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To remix or not to remix

  • annay53
  • Mar 26, 2017
  • 3 min read

Can a remix enhance the original? This question has been asked in all manner of different ways throughout the years, and whether you are a person who will always appreciate the original over a higher budget remake of a movie or the opposite, the question is still up for debate. Personally, I believe that if the movie, song, piece of art, piece of literature or any other material that can be remixed is done so with consideration for the original it can not only enhance the original but bring it back from the dead.

There are many examples of remixes surpassing their original counterparts, one such example being the song All Along the Watchtower which, until this christmas past I had believed to be written by Jimi Hendrix. The shock had been strangely enjoyable when my grandmother had corrected me and said that the famous tune had originally been written by Bob Dylan! And although we all know Bob Dylan certainly wasn’t an unknown artist with a few short EPs on his repertoire, Jimi Hendrix’s cover of his song surpassed the original. Its interesting to think about this situation, as I know I for one often think that when a cover is done by a well known artist it is either a tribute to the original or even a way to boost the notoriety of the song they’re remixing. But in the case of Dylan and Hendrix it was simply a matter of admiration for the other that spurred Jimi onto performing his now famous All Along the Watchtower which is often mistaken as one of his originals! Ultimately this is a prime example of a remix/cover done very right, which can’t be said for others.

But there are not only examples in the music industry, for remixes and remakes have been around for years in the movie and film trade. From the good, the bad and the downright awful remakes that have been spat out of Hollywood for the past decade or longer, very few have emerged as surpassing their original. However, the one good point made with the masses of remakes is that often the worse the sequel, prequel or whatever comes in between the better the original seems.

As an example, although I don’t want to jump to any harsh conclusions as I’ve only watched the remake, Ring (a film originally produced in Japan in 1998) is an example of a film given even more publicity due to its remake. Its counterpart, created in 2002 with a similar name of The Ring, although grossing far more than Ring at the box office (The Ring: $249.3 million vs. Ring: $8.7 million) has been named the weaker of the two. I remember my mother telling me of how she watched the original and was left unable to go near TV sets for upwards of a month, and yet when I sat down by myself to watch the remake on Netflix I found myself slightly unnerved and intrigued by the plot but nowhere near as terrified as she’d been. And although my ideal fear level wasn’t quite obtained whilst watching The Ring I found myself so desperate to find the original that it had almost been worth it to watch the remake. So did the remix enhance the original? Well if enhancing can also count as ‘giving it great advertisement’ then I believe yes, totally (and if you’d like to watch the trailers for both click on either of these!: Ring (1998) or The Ring (2002)).

So overall my opinion hasn’t changed, I still value both the original and remake of any song or movie if and only if the remix is made with full consideration and respect for the original. Much like with Jimi Hendrix or The Ring this has been apparent, but nobody has the same opinion! What are your thoughts on remixes, remakes and covers? Do you have any covers you prefer to the original, or remixes and remakes alike? Or do you disagree completely and think remixes are awful no matter how they’re made? Leave a comment down bellow!

Thanks for reading!

References

By Reprise Records - eBayfrontback, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31004774

By Cygomezm (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 
 
 

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