15 Songs That Don't Need New Remixes

Every Saturday, DAD looks at the best remixes from that past week, so needless to say, we love remixes. We won't say that we go hunting for remixes, b

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Complex Original

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Every Saturday, DAD looks at the best remixes from that past week, so needless to say, we love remixes. We won't say that we go hunting for remixes, but we do love the concept of taking a track and having it reimagined by a totally different producers. All of that on the table, we get tired of the thirst to remix tracks... especially tunes that have just came out. Or tracks that don't even need to be remixed. We're barely halfway into 2013, and we had to open a second email account just to house all of the remixes of Daft Punk, Rihanna, and James Blake that we've received so far.

We don't want to cloud the artistic freedom that producers have, but there comes a time when some tracks need to just be laid to rest. It's one thing to pick up a track that you love, for whatever reason, and throw your own vibes into a special remixed version of it. Trying to be the EDM 50 Cent by using your quick relick of another artist's song as a resume builder just isn't the move. There might be a thin line between homage and whoring, but these 15 songs should be considered taboo when it comes to remixing. At least for a little while.

Daft Punk - "Get Lucky"

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Truth be told, there really didn't need to be ANY remixes of this one. Or any interpolations; remember, before "Get Lucky" had a title, it was just "that Daft Punk song from the SNL ads," and every few days some other witty sound editor was stringing a 15 second clip into two minute loops, fleshing it out with how they THOUGHT the track would sound. We've not heard a great version of "Get Lucky," although TC's drum & bass bootleg is the best of the lot (which makes sense, as he's one of the best bootleg remixers in the dnb scene.

James Blake - "Retrograde"

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No. Seriously. We've entertained a few of these remixes, but "Retrograde" was one of the first perfect original tracks from 2013. Most remixes have either sped up the vocal or added too much to it. You just can't improve upon perfection.

Adele - "Rolling in the Deep"

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When the acapella of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" dropped, everyone and their uncle came out of the woodworks with remixes. And we heard a lot of them. But when you're a blogger, and you fall in like with a dope remix, only to refresh your Gmail and find ANOTHER "Rolling in the Deep" subject line? You begin to hate Adele, and there's no good reason to hate on her. That voice is beautiful.

Rihanna - "Diamonds"

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Another instance where the right artist drops the right track during a time where trap remixes are a dime a dozen. Once someone like DJ Sliink throws these samples into his desk, you might as well forget about whatever ideas you thought you had that could perfect this track.

The xx - "Angels"

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The xx are one of those groups that everyone wants to remix; hell, BeazyTymes has recently released two remixes of two different xx tracks. But when our homies at Pigeons & Planes feel it necessary to dedicate an entire feature on the remixes of "Angels," we might be hitting the limit. Let it go... or at least pick another xx track!

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Baauer - "Harlem Shake"

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The wack part about "Harlem Shake" remixes is that many of them only came AFTER it became a viral smash. If you weren't on your game like DJ Cable was last year, when the track was still fresh, we don't even want to entertain your thirsty reworks today.

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Zedd - "Clarity"

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There were already 5011 official remixes of "Clarity" released. Including a cover by the fucking cast of Glee. What could you possibly be adding to Zedd's huge single that's not already been done?

Cajmere - "Percolator"

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This classic house cut is seen as the bridge between the Chicago house and the ghetto house sides of the Chicago scene, and has been a staple in many a DJ's set since the mid-1990s. Few have done it justice, but really, this one is bugged out enough as it is. We don't want/need to hear you restructure this gem.

Trinidad James - "All Gold Everything"

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You know what's funny? Raves and ravers catch so much flack for drug use and abuse (for good reason, we will admit). Yet it's the rap tracks of today that seem to praise molly more than anything actual EDM producers or DJs do. Yet what do EDM producers do? They remix Trinidad James' viral hit, pulling the OBVIOUS flip of his "popped a molly, I'm sweating" line, repeating it, flipping it and bouncing it on some bullshit. Not sounding right, first of all. But why perpetuate the stereotype?

DJ Snake - "Bird Machine"

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This track is ill on its own. There's not much you're doing that'll enhance its trap beauty... unless your name is Grandtheft, and you're throwing the lyrics from "All Gold Everything" over it.

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Knife Party - "LRAD"

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Just, no. The DAD inbox was inundated with remixes of Knife Party's "LRAD" within hours of the Haunted House EP being released. We're not saying we didn't hear good ones (the DAD staff was even split on the two versions we posted), but are we not able to let an original track breathe before getting all kinds of festival trap reworks?

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ETC!ETC! & Brillz - "Swoop"

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In terms of "Swoop," it's not so much that we've seen a shedload of remixes of this banger; we're just in a situation where their "New Jack Swoop" version slays any other attempts at reworking this track.

Pharoahe Monch - "Simon Says"

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Back when Rawkus first dropped this single, Roni Size and DJ Die threw the Bristol dnb sound underneath it... and it smashed. The Philly dnb scene, which was HUGE into the Reprazent sound, fell in love. There have been samples of Monch's most recognizable hit, but last year we felt so bad for Filthy Disco: He dropped a FRESH trap version of this banger. I actually remember when Nappy hit me asking for a trap remix of this that WASN'T the Filthy Disco version. I'd not heard what Brillz & ETC!ETC! had done to this one at the time, but once I did, I was blown away. Truly one of the best remixes of 2012, and there's no reason to even load the pieces into your Pro Tools at this point.

Justin Timberlake ft. Jay-Z - "Suit & Tie"

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The original was a slow burner, but many came around to Justin's return single. The single featured remixes by everyone from Four Tet to Dillon Francis; once Dillon trapped out "Suit & Tie," there was never any more reason to even attempt a trap version of this. Yes, it's that damn good.

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Kendrick Lamar - "Swimming Pools (Drank)"

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Yes, we love good kid, m.A.A.d city as much as you do, and this cautionary tale about the ills of alcohol is a weird gem, but we also don't own enough fingers and toes to count how many fly Kendrick Lamar remixes we've received (and posted). Too much of anything isn't a good thing, even if the remixes are all great.

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