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Kelis: “Acapella“
No, Kelis has not joined the Whiffenpoofs. But “Acapella,” supposedly the first single from an as-yet-untitled record, is a surprise all the same. The hip-hop-informed arrangements that drove “Milkshake” and “Bossy” are long gone, replaced with hard Euro-club rhythms, courtesy of French producer/DJ David Guetta. On “Acapella” he plays Moroder to Kelis’ Diana Ross, laying pulsing electronic ground work to propel the singer further into diva-hood.
Gucci Mane: “Heavy“
Gucci Mane’s got some big problems—community service, jail time, an ever-changing album release date. On “Heavy,” a song from his forthcoming record The State Vs. Radric Davis, the Atlanta rapper blows off a little steam. “Yeah I got amigos but they don’t bring me tacos/ Only bring me kilos but keep that on the d-low,” raps Gucci. That’s a bummer, but maybe moving weight keeps helps distract Gucci from the weight of his problems.
The Big Pink: “Sweet Dreams” (Beyoncé Cover)
Solange‘s cover of Dirty Projectors‘ “Stillness is the Move” was great, but UK duo Big Pink’s take on “Sweet Dreams,” not so much. The good stuff from the original—the rhythm, the bass, the C-3PO get-up Beyoncé wears in the song’s video—is systematically removed, leaving a maudlin stinker that even Robert Smith would wag his wrist at.
Lindstrom: “Little Drummer Boy“
Synthesizers and Christmas carols make great bedfellows—just ask Mannheim Steamroller. But Lindstrom’s take on “Little Drummer Boy,” which clocks in at an epic 40 minutes, takes the whole candy canes-and-moogs idea about as far down the Autobahn as it will go. With its tubular bells and vocoders, this four-minute snippet only hints at a larger, more lysergic, composition that will surely bring enduring yuletide cheer to many a house junkie.