In today’s remix-happy culture, you never know where songs might end up; new versions sometimes make songs sound older, dance-pop cheese can take on rock intensity, and a track you thought you hated is suddenly on repeat on your iPod. This remix of of the latter variety. Texas metal band Drowning Pool were known for their 2001 alt-radio hit, “Bodies,” whose on-air life was cut short when the 9/11 attacks made the line “let the bodies hit the floor” seem kind of inappropriate. But it’s a pretty unbearable song anyway, revolving around a single muddy note and a guttural, screamed chorus that seems designed to repel:
Enter Philadelphia’s DJ Sega, who’s made a name remixing popular songs in the syncopated Baltimore Club style for Diplo’s Hollertronix record label. His tracks are sometimes awkward, forcing pop hits into the jittery tempo. But on his Drowning Pool remix, things are perfectly balanced. He loops the whispered intro line and drops in a smattering of guitar. After a while, the hushed vocals almost start to sound kind of sexy, similar to hip-hop tracks like David Banner’s “Play” or Ying Yang Twins “Wait (The Whisper Song).” Before you know it, the song’s meaning has changed (back?): Sega’s version is called “Bodies Hit the Floor”—that’s right, the dance floor.
