Soundwaves
Tiesto's trance, Thunderpuss splits, Queer Eye theme, Beyonce speaks, and Madonna remixes
TIESTO GLOWS BESTÂ… Reasonable people can argue about whether DJ Tijs "Tiesto" Verwest or DJ Paul van Dyk is the best trance DJ in the world. But Tiesto has laid claim to nearly all the major DJ awards in the past year, and the honors generally transcend trance, anointing him the "Best International DJ" or "Best DJ in the World." Washingtonians get a rare chance to see what all the fuss is about when the fascinated-by-flying Dutch DJ comes to town this Saturday. His recently released two-disc compilation, Nyana (Nettwerk), paints an appealing snapshot of his capability. He distinguishes between "Outdoor" and "Indoor" dancing, with disc one focused on the music he plays at an outdoor festival and disc two focused on music for the nightclub. The nightclub, no surprise, is the better venue, with its sophisticated mix of trance — or fast-paced, keyboard-happy music — and progressive house, with its varied tempo of rock-oriented dancepop. Tiesto spent more time on "Indoor," he says, working to seamlessly blend the tracks, which are all driven by melody. Still, the best track, the title track, is lodged midway through disc one, just before Tiesto’s spellbinding, banghra remix of "Tears from the Moon" by Conjure One featuring Sinead O’Connor. And "Nyana" is a perfectly rendered interpretation of Tiesto’s encounter with a beautiful cheetah in South Africa, who runs away in fear to a rush of pulsating keyboards. Tiesto appears at Glow, www.clubglow.com, Saturday, November 1Â…
 Harris and Cox are flying solo |
THUNDERSTORM’S OVERÂ… Have you noticed the unusual absence on the dance scene of a formerly ubiquitous remixing/DJ duo? Your hunches have now been proven right — Thunderpuss is no longer. The gay one, Barry Harris, wanted out: "For me, Thunderpuss has simply run its course." His remixing partner Chris Cox was "shocked" by the news, according to Billboard, though there must have been signs. "I’m very proud of most [emphasis added] mixes we’ve done," Harris said in a post to the Thunderpuss website a month ago. "I’ve definitely sold my soul along the way," he added for even greater emphasis to Billboard. Harris will continue with his DJ and remix work as a solo artist, while Cox continues to produce for various dance artists, including Kristine W.‘s new album, as well as remix and DJ. One of Harris’ most recent solo remixes, that of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy "All Things" theme song, doesn’t portend well for the future. It’s nothing but predictable programmed cacophonyÂ…
QUEER EYE TAKEOVERÂ… Speaking of Queer Eye, Billboard reports that Capitol Records will soon release the theme song, written by the prospective Thunderpuss-replacing remixing/producing duo Widelife (Rachid Wehbi and Ian Nieman) and sung by former SNAP! singer Simone Denny. And in time for Christmas — Queer Eye for the Santa Guy? — Capitol plans to release a Queer Eye soundtrack, as well as a video for “All ThingsÂ…
STRAIGHT SOUL SHAKERÂ… Beyonce seemed a little uncomfortable when Queer Eye’s Fab Five bum-rushed her as they presented her an award at the MTV Video Awards several months ago. But she swears she wasn’t: "It really, really hurts me that people are saying that I said anything like that," Beyonce told the BBC. She wasn’t dancing around chatter about the Fab Five exactly, but to reports that she had invoked God in an interview as the reason she would never "kiss a woman" as Madonna and Britney did on the same MTV awards show. Beyonce proclaimed to the BBC that her kisses are just as juicy and non-judgmental with her gay fans as with everyone else. As a queer kisser, you wanna believe someone who tells Rolling Stone, as Beyonce did a few weeks ago, "When I shake my butt, I feel it in my soul." Don’t ya?Â…
DESPERATELY SEEKING MOREÂ… The dance community, where it all started, is one of the few contingents of Madonna‘s fan base that continues to buy her music. So why not milk us for more, when the other utters of the former cash cow have run dry? Indeed, Madonna will release just before Thanksgiving Remixed & Revisited (Maverick/Warner Bros.), a short album somewhat similar in spirit to her 1987 You Can Dance. The set will feature previously unreleased remixes of tracks from this year’s American Life, including Jason Nevins’ radio mix of "Nothing Fails," just released as the album’s third single. Remixed & Revisited will also include the previously unreleased song “Your Honesty," recorded ten years ago with other tracks ("Secret," "Take a Bow") from Bedtime Stories. Madonna will test danceheads’ devotion even more, by releasing at the same time a CD Maxi single featuring remixes of three American Life songs: “Love Profusion,” “Nobody Knows Me” and “Nothing Fails"Â…
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