Quasi-anonymous 2 Many DJs are the kings of the bootleg mountain. Otherwise known as Soulwax, the Belgian duo (brothers Stephen and David Dewaele) has released some of the genre's most popular MP3s, many of which sprang to notoriety after being posted to Boomselection, the web's primary resource for this new music. As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt 2 is their first full-length release as bootleggers (they actually started out as a rock band), but genre classification aside, the album is really just a very cohesive, hour-long DJ mix. This incarnation of the 25-year-old artform, however, seems to be kicking up quite a bit of fuss amongst those 'in the know.' But what's the big deal? According to my analysis, four incredibly deep, insightful conclusions can be reached from the album's content:
This has been the manifesto of the bootleg movement from day one, or at least since the Freelance Hellraiser's "A Stroke of Genius" started making the Internet rounds. Effortlessly merging the biggest hits of Christina Aguilera and The Strokes played a galactic prank on the hipsters of the world, showing that their latest pet band was just a few mouse clicks away from being the latest teenie pop sample loop. Nothing on Radio Soulwax is quite so subversive, but the integration of the thick-glasses crowd's favorite bands-- the Velvet Underground, The Breeders, The Stooges-- into what's basically a club house mix might ruffle some feathers. Who would've known "I'm Waiting for My Man" was just a Sly & The Family Stone tambourine away from being a party anthem? Who'd've thunk "No Fun" or "Cannonball" wrapped so perfectly around aged rap tracks from Salt N' Pepa and Skee-Lo? Nobody, actually, and that's part of the fun.
Beyond this valiant mission, the dexterous wrists of 2 Many DJs appear to strive for even higher, more artistically lofty accomplishments with their mix. Witness, for example, the middle 20 minutes of the album, a movement largely devoid of mainstream-recognizable tunes. Dropping music from the household-name likes of Funkacise Gang, Alphawezen, and Zongamin, the duo slaps rhythm against rhythm in calculated haphazardry, creating new sounds sure to earn ever-more-arcane classifications from the self-appointed genre taxonomists. You might argue such experimentation is instant death to the album's boogie-boogie purpose, and is even a bit middling. Or you might argue that I and others are convincing ourselves of this objective's presence in order to wax intellectual about a pop music collection. On certain occasions, I'd be obliged to agree with you.
Because really: Dolly Parton into Rokysopp? Early New Order vs. house sleazeballs Detroit Grand Pubahs? These are combinations designed to provoke disbelief and mirth on the first listen-- which they do, admirably. But thereafter, as with the vast majority of DJ mixes, the Law of Diminishing Entertainment Returns applies more readily-- these krazy kombos are certainly worth the download-time to hear at least once, but the audio trickery wears out fast. Compounding the problem is the inclusion of fairly pointless pre-processed kitsch, like the techno covers of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and ELO's falsetto favorite "Don't Bring Me Down". Choosing to include the electro-fied versions of other mixing board pranksters is surely an odd decision, and resembles smirking in a hall of mirrors, with all the fun-or-headache debate that implies. So what's the real, overarching über-purpose?
And hell, don't assume from our web address that I think there's anything wrong with a little self-promotion! 2 Many DJs show off their renovatin' stuff on Radio Soulwax, and their stuff ain't too shabby. Witness Destiny's Child's TRL fave "Independent Women Pt 1," transformed into a 70s lite-funk groover by the addition of 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday." (Mere coincidence that Beyonce's movie-driven first solo step had similar funktastical leanings?) The duo also definitively proves that nothing goes with the gleefully self-aware over-the-top house of Basement Jaxx like the hilariously oblivious prog of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The hybridization of "Where's Your Head At" and a live take on "Theme from 'Peter Gunn'" has got BANG!-- you can already envision Pringles' ad execs riffling their Rolodexes.
Despite all my hypothesizing and yelling about stuff, I concede that Radio Soulwax is a good time. I don't know that it's groundbreaking, beyond the fact that whatever this bootlegging craze is the start of could eventually yield fantastic results. At this point, though, all I hear is a temporary house-party enhancer that, while fun for a while, isn't the kind of thing you're going to come back to in five years (or even two) to find that it's withstood the test of time. Enjoy it while you can.
