Sometimes remixes enhance, and other times they fall flat. We’re going to look at just a few examples of remixing in the last twenty years or so, with an emphasis on mostly what has worked and a few examples of what hasn't.

Madonna, Dance and more

The story of dance music in the ‘80s and ‘90s would not be complete without a look at Madonna, whose string of hits (if the albums themselves are a little sketchy) were hugely popular and, even without the sexual stunts and mystery of the Madonna herself, were evocative and interesting. When she released her first remix album in 1987, it was a chance to give her dance hall fans longer, more beat-heavy explorations of her pop hits. Her relationship with producer John “Jellybean” Benitez resulted in a couple of interesting remixes, as did work with Shep Pettibone and others. The album, You Can Dance, is an interesting step forward for dance fans - though its popularity and influence unfortunately spawned less talented reworking of songs by less talented artists like Milli Vanilli, for one.

"We Invented the Remix"

Hip-hop has a colorful and comfortable history with the remix, thanks in part to its construction. With turntablism and the emphasis on sampling, the only thing more natural than creating the elements for a good hip-hop track was dissembling one. Without live drums to contend with, a hip-hop track can be easily manipulated. Just how far you’d want to go is really the only question. For many artists, a hip-hop remix of a single allowed a different expression of the song, which often included bringing in a bunch of guest MCs over to see what they could do with the beat. One of the best examples is the remix of Craig Mack’s “Flava in Your Ear.” The track is unavailable on YouTube, but this version below keeps the spirit alive, using the same video and raps from The Notorious B.I.G., L.L. Cool J and more.

The Brits

As an American, looking at the way the British have taken so easily to mixing their dance and rock is enviable. While Europe may have an overabundance of crappy techno, they also didn’t waste time fighting with drum machines, synthesizers and audio manipulation the way rockers did in the States. Instead, we had tiresome rock revivalists clinging to punk like a safety blanket, while that genre itself had morphed into something entirely different. Punk acts like Joy Division and The Sex Pistols pretty easily transformed into New Order and Public Image Ltd. (respectively) with surprising ease. New Order in particular made drum machines and synths an inseparable part of their sound, and remixes of their music gave other artists a chance to approach the songs from different angels, like this 1995 Hardfloor remix of the track “Blue Monday.”

Looking Forward

With so much interplay between genres, especially in the indie world, it comes as no surprise that remixes are being made of almost everything these days, with artists excitedly heading to the studio to reinvent and recreate on their turntables and computers what was once primarily sacrosanct to dance and hip-hop musicians. Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but the deluge of folks doing amateur surgery on their favorite new jams has made it harder to separate the wheat from the chaff. While singles themselves have gone the way of 8-tracks, EPs are still all the rage, and remixes pop out of unlikely places all of the time. Witness Girl Talk mangling “Knife” by Grizzly Bear by sending it barreling into “Wamp Wamp (What it Do) by Clipse and you’ll see how confusing it has all become.

Still, the remix - abused or not - will have traction as long as we have electricity. If pastiche really will be the prevalent art form of the coming years, remixes are just the starting point, but an integral, inescapable one, for certain.