun

Cure Freak

Quote from: meatfeeder on September 10, 2005, 15:00:55
Mixed Up was a terrible idea! ,The Cure just ain't a Remix kind of band their songs should just be left alone!
i agree

nausearockpig

Quote from: Cure Freak on August 06, 2008, 00:39:28
Quote from: meatfeeder on September 10, 2005, 15:00:55
Mixed Up was a terrible idea! ,The Cure just ain't a Remix kind of band their songs should just be left alone!
i agree
that's interesting. Mixed Up is the first release I heard from The Cure other than Never Enough. It's what prompted me to go back and listen to the originals and eventually fall in love with the music. It sounds a bit dated now but I loved it back then and I still listen to it on occasion now.

PS you'll hate the new EP that's due then ;-)

japanesebaby

Quote from: nausearockpig on August 06, 2008, 00:59:02
Quote from: Cure Freak on August 06, 2008, 00:39:28
Quote from: meatfeeder on September 10, 2005, 15:00:55
Mixed Up was a terrible idea! ,The Cure just ain't a Remix kind of band their songs should just be left alone!
i agree
that's interesting. Mixed Up is the first release I heard from The Cure other than Never Enough. It's what prompted me to go back and listen to the originals and eventually fall in love with the music. It sounds a bit dated now but I loved it back then and I still listen to it on occasion now.

i've also always been in the minority that liked/still likes 'mixed up'. i always thought i liked it because i've liked a broad variety of music anyway and not been genre oriented and also because i wasn't really in contact with other cure fans back then - so in a way i could say that back then i really didn't know that it was "not ok" to like that record and i only learned a bit later that "oh every "true" cure fan is supposed to hate this, just because". don't get me wrong: of course there's nothing wrong if some people genuinely don't like it and can give reasons to their opinion. i'm not saying that everyone just adopted some collective attitude - but surely there's been a lot of that too around 'mixed up'. i always genuinely liked the album and that's why i found that "officially approved" collective attitude just really strange to myself - and i guess it almost worked the other way round and just made me consciously resist disliking that album even more! ;)


looking at it from today's perspective, yes it sounds a bit outdated at times - but not nearly as badly as it could. there are some really good sounding stuff on it, still.
and i don't know, but i sometimes feel like perhaps people who only got into the band later (late 90s, post-2000) can easily find it outdated and not interesting, even out of place. at least it's somehow easy to bash it from today's perspective, a lot easier than bashing some other albums.
i'm not saying this is the case with the comments here, but just in general.
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine