Mix # 5 Tracks 13—16

Theme: Challenge List (Songs with asterisks are songs I was challenged to use).

13.  “Primetime” // Jay-Z & Kanye West

I remember the night Watch The Throne came out. I was living at my cousin’s apartment in Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. Everyone in the apartment was a huge rap fan and just like the rest of the world, we sat in front of iTunes watching the clock waiting for midnight to get the proper download. There were a few hits on the album, of course “Otis” and “Niggas in Paris”, but as we got to the bonus tracks, I could only think, “Why the fuck are these bonus cuts?” They would get more plays in the cramped Brooklyn apartment than the album cuts. “Primetime” feels like the most luxurious track on the album. The piano loop over that humming guitar, the crashes, and that question, “The night is young/What the fuck you wanna do?” with Jay and Kanye on the beat so easy, you’d think they’re recording it from a hot tub in France somewhere.

14.  “212” // Azealia Banks

I was feeling myself a bit with some of the new music I was finding near the end of 2011. New artists were bursting through doors and older artists were putting out fantastic work. But there were two songs at the time that the Internets weren’t going to let you ignore. Sadly, this list didn’t really have enough space to hold Lana Del Rey’s pouty lips. Plus, it was going to be hard for any song to follow The Throne, so I went with the breakout song for newcomer Azealia Banks. The chick has talent and swag dripping from her every pore with the confidence of a bull to match it. When she says, “I’ma ruin you, cunt,” you immediately wonder, “Who is she coming for and why do they deserve whatever they’re going to get?”

15.  “Girls Girls $” // Theophilus London

Theophilus London is an artist that constantly teeters on the edge of being excitingly creative and dubiously boring. Sometimes his lyrical subject matter doesn’t match the audacity of his beats or the two pieces feel tangentially distant. The parts never quite equal the whole with him, but the result is usually infectious and danceable. It was for these reasons that this was the hardest track to decide whether or not to add to the mix. I like to dance and so does everyone else, I imagine, so when I add someone to a mixtape that I’m gonna play years down the line, I want to include something that will be effective then. All of that, plus I had just stopped seeing a girl who would wring me dry on a weekly basis. My wallet thanks me for breaking up with her.

16.  “Nothin’ On You” // B.O.B. f/Bruno Mars

My mixtapes have a tendency to be a bit emotionally driven. It’s not something I’m proud of, mostly because it gives the bulk of my tapes emotional connotations. It’s like I’m the Adele of playlist makers. I don’t really like B.O.B. or Bruno Mars (at all) but this song was that earworm that you just couldn’t dig out. I’m all for conscious rap and not killing people or rapping about gunplay (unless it’s Wu-Tang Clan or Odd Future), but these were some of the softest bars ever dropped. It’s like when he raps, marshmallows and feathers fall out of his mouth. Okay, my apologies to B.O.B. (or more specifically his PR people), but I couldn’t resist snapping.

—Cameron 

Source: Spotify

Mix #5 : Tracks 9-12

Theme: Challenge Mix (Songs with asterisks are songs I was challenged to use).

9.  “Cruel” // St. Vincent

When I was making this list (and even now as I think on it again), I thought about putting her song “Hysterical Strength” here, but the twisted guitars of that song were a bit too much for the list’s sound. After making a calculated attempt to ease up the section without entirely slowing it up, I switched it for the radio single from the record. “Cruel” is a funny song. The things she says are devastating: “They could take or leave you/So they took you/And they left you”, but she sings them over these slightly dopey yet fun synths, so you’re left with the same feeling as earlier, just your mood is lifted. Many St. Vincent songs are exercises in juxtaposition and sequence, using them slyly in order to heighten the listener’s reactions in the same way Stanley Kubrick or Alfred Hitchcock would let their films evolve in slow, strangely revealing ways. My playlists do that from time to time. They start in one place and take you to 2-3 others before you’re done.

10.  “Proceed” // The Roots

I originally had “Switch” // Lupe Fiasco in this spot, but Spotify didn’t really want to help here, so I had to look for a different vibe and it didn’t take very long. The Roots are easily one of my favorites of all time. They are one of my favorite things in existence. They manage to stretch their own limitations with every record, with every song. So, when I was searching, I needed something that continued the theme of moving forward and discovering new places. So, The Roots easily stepped into the shoes once occupied by Lupe. The confidence displayed in this song is something to strive for by other artists and definitely ups the credibility of this tape by far.

11.  “What’s Golden” // Jurassic 5

Chuck and I both share a lauding respect and love of old-school hip-hop and that whole vibe. Jurassic 5 and groups like them make me think of outdoor cookouts with the family, skateboarding, chilling with girls in the city, and just kicking it. There’s just an ease to that boom-bap kick drum and some fluttery horns that makes you want to crack a Heineken and get in the middle of the cipher with some friends. There’s always been this weirdness about old-school rap where it’s not quite pop because it’s not everywhere the way Ludacris or Swizz Beats is, but it gives you the same feeling, if not one that is more fun and inventive and exciting.

12.  “Cyclone” // Dub Pistols

When you think of this song, there’s only one other thing you’re thinking of, and that’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. Back in middle school, I would waste entire days with that game. For a long time, I was safely assured it was the only thing I was incredibly good at. One of the reasons I was so good I attribute to the insane soundtrack. It had the best mix of old and new hip-hop, punk, rap, and nu metal (which is a genre that has thankfully come and gone since) that could possibly exist in one period of time. This track is one that feels like its title. You know, like the way dogs sometimes look like their owners? “Cyclone” spirals around and around and around on a snare loop and a 1-2 horn sample that just gets you in that zone. Sometimes hip-hop is just that easy. 

—Cameron 

Source: Spotify

Make A Mix and Contribute to One Week \ \ One Mix!

Hi folks. I hope you’re enjoying the mixes. Please feel free to contact me about signing up to do a week of mix-making for this blog. Each week, a different writer creates a new playlist and writes about his or her theme, choices, sequencing, etc. I’m booked up until early June, but I’d like to keep this going for as long as possible. Your mix can be about anything and can include any kind of music. So let me know if you’re interested in submitting! 

Oneweekonemix@gmail.com 

Next Week: Our First Contributor

Finally able to step away from taking these mixes. It was fun but I’m glad to have some other people do the leg work, since that’s the point of this blog.

I’ve had a few people sign up, but let me know if you’re interested, I’m still looking for more. E-mail me at oneweekonemix@gmail.com, or use the Ask/Submit features. 

Our first contributor is Matt. You can find his blog here. His theme will be about a doomed relationship and he’ll start his posts tomorrow and continue until next Sunday. I’m really excited to see what he comes up with and I hope you all enjoy the change of pace. The more different voices we get on this blog, the better it will be.