Remixes are simply another way to sell the same product to punters. That’s why they exist. Whether they have any artistic credibility is questionable. For me, 99% of remixes do not improve on the original, any more than a ‘directors cut’ of a film does.
I mostly agree, which is why when it comes to U2 the only remixes I care about are the ones for songs that suck.
While I mostly agree too, I don’t think remixes are made to improve on the original.
U2 remixes exist first and foremost for commercial purpose. U2 released most of them in the 90’s and early 00’s so that they could sell more CD singles.
Back in the 80’s, you had singles with a b-side. B-sides require work (which is why most of them for most artists are low par tunes or demos).
With the emergence of techno and dance music came the opportunity to 1/produce more tunes with little to no involvement from the artist (which is something U2 really love) to sell more CD’s and 2/bring a broader, younger audience (which is probably the exception rather than the norm) by being played in clubs.
In the 80’s you had a single and a maxi single and that was it.
In the 90’s, U2 released 2 or 3 singles with each release. That kind of stuff became mad for a decade, up to the early 00’s when streaming and downloading became a thing. At the time, it was not unusual for a fan to spend more money on an artist than just buying the album… before the album was even released ! You were buying 2 cd singles, each containing 3 tunes and a DVD single with the video.
…and record companies wondered why people hated them so much and were so happy to jump ship and go downloading as soon as they could.
Anyway… remix can be an art form in the sense that it brings an alternate version of a tune. But let’s not forget it’s more the DJ’s version than the artist’s version. For instance, the David Holmes remix of Beautiful Day is in fact a cover with another drummer, another guitar player and another bass player than U2 members.
I like when remixes bring to life elements that weren’t used in the original mix or buried in it. For instance the perfecto mix of Mysterious Ways has great guitar parts that weren’t used by U2. Kervorkian’s NYD remix has this amazing piano only intro.
I also like when a remix goes a very different way that sounds right :
Salomé Zooromancer mix
Even Better than the real thing Fish out of water
Lemon Jeep mix.
Etc…
But I really don’t think anyone starts a remix thinking « oh I’m gonna try and make this sound better ».