Mark Ronson » Turntablr

The Bike Song, Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.
Mark Ronson had produced some great music in the past decade, including albums for Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Duran Duran. In England, he remains a modern music and fashion icon, famous for his signature production style, often involving a combination of retro soul-horns and hip-hop sensibility. Currently operating under the stage name Mark Ronson & The Business Intl., he released his third solo album, Record Collection, in late 2010 and released some dynamite singles, among them “The Bike Song,” featuring Spank Rock and Kyle Falconer of Brit-punk band The View. Over a hip-hop beat, cymbals, and a curious combination of synths and bike horn rings, Falconer sings in his heavy Scottish accent about his unwillingness to grow up. Everyone around him is “having kids and payin’ rent” and that can’t be the way that he rolls, so he’s just going to ride his bike and pretend he’s a kid again. The undulating bass of the chorus gives a soundtrack to the image of Falconer’s bike coasting down London streets, while Spank Rock drops in for a tongue-twisting verse in the middle. All in all, a breezy, light summer song and a hell of a genre mashup, as only Mark Ronson can deliver.

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This song should have been huge. Really, it should have been. Alas, the American populace was too busy rocking out to Rihanna and Akon in the summer of 2007 (clearly a lot has changed since then) to notice this gem from across the pond. That year, British superproducer Mark Ronson, who has worked with the diverse likes of Lily Allen, Duran Duran, and Ghostface Killah, dropped his second solo album, Version. As per his usual style, it featured raved-up, soul-horn makeovers of contemporary pop and rock hits, featuring bizarre reinterpretations of songs by Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, and a particularly strange cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” However, the highlight by far is the reimagining of the Zutons’ “Valerie,” featuring the vocal stylings of Ms. Amy Winehouse.

The Zutons’ original is grungy and sluggish, but Ronson, with Winehouse’s sassy vocals and an amazing string and horn arrangement, turns “Valerie” into a long-lost Motown gem. Stabs of horn bring back that classic Detroit sound, while Winehouse, still a phenomenal vocalist (regardless of what you may think of her personal life), delivers a spirited and soulful vocal performance. Her raspy belts and syllabic mangling sound exactly like the vintage torch singers of yesteryear . This song is exceedingly underrated; do yourself a favor and check it out. Here’s hoping that Winehouse will have another album out soon.