Sometimes you should just let a dead guy rest.

When the dead guy is Nat King Cole, whose jazz trio recordings of the forties are some of the best that jazz has to offer, you should leave well enough alone.

Doing an album of Nat King Cole remixes, 44 years after his death, is like pissing on his grave.

The forthcoming remix compilation RE: Generations “aims to construct a tuneful bridge between generations, cultures and races. Evocative of a sleek and stylish metrolounge where music and the visual arts converge, RE:Generations honors Nat King Cole’s continued cultural influence around the planet, 90 years after his birth.”

Here’s the list of artists that are aiming “to construct a tuneful bridge between generations, cultures and races” by adding loungy beats and rap overdubs to classic Nat King Cole recordings:

• “Lush Life” (Cee-Lo Green)
  “Straighten Up And Fly Right” (will.i.am Feat. Natalie Cole)
• “Day In Day Out” (Cut Chemist)
• “Brazilian Love Song” (Michaelangelo L’Acqua Feat. Bebel Gilberto)
• “The Game Of Love” (Salaam Remi Feat. Nas)
• “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home” (the Roots)
• “Hit That Jive, Jack!” (Souldiggaz Feat. Izza Kizza)
• “Calypso Blues” (Damien Marley and Stephen Marley)
• “More & More Of Your Amor” (Bitter:Sweet)
• “El Choclo” (Brazilian Girls)
• “Pick-Up” (Just Blaze)
• “Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere” (Amp Fiddler)
• “Nature Boy” (TV On The Radio)

Does the world need a will.i.am remix of Nat King Cole? And does the world need Natalie Cole singing another creepy duet with her long-dead father?

If these guys really want to introduce Nat King Cole’s music to a new generation, shouldn’t they STFU and get the guy some air time, instead of milking his memory to try and make their own music relevant?