Bob Hope...Catholic

A nice read about one of our most public figures and his faith journey.

Elvis Remix Redux

The Junkie XL remix of "A Little Less Conversation" issued last year was, to borrow an overused kiddie phrase, awesome. A year later, here comes a new remix of "Rubberneckin'" by Paul Oakenfold. For those who have never heard the song, it was recorded in 1969 during one of the King's most fertile periods, the Chips Moman / "Suspiscious Minds" era. Because it's from such a groovy time, the original recording had a very "Sock It To Me" flava to it, with a sassy assembly of background singers and even sassier farty horns to give it punch. Although the referenced article calls the tune obscure, I got acquainted with it when I bought the 1960's box set about 12 years ago. It's also featured in Elvis's last dramatic movie, 1969's Change of Habit (the one where Mary Tyler Moore is the nun.)

"Conversation" sounds like it was retooled using the mono 45 rpm mixdown, which appeared on the soundtrack of Ocean's Eleven which makes it less of a remix than it is a new tune which samples an old one. By contrast, it sounds like Oakenfold had access to the original multitracks, which allowed him access to isolated parts such as bass, horns, and vocals. For the remix, Oakenfold has borrowed stylistic elements from "Conversation" and Fatboy Slim's "Rockefeller Skank". Yet for all the advantages- and being a more well known DJ - "Rubberneckin'" isn't better than "Conversation" and doesn't improve on the original track, which was smokin' to begin with. A solid track for booty shaking.