Originally I started this to choose a different theme to explore musically (and sometimes video-ly). Lately I've gotten into doing complete remix and rehamornizations and I think I'm going to stick with that for a little while... ENJOY!
JUNE- Probably the rest of the year THEME: Remixes
MAY THEME: (No theme, took a break)
APRIL THEME: Things I Enjoy (Weekly)
MARCH THEME: Opening Credits For Things Movies That Don't Exist (Weekly)
FEBRUARY THEME: Rearranging Songs (Daily)
JANUARY THEME: Songs Based On Photos (Daily)
I co-wrote this song a while ago with some folks and it just turned up in this Korean band’s video. I’m not in charge of the sales of the songs so I literally had no idea this was happening until a few minutes ago. Best surprise of the day. I wrote and played all the instrumental parts on here. Great work to everyone who worked on this!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/painkiller/id515209141
Ain’t Too Proud To Beg (CUEUP Remix) - The Temptations
Remixed and Rearranged by Michael Malarkey
It’s always strange to hear songs that are so embedded in our ears suddenly have a completely different harmonization and arrangement but if you give it a chance it can change the way you perceive what the song is saying musically and lyrically.
Tyga’s “Careless World” comes out in February 21st! I’ve been holding my breath for over 3 years to find out if my tracks made it on this album and, officially, both made it! You can preorder the album on iTunes and hear the tracks I co-wrote and played on (guitars, keyboards, and pianos):
16: This is Like (feat. Robin Thicke)
20: Lay You Down (feat. Lil’ Wayne)
Can’t wait!
From my other blog: I’ll be on Tyga’s new album coming out on the 21st. Preorder now!!!
Rock Wit U (CUEUP Remix) - Alicia Keys Remixed and Rearranged by Michael Malarkey
-MIKE-
I entered a remix contest where I remixed Alicia Keys’ “Rock Wit U”. I think I did a damn good job but that doesn’t always matter most when it comes to anything involving online voting. It’d be great if I get some folks from the tumblr community to back me up here… Best part is? YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE AN ACCOUNT! You do have to enter your email address to prevent people from double voting but just be sure you uncheck that box that says you want to join their mailing list and you’ll never be bothered. (I’m a member and I never get emails about anything from them.)
To listen to and VOTE for me (CUEUP REMIX) go here:
http://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/alicia-keys-rock-wit-u/submissions/68020
For all of you who liked that Adele, Stevie, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and/or LMFAO remixes I made this with the same heart and soul I always do and would love to see some folks reblog this. If not, no big thing keep coming back and enjoying the music!
-Mike
Party Rock Anthem (CUEUP Remix) - LMFAO
Remixed and Rearranged by Michael Malarkey
Really wanted to do a throwback to my middle school days of pixie-stick-fueled-pop-punk and this song really fit the bill. I usually don’t want to speed acapella tracks up but this time it really benefited from a 30% boost in speed.
Living On A Prayer (CUEUP Remix) - Bon Jovi
Remixed and Rearranged by Michael Malarkey
What an epic song. I found the vocal track for this classic and immediately knew what style this had to be… yup, cowboy. It was important that I go in a totally different direction than the Stevie Wonder one. I was tempted to call this “CUEUP Presents: The Ballad of Tommy & Gina (Living on a Prayer)” but that might be going a bit tad too far.
This song is so great and really could have gone so many ways, this style just seemed like the biggest challenge and I’m pretty happy with how it came out.
On a side note: I’ve started a soundcloud page. It might be easier to navigate if you just want to hear the songs I’ve done (so far I’ve only put up the remixes) but I’ll get more going soon.
There is a computer missing from this rig. When it comes back… so will the music.
Also, I’ve gotten a lot more followers over the past few weeks so in the meantime explore some of my older pre-remix material!
Thanks, folks!
Mike
Superstition (CUEUP Remix) - Stevie Wonder
Remixed and Rearranged by Michael Malarkey
I’m afraid to post this because I’m a huge Stevie Wonder fan and I mean no offense by remixing this classic. ”Talking Book“ is one of my “desert island” records and I knew I had to do a remix of something off of there if I could get the tracks.
I found the separate original 16 tracks of this song and they were amazing to hear. I immediately heard in Stevie’s voice that if I abandoned the greasy funk/rock of Superstition’s accompaniment the remaining vocals were surprisingly gentle, beautiful, and incredibly soulful. This was true especially in the “response” lines of the main melody (i.e. ”Writings on the wall” “Ladders ‘bout to fall” “Broke the looking glass”). So I made my accompaniment a little more gentle and a bit more harmonic than the original to bring out the melody. I did attempt to use a slightly funky bass synth that might be reminiscent of Stevie from this era.
Aside from the original vocal tracks, I also used the original drum tracks in certain sections. I think you’ll be able to hear where they come in thanks to Stevie’s awesome fills.
Why would I remix a song that cannot be improved? I like to hear what else a song has in it. It don’t think what I make is better than the original, remixes seldom are. I love hearing a completely different direction that a song can take. It’s so fun to hear how far you can depart from the original style even though the vocal performance is exactly the same.
Enjoy!
