Dance and house remixes from about 2003 til around 2008 were bountiful. EDM while still a niche market back then was growing steadily and most popular music had a least a few “dance” remixes. The Lindbergh Palace Remix of Fall Out Boys “Dance Dance” is a great example of dance re-makes popular of this era. I highlighted a similar remix of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl“ in a previous post.
Fischerspooner, mentioned earlier for his music in SSX 3 (which also had the simply epic prog. house track “Tribulations” from LCD Soundsystem) produced an alternative/house track “Happy” that was featured in the DDR series as well. The songs alternative rock/electronic sound gives you the feeling of “skiing down a mountain” then “walking along a nighttime beach” and is also quite indicative of this era.
Last, but certainly not least is the fresh and funky “Hearts on Fire” from Australian electronic band Cut Copy. This song’s hark to the 80s is apprarent in its sound, a theme that resonates through their whole album, In Ghost Colours. Cut Copy could likely be said to be an ancestor, or at least an influence to American electronic-alternative duo MGMT. In Ghost Colours (2007) is a great listen all the way through. I remember stumbling upon the album (I would’ve been around late high school/early college) through one of the various ways I used to find such elusive music back then: mtvU, torrent album rankings, iTunes top 100 dance/electronic charts, Yahoo! Music, or through friends. I have to admit, it felt way more like quest back then.
Cut Copy’s “Time Stands Still” could’ve almost been dubbed “future house” as well, far ahead of its time: