Earlier today, I added an impossible question to this month’s MuuPoll: “What’s your favorite Madonna record?”

I know, I know. Sophie’s Choice. Nonetheless, the question sparked an excellent Twitter debate, comparing and contrasting all of Madge’s iconic records, which quickly led into an all-day Madonnathon on my iPod. (To be fair, this happens roughly every week.)

Taking my love a step further, I wanted to post a random smattering of six Madonna remixes that I absolutely adore (or cherish, if you will). I don’t think there’s any real surprises for hardcore Madge buffs included, but I hope something strikes a fancy for the less familiar fans. Enjoy!

“Give It 2 Me (Paul Oakenfold Remix)”

I first discovered this after a download binge back in April of ’08 from PopMuse. After surfacing on shuffle mode during a jog with my iPod, the remix been a fixture on my gym playlist ever since. With its pounding beat and distant moans, the Paul Oakenfold mix of “Give It 2 Me” turns Madge’s already great Hard Candy throbber into a full-on club affair. (iTunes)

“Bedtime Story (Orbital Remix)”

The Orbital remix of Madge’s Björk-penned 1995 single was revitalized in 2004 when it was used as a video backdrop during her Re-Invention Tour. Brooding, minimal and vaguely reminiscent of the William Orbit mysticism that would color 1998′s Ray of Light, the Orbital mix breathes new life into an already incredible track. The slow stutter of “Let’s get unconscious” in the first minute is worth the price of admission alone! (iTunes)

“What It Feels Like For A Girl (Above & Beyond 12″ Club Remix)”

The Above & Beyond remix of “What It Feels Like For A Girl” strips the song of its softly-sung angst in favor of a distinctly ‘new millennium’-era trance makeover. The video mix is vocal-less (aside from the sorrowful croon of “For a girl in this world…”), which makes for the perfect soundtrack to Madge’s four minute hell-on-wheels destruction spree. Watch out–granny on board!

“Erotica (Confessions Tour Version)”

Oh, this remix: Crafted by Stuart Price for 2006′s Confessions Tour, this mix adds in elements of the song’s original, never-before-heard demo (“You Thrill Me”) to a dark, moody beat, resulting in a truly lush, romantic re-imagining of the 1992 original. It’s perfect, just as with every single second of Confessions. (iTunes)

“Burning Up (12″ Mix)”

While it isn’t really that much of a reinvention, the slightly more electro-pop oriented 12″ mix, one of Madonna’s first actual remixes, strips away some of the rockier elements of the original and adds in some dainty ’80′s-tastic synthesizers. What can I say? For dancing ’round the room while getting ready, Madonna-era Madonna simply remains unmatched.

“Celebration (Benny Benassi Remix)”

I remember “Celebration” getting some flack for attempting to be too ‘of the moment’ by some Madonnaholics at the time, but the song is really nowhere near as guilty of such desperation as, say, the bulk of Hard Candy. Though she was still a bit late jumping the nu-electro-pop train back in ’09, “Celebration” was a guiltless, joyful–well, celebration! The Benassi re-swizzle of the Oakenfold original gives the track a sexy grind and arena-sized synthesizers that feel make the song feel gigantic; ultimately much more befitting for the Queen. (iTunes)

Here we go again: The end of another year in music!

2010 may well be remembered as the Year of the Future (if not the Year of All Hearts–hint hint!): A year of fembots, androids, bionic women and time-traveling adventures deep into the 22nd century.

Space-age love stories and robo-dramatics colored a large portion of the year’s biggest releases in pop, no doubt a response to the reign of the machine on the pop charts as synth-pop productions continued to dominate the digital airwaves in 2010.

Below is the list of MuuMuse’s Top Albums of 2010, which was based on a variety of factors–from individual song and single goodness, to the complete album experience, to overall artistic integrity, to an album’s ability to ‘stick’ as the year progressed. Basically I’m trying to say that it’s a bit of a hot mess, but I tried my very best.

There’s also a rather controversial dishonorable mention prior to the Top 40 list that will likely blow my chances for that much coveted position as editor of Rolling Stone. DAMN IT.

Now…LET’S DO THIS.

Without further ado…the list!

“Get Outta My Way” is the incredible second single off of Kylie Minogue‘s summer smash, Aphrodite. It is also one of the best singles of 2010. So what better way to celebrate this massive song than a contest?

Last week saw the release of “Get Outta My Way” in the UK in three different formats–7″ vinyl, CD single, and Enhanced CD, as well as a buttload of remixes available digitally.

Now, it’s your chance to snag a copy (if you didn’t already pre-order it like I did!)

To enter to win one of FIVE 7″ vinyl and CD single sets, send an e-mail to me with the subject line “GOMW” telling me your favorite song off of Aphrodite.

Five winners will be selected and notified on Monday, October 11.

In the meantime, do yourselves a favor and head over to iTunes (yes, available in the US as well!) and check out the three massive “Get Outta My Way” remix EPs. From Stuart Price Extended mix to Steve Anderson‘s long-awaited Pacha mix–it’s a reg’lar KYLIEPALOOZA up in this bitch.

Working with Kylie is like working with every artist I have ever wanted to and continues to be as exciting and fresh every time we do something new.

As promised, here comes part two of my interview with the sensational producer, remixer, songwriter and musical director (amongst other titles!), Mr. Steve Anderson.

Go ahead and read on to learn about Anderson’s unreleased electro-ballad with Britney (“Grow”) and much, much more Kylie gossip (Unreleased tracks! Scrapped setlist ideas!), as well as Anderson’s thoughts on remixing, the music industry today (including a killer list of artists to watch), and his latest project: Launching his latest chanteuse Elouise into the seemingly impenetrable territory that is North America.

Click “Read More…” to read the full second half of the interview.

Missed part one? Or just want to brush up on last week’s installment? Click here to see the first half!

Read More…

OH HAI THERE.

Have you guys heard of Lady Gaga? No? Me either.

Nonetheless, she’s got a remix compilation coming out tomorrow (August 3) called The Remix.

It was originally released in Japan earlier this year. Then it went the way of Europe. Now, it’s hit stateside.

The Remix is a convenient package in that it happens to feature LITERALLY THE BEST remixes from each one of her singles. This is not an exaggeration.

The Stuart Price mix of “Paparazzi”? Check. The Richard Vission mix of “Just Dance” with that epic breakdown first featured on the NewNowNext Awards from ’08? Yep. The Chew Fu mix of “LoveGame” with Marilyn Manson used for the song’s KILLER breakdown during the Monster Ball Tour? Got it.

MuuMuse is proud to be giving away EIGHT COPIES of Lady Gaga’s new remix compilation, The Remix.

To enter to win a copy, send me an e-mail with subject line “GAGAMIX” telling me YOUR favorite Mademoiselle Gaga mix, or twat me with the following phrase: “Hey @MuuMuse, I want to shake my disco stick to @LadyGaga’s #theremix!”

Winners will be selected and notified on August 9. Good luck!

For all things Gagalicious, check out her official website. Click here to preview and purchase all of her music from iTunes.

xXbradaloo

On June 28, following a four year hiatus, the Scissor Sisters unveiled their third studio effort, Night Work.

Darker and more cohesive than either of the Scissors’ past two efforts, Night Work is a masterfully executed, sleekly polished glimpse into the excess and depravity of 1970′s disco nightlife–all without ever hazarding the treacherous territory of homage.

Produced by Stuart Price, Night Work also doubles as the perfect disco-laden compliment to the summer’s best album: Kylie Minogue‘s Aphrodite (which just happens to be produced by Mr. Price as well–I bet someone’s having a good summer!)

The album largely revels in a barrage of dirty bass lines and guitar riffs from Babydaddy and Del Marquis, glitchy synthesizers and front-man Jake Shears‘ pitch-perfect falsetto, which provides the vocal backing behind the album’s massive glam-rock anthems (“Fire With Fire”) and dark disco haunts (“Night Work”).

Though the album dives into darker territory, there’s plenty of the Scissor Sisters’ signature camp style buried within the record.

Take for instance “Any Which Way,” a glee-filled romp that finds Ana Matronic playing the sex-starved temptress mid-way through and cooing about finding a man that smells like “cocoa butter and cash.” “Take me anyway you like it / In front of the fireplace, in front of your yacht, in front of my parents / I don’t give a damn, baby–just take me!” she shrieks. It’s silly, it’s naughty, and above all, it’s irresistible.

Don’t believe me? Just try to watch their Glastonbury performance of the track (with a special cameo by a certain pop princess). I defy you not to crack a smile.

Songs like the slinky “Skin This Cat” operate as further evidence that the Sisters have evolved their sound. The melodies here are vastly sexier than previous efforts, even if the lyrics provide enough of a knowing wink wink, nudge nudge to keep you giggling: “You’re not the first tom to walk my floor / So get around the block a few times more / And keep scratch scratchin’ at my back door / And I will show you.”

Further on, several cuts show off Shears’ darker side, including the stomping “Harder You Get” and “Sex & Violence,” which burns with an icy intensity and deranged flares of old school synthesizers: “Oh, I need a witness, to see the mess I’ve made,” Shears devilishly purrs. “Where do you live? What do you give? Who are you with? And how you getting home?” Glam, sex, and murderous intent…a personal favorite, for sure.

But perhaps no track best embodies the album’s true essence than with its final moment: “Invisible Light,” an immense, wildly celebratory six-minute opus of dark disco euphoria.

By the time Ian McKellan delivers his spot-on spoken word about “sexual gladiators” and “fiercely old party children,” the track is already bursting at the seams, at last unleashing wave upon wave of sublime coos and pulsating, tribal beats that come together in one gorgeous moment of frantic bliss.

If there’s any word to describe the Sisters’ latest output, it’s evocative: Of Grace Jones, of bell bottoms and gold chains, of the sweat and grime and filth of a dirty New York City disco.

And that’s what I call a proper night out.

To celebrate the album’s release, MuuMuse is proud to be giving away SIX COPIES of Night Work. send me an e-mail with the subject line “NIGHTWORK” or tweet me with the following phrase: “I found a whole new way to love @MuuMuse! #NightWork”

Six winners will be randomly selected and notified on Tuesday, July 27. Good luck!

To preview and purchase Night Work, click here.

TAKE YOUR TOPS OFF, EVERYONE:

Kylie Minogue has just landed her fifth #1 spot on the UK Albums Chart!

And, in case you had any doubt, Kyliemania is still gearing up…

The pop princess has just been featured in a rather fabulous cover piece for OUT, performed at Heaven in the UK this weekend (where the entire crowd knew the words to “Aphrodite” already), and recently uploaded a clip from the Experience Edition of Aphrodite featuring an interview between Kylie and the adorably awkward Stuart Price.

In her own words (and Jake Shears): It’s too much!

Click here to read the MuuMuse review of Aphrodite, and for fuck’s sake, buy it.

In case you didn’t know, Kylie Minogue is a legend.

Despite the pop singer’s unjustly limited visibility in the North American market, Kylie Minogue is a beloved musical icon in most other territories around the world. Her sheer popularity and nearly revered status is to such a degree that the only real way to describe it would be–at the risk of a barrage of anonymous heckling–to that of her contemporary, Madonna.

It is a wonder to think, then, that after over 23 years in the music industry, 11 studio albums, and over 68 million albums sold, following some of the most incredible international career highs and record-breaking accomplishments of a female musician in modern pop history, Kylie Minogue has only just now crafted one of her best records to date.

When it was announced that Kylie would begin working with legendary pop producer Stuart Price in the middle of 2009, the collaboration was almost universally celebrated amongst fans. Then again, it wasn’t altogether that surprising of a collaboration either.

Price is, of course, responsible for some truly killer modern disco records, including The Killers‘ Day & Age, Frankmusik‘s 3 Words, and the Scissor Sisters‘ upcoming Night Work, and of course, Madonna’s legendary Confessions On A Dance Floor. Realistically, it was only a matter of time before the two would unite.

As a result, Aphrodite is exactly the kind of record that one would expect when crossing Kylie Minogue with Stuart Price. That is–one of the most sleek, cohesive releases of her entire catalog. To put it simply: Yes, it does live up to the hype.

The album launches with its first single, “All The Lovers.” Currently a Top 10 single in the UK, the song is a solid representation of the bulk of Aphrodite, though far from the finest cut on the record. In fact, the soaring chorus and glittering electronica offer only a taste of what’s to come.

With much of the record, the producers on the job have taken Kylie’s disco diva connotation and added a more complex, edgier layer of dance production. Cuts like the Calvin Harris-produced, Jake Shears-penned “Too Much” are evidence of this next level sound, sounding something like a thousand glitter-filled balloons bursting all at once inside of an intergalactic vortex.

“Get Outta My Way,” the projected second single off of the album, is bound to be another success on the charts. It also happens to be a somewhat rare turn of defiance for Kylie, a singer best characterized by swooning love ditties and breathy enticements. This song, as Kylie announced to the crowd at Splash before performing the Aphrodite mega-mix, is about respect.

The singer’s confidence is only pushed further with the album’s Nerina Pallot-penned title track. Showcasing Kylie at her bossiest in some time, “Aphrodite” explodes with a militant, foot-stomping beat and a searing bolt of fiery energy: “I’m fierce and I’m feeling mighty / Don’t you mess with me, you don’t want to fight me!” she warns throughout the song’s storming chorus. Judging by the fact that both this song and “Get Out Of My Way” double as the album’s strongest selections, it’s safe to say Kylie wears her sass well.

In “Closer” and “Illusion,” two personal favorite cuts, Minogue and Price divine dark disco magic: The former, a slow-building haunter that shares connections to both her older work (“Confide in Me”) and a glimmer of Madonna’s Confessions; the latter a complex mesh of ’90′s house and Ace of Base-like synthesized bliss. Throw in a relentless throbbing bass and a few sex sessions worth of heavy breathing, and you’ve got nothing short of musical bliss.

Later on, both “Looking For An Angel” and “Everything is Beautiful” function as nothing short of definitions of the word “lush.” Warm, layered slices of piano-encrusted electronica stack one on top of the other as the singer’s lulling voice climbs over the melody : “If I lie with you long enough, I can see the things I’m dreaming of,” she coos during the song’s chorus, “Let’s go through the ritual, until everything is beautiful.”

Then there’s “Cupid Boy,” an unstoppable tour de force of jagged electro, moody guitar strums, and impossible girlish delight. The song features a surging, sonic-powered bridge of distorted vocals and an utter jaw-dropper of a chorus, colored by hard synth rhythms, an angelic chorus, and swelling, echoed swirls. “If only you knew, I shimmer for you,” Kylie coquettishly offers as the song begins, forever producing the same glee-filled moment of euphoria with each listen thereafter. Yes friends–this is what would be referred to as a “Kylie moment.”

But the opening moment of “Cupid Boy” is far from the only “Kylie moment” of the album–the euphoria felt during the middle eight of “All The Lovers,” the glitchy dance breakdown at the end of “Can’t Beat The Feeling,” the hands-in-the-air glee that is the chorus of “Put Your Hands Up (For Love)”–all of these fleeting moments of divinity only add more glow the hot pink, heart-shaped aura that surrounds all things Kylie.

At a time when a new musical endeavor made by a woman in pop over forty may end up looking like a desperate attempt to latch onto the latest trends and cheap production tricks of the girls on top at the moment, Kylie Minogue’s latest could not be perceived as more authentic to her artistry: Aphrodite is literally the essence of Kylie in audio form. The sparkling instrumentals, the euphoric, angelic coos–everything in this album is an authentic, unapologetic encapsulation the stuff of Kylie Minogue.

This isn’t just an incredible album, or even an album of the year (although it most certainly qualifies to win the title for both). As with Madonna’s Confessions or her own sister’s defining triumph, Neon Nights, Aphrodite is a complete and utter musical moment–a release for the ages, and ultimately, a classic in the making that will go on to become a glittering milestone in Kylie Minogue’s already illustrious career.