noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 60 May 2009 - Index

Utada
Come Back to Me (Remixes)
Akon
Beautiful (Remixes)
The biggest hopeful for America
getting its first ever Asian popstar,
Utada has all the right stuff to
make the crossover from J-Pop to
American Top 40. We’ll just have
to see how well the effort goes
over and how much funding her
label’s willing to put into it. She
made her mark in fall of 2005 with
“Devil Inside,” and had some formidable
follow-ups, but it’s “Come
Back To Me” that could really make
the final push for her with its popperfect
phrasing and sing-a-long
chorus—not to mention the amazing
attention to quality in commissioning
remix treatments. Tony
Moran and Warren Rigg do what
they always do, a pop-ized tribal
beat peak-hour mix, which punctuates
everything nicely. Seamus Haji
and Paul Emmanuel step up the
ambient element a bit with some
rubbery synths over a chunkier beat
and twinkling chimes. And Quentin
Harris contributes his trademark
stripped down, T-Dance style house
rub, giving the vocals more of the
spotlight. Pay special attention to
the song’s greatest line, “I wish
that I could Photoshop all our bad
memories, ‘cuz the flashbacks won’t
leave me alone.” That’s J-Pop.
Akon’s kind of a dick; anyone who
throws a fan off a stage into a crowd
gets that label from me. But you can’t
argue with the fact that he produces
perfect radio pop that seems to be relying
heavily on a synthy, European sound
accompanied by dedicated remix treatments.
“Beautiful” isn’t exactly a love
song: “I see you in the club/You showin’
thugs love/I wanna get with you/You’re
so beautiful,” but it’s catchy as hell,
uses Colby O’Donis and his requisite
vocodered vocals, and is remixed by
none other than our own kickass lesbian,
Tracy Young, whose remix stands out
against all the rest (Mike Rizzo, Sted E
& Hybrid and Tonal). She makes this the
one urban song you can’t wait to hear
at the next party. And if you request this
from the DJ, make sure to mention you
want the “with Rap” version of Tracy’s
mix. Despite all the failed attempts at a
rap/house hybrid genre in the early 90s,
Kardinal Offishall’s rhymes sound incredible
over the storming Circuit house production.
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