Dr. Luke Is At It Again

Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald,  otherwise known as “Doctor Luke”  has managed, yet again, to get indie hipsters and radio lovers all across the country to move their feet and swivel their hips with Miley Cyrus’ incredibly catchy and dance-able “Party in the USA.”  But for whatever reason, the majority of the people who found themselves dancing to and loving this song last night, will inevitably deny doing so today.  Because Miley Cyrus isn’t “cool” or “hip.”   Nor is Katy Perry, Britney Spears, or Kelly Clarkson.  Yet you know that each of them has released a song in the past year or two that you actually liked.  I know this because of the insane amount of remixes from these artists that have been floating around the blogosphere and climbing to the top of the charts on Hype Machine.  In fact, right now the #1 most loved track is a mash-up of “Party in the USA” with a Biggie song.  Over 2,000 people “loved” this track.  I don’t remember the last time I saw a track reach over 2,000.  And believe it or not, the main reason you like those remixes, is because there was something great about the song in its original form.

- mixed by Hathbanger.  Warning: Explicit Lyrics.

Don’t get me wrong now, I’m not trying to compare any of these girls to the truly great female artists of our time, such as Neko Case, Feist, or Brandi Carlile.  For the most part they are nothing more than a pretty face and great voice.  But when you add that great voice with some of Gottwald’s hooks and melodies and you’ve got something worth listening to.  I’m not saying that you should throw caution to the wind and go buy the new Miley Cyrus record at Wal-Mart (for that is the only place it can be found). That would be foolish.  But when Dr. Luke has the chance to get his hands on a single, I am going to pay attention.

So why can’t we just unabashedly own our love for these songs.  I’ll go first.  I love the new Miley Cyrus single.  I don’t care that the lyrics are a little elementary.  It makes me dance and puts me in a swell mood.  Here are a few other hits that Gottwald had his hands in that I’m not afraid to say that I enjoy, regardless of whether or not Diplo has remixed it yet.