Travis Barker & DJ AM - Fix Your Face, free album download

MUSIC REVIEW...........!!!

“Fix Your Face” is the first album from TRVS DJ AM, the result of months of collaboration between ex-Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM, an eminent DJ known for his brief engagement to Nicole Richie. The mixtape is a series of 15 unnamed tracks mixed by DJ AM with live drumming by Travis. It’s very reminiscent of Travis’ earlier covers of Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” and Flo Rida’s “Low” posted last year on Youtube. (Check them out—they’re highly recommended.) The album is available for free download on www.trvsdjam.com.

All arguments about whether mixing constitutes original music aside, the album is exceptionally entertaining. At first the drumming seems difficult to distinguish from the original songs, and the mixing serves mostly to transition between songs. However, after a few listens, the complexity of the album starts to come through. Travis is an incredible drummer: his contributions serve to complement and enhance the background tracks.

DJ AM’s scratching in the beginning of the first track is some of the best ever recorded, and he has a good ear for combining separate elements. Early on the mixing is mostly fragmenting and distortion, which can be entertaining but isn’t terribly interesting. (Though I am of the opinion that the opening of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” should never be altered in any way.) Once the album begins to hit its stride, some really wonderful combinations appear. In particular, a layering of Easy E’s “Boyz N the Hood” and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Can’t Stop” melds their respective tempos flawlessly. The transitions throughout are impressive: there are no pauses between tracks, so the entire album is seamless.

“Fix Your Face” doesn’t have the rapid-fire changes of a Girl Talk album, nor does it have the same euphoric feeling of discovery in combining two tracks. Rather, it focuses on how tracks flow from one to the next and how the drumming highlights different portions of each sample. The album benefits from drawing on a wide range of sources, from Johnny Cash to Three 6 Mafia. The progression of samples is inspired—Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” becomes much more ironic when battling for dominance with The Chordettes’ song of the same name. The best part of the album is when all of these elements are combined: Travis fills in The Police’s “So Lonely” with tight drum rolls and cymbal work that blend into Outkast’s “Bombs Over Baghdad.” Once the transition is complete, DJ AM brings down the tempo and deconstructs “Bombs Over Baghdad,” giving it even more gravity. While “Fix Your Face” is not one of the most innovative albums of the year, it is both enjoyable and addictive.

TRACK LIST............!!!
FIX YOUR FACE 1
0:00 - Bill Conti - Going the Distance
1:08 - West Street Mob - Ooh Baby
1:52 - Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
3:06 - Eve - Tambourine
FIX YOUR FACE 2
0:00 - RUN-DMC - Sucker MC’s
0:32 - ?
0:59 - Rakim - It’s Been A Long Time
1:25 - Dennis Edwards - Don’t Look Any Further
2:15 - Public Enemy - Bring the Noise
FIX YOUR FACE 3
0:45 - Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the name
FIX YOUR FACE 4
0:00 - Jay-Z - Public Service Announcement
0:42 - Beastie Boys - So Whatcha Want
1:27 - ?
1:36 - Eazy E - Cruisin’ In My 64
FIX YOUR FACE 5
0:00 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can’t Stop
1:10 - Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy
FIX YOUR FACE 6
0:00 - ?
0:20 - Michael Jackson - Rock With You
1:30 - Estelle - American Boy ft. Kanye West
FIX YOUR FACE 7
0:00 - Daft Punk - Da Funk
0:49 - Timbaland - The Way I Are
FIX YOUR FACE 8
0:05 - ?
0:33 - Jay-Z - Big Pimpin’
1:00 - ?
1:14 - Kid Cudi - Day And Night
FIX YOUR FACE 9
0:00 - Stay Fly - Three 6 Mafia
0:19 - Lil’ Wayne - Lollipop (0:55 - Chordettes - Lollipop)
1:08 - Lil’ Wayne - Lollipop Remix (Kanye West)
2:27 - Jay-Z- A Billi (A Milli Remix)
FIX YOUR FACE 10
0:25 - Led Zeppelin Fool In The Rain
FIX YOUR FACE 11
0:00 - ?
0:40 - DJ Assault - Hoe don’t cry
1:03 - DJ Assault - Ass and Titties
FIX YOUR FACE 12
0:00 - Damian Marley - Welcome To Jamrock
1:35 - Prince - Darling Nikki
2:05 - The Police - So Lonely
FIX YOUR FACE 13
0:00 - Outkast - Bombs Over Baghdad
1:32 - The Outfield - Your Love
FIX YOUR FACE 14
0:00 - M.I.A. - Bucky Done Gun
0:27 - Bill Conti - Gonna Fly Now
0:32 - Wild Motherfuckers - Fuck It Up
1:25 - Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
FIX YOUR FACE 15
0:05 - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - I Love Rock N Roll
0:19 - The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
1:21 - War - Low Rider
1:30 - Beastie Boys - Slow Ride Slow Ride
2:05 - Dramarama - Anything, Anything

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