Cassius - Toop Toop

Cassius, "Toop Toop"

Cassius, "Toop Toop (Mr. Oizo remix)"

Cassius, "Toop Toop (Martin Eyerer mix)"

Cassius, "Toop Toop (Oliver Koletski remix)"

This track, "Toop Toop," will totally blow your mind and become an obsession for the rest of the summer. I apologize in advance. This is another banger outta Paris, this time from one of the Daft Punk's peers, Cassius. I can't really begin to explain why this song has hit so hard with me, it's just catchy as hell and injects itself right into your bloodstream and you can't get it out. That guitar chord that anchors the song is a start, or the simple yet effective lyrics. This is what pop music should sound like, a three minute slice of heaven that makes you happy and you want it all to last forever.

The remixes make the smart move of not trying to compete with the original on catchiness or poppiness. Instead, they each distort the original in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The Olivier Koletski mix has been floating around for a while, a great, dance-oriented song, 6+ minutes that uses a kick drum to keep things humming along. The guitar and vocals are turned down a bit, the keyboard plays a bigger role. This one should blow up danceclubs worldwide easily. The Mr. Oizo remix is my personal favorite, as the F-Communications bol fucks shit up. The vocals seem to be coming from a drunk R2D2 or at least a retarded computer. He slows the song down, smearing the bass and drums constantly. This ain't gonna get you laid, but it should do quite nicely on your iPod. The final remix comes from Germany's Martin Eyerer, a microhouse reworking that makes each little squiggle essential. It's not until the woozy vocals come in at 2 minutes that you really hear the original. This track and those like it don't seem like something I'd ever want to hear out, but slowly it becomes more understandable. It's almost like each slowly is slowly built in front of you, each note adds up in your mind and eventually builds something cool.

I'm dedicating this post to my friend ZM, one of the most knowledgeable in the whole world about dance music, Daft Punk, shit you have never even heard. She turned me onto this song and for that I owe her for the rest of my life. This little tribute is my way of saying thanks, hopefully we'll get her to contribute to Pound for Pound with a mix or a guest post or a contest to win one of her Daft Punk Saved My Life t-shirts.

-Head to Krudmart for one of your last chances to grab those Reason Diplomats Ramones parody shirts. Only XL left, get one before you're forced to spend motnhs seaching on eBay for one. The dudes at Krudmart are excellent, super fast delivery, great website, easy to order.

-I've been focused on the personal lately, but had to say something about the battle over the minimum wage. It's a perfect example of why I will never in my life support the Republican Party, no matter how ineffective the Democrats are or how many times they break my heart by supporting a horrible War or the Alito nomination. It wasn't bad enough that the Republicans were tying the wage increase, which impacts millions of the neediest people, to the repeal of the estate tax, which impacts 30 or 40 of the richest families in the world. Now, they are going after the 7 states that allow tips to go tax-free. That's right, the GOP thinks that waiters, barristas and bellboys are having too easy a time. It's so pathetic and sad, coming from the people who cry "class warfare" anyone complains about tax cuts and corporate breaks. They've run this country into the ground, they've made us irrelevant on the international stage and they've plundered this country for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. I cannot imagine how any one could hold their heads up and admit that they support this. Perhaps shame is a liberal principle.