Anyone under 25 would probably call this the Ultimate Playlist, but I’m about a decade beyond that and therefore the MixTape it is.
I went by the blank CD rule of having to fit everything in a time limit of less than 78 minutes, which resulted in some tough cuts, especially once I was about 10 minutes over and had to kill off the last couple tracks.
I spent literally seconds on the track order here, and kept myself to a hard limit of 1 track per artist for the decade. Perhaps if you aren’t much of a hip hop head some tracks may not be your cup of tea, but if you have “broad tastes” I really think there is something for everyone here.
Firstly, apologies to the following artists, they are all exceptional tracks but mostly due to time constraints met the axe, I have *’d the hardest few cuts:
Afghan Whigs – Gentleman *
Ash – Jesus Says
Bomb The Bass – Bug Powder Dust (La Funk Mob Remix)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand
The Cult – The Witch *
De La Soul – A Rollerskating Jam Named “Saturdays” *
Lamb – Gorecki *
Method Man – Release Yo ‘Delf (Prodigy Remix) **
Outkast – Skew It On The Bar-B
PJ Harvey – C’mon Billy
Quannum Featuring Lyrics Born – I Changed My Mind
Roots Manuva – Movements *
Seal – Killer
Skunkhour – Arrive *
Smashing Pumpkins – 1979
You Am I – Last Thing You Can Depend On
(Actually looking at the list above I reckon there is another excellent MixTape in waiting, 16 tracks in 77 odd minutes.)
The Final List
Not in order, and I’m chickening out and not picking an outright “winner”.
1/ Beastie Boys – Jimmy James – 3.15
2/ Love Rears Its Ugly Head – Living Colour – 4.19
3/ Something For Kate – The Astronaut – 3.42
4/ Black Sheep – Flavor Of The Month – 4.19
5/ Fishbone – Servitude – 5.25
6/ Bjork – Joga – 5.05
7/ A Tribe Called Quest – Excursions – 3.55
8/ Reef – Sweety – 3.39
9/ Public Enemy – Shut ‘Em Down – 4.26
10/ Massive Attack – Safe From Harm – 5.20
11/ The Pharcyde – Passing Me By – 5.03
12/ The Paradise Motel – Aeroplanes – 4.53
13/ Hoodoo Gurus – Nobody – 4.25
14/ Antenna – Come On Spring – 4.49
15/ LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out – 4.49
16/ Crowded House – 4 Seasons In One Day – 2.48
17/ House Of Pain – Jump Around – 3.38
18/ The Roots – Act Too… The Love Of My Life – 4.55
Total -18 Songs = 78.37 minutes.
Happy listening.
