Noisey Blog

Apocalypse Now: Breaking Down SALEM's Break Down Of Britney Spears

By Michelle Ong

“Till the World Ends” by electronic trio SALEM isn’t just a remix of the Spears—it’s a surgical endeavor that drags the tempo so dramatically that the vocals devolve into a chillingly masculine drone. SALEM's version is a world apart from the Dr. Luke-produced and Ke$ha-penned prototype. While it assumes a similar apocalyptic vision, club kids and underground raves are replaced by seedy strippers and war scenes. Instead of well-produced beats, the grainy audio quality verges on the brink of disintegration. Most importantly, there’s no happy ending. This sort of striking reinterpretation of a pop tune recalls that one Justin Beiber remix that was slowed down 800%. That mix revealed a surprising, blissful ethereality—SALEM goes a shade darker with their subtly satirical choice of imagery. Strippers gyrate in comical exaggeration while a cheap night vision effect turns their eyes to vacant beads, more animal than human. Abrupt cut to green-tinted war footage—spectacular bombs and helicopter explosions splinter into streams of light for the remaining minutes of the video. An inane pop ditty becomes a haunting and melancholy rumination on sex and war. Not just “running the original through Garage Band,” SALEM strips the song to its bones and allows the lyrics to express new meaning.