Side A
Beastie Boys-Remote Control
Sarah McLachlan-Angel
Underworld-Born Slippy
R. Kelly-When A Woman's Fed Up
The Living End-Prisoner of Society
Tamia-You Put A Move On My Heart
Kid Rock-I Am The Bullgod
Vallejo-Snake In The Grass
The Roots feat. Erykah Badu-You Got Me
Santana-All I Ever Wanted
Green Day-Nice Guys Finish Last
Side B
snippet of Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man"
snippet of Al Green's "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)"
Beastie Boys-Brass Monkey
Beastie Boys-Girls
Redman-I Got A Seecret!
Jay-Z-Nigga What, Nigga Who
DMX-Slippin'
Toni Braxton-Un-break My Heart
Semisonic-Secret Smiles
snippet of New Radicals' "You Only Get What You Give"
Mary J. Blige-Real Love
Local H-Bound For The Floor
Everlast-Ends
By the time I got to Vol. 14, I was pretty much a robot when it came to making mixtapes. The process itself had become like a ceremony: I'd sit on this can in my room, headphones plugged in with the volume cranked up high and furiously switch from station to station until I found something that pleased me. I know I've described this before, but only now I had become so accustomed to the ritual that I would be in a trance, alert without even being aware of how alert I was.
One of the things I absolutely hated was being bothered whenever I was recording or scouring through the stations. It could have been as simple as my folks asking what I wanted for dinner. No matter what it was, it made my blood boil because it took me out of whatever groove I was in. I was creating art, magic and history all in one. If everyone understood this, I would have had fewer frustrating moments. Such is the power of a trance.
Side note: The first two songs on Side B were not written on the cassette tracklist because I didn't know the titles at the time. I recognized Al Green's voice, but absolutely had no idea who Spencer Davis Group was. Of course, in 2012 this problem could be easily rectified through technology. Not so much in 1999.
Song I'm convinced whenever I listen to is probably the greatest thing ever recorded: Underworld - Born Slippy
I'm not exactly positive why it took me a few years to include this on one of my mixtapes. There's a very faded memory somewhere of me recording over this song because I'm more familiar than I should be with the last 25 seconds of it. The only other option is that I was slow to get into this song, which is pretty ludicrous. I don't remember ever being at odds with "Born Slippy," so I'll just go with my gut and say I foolishly dubbed over it. It's crazy to think that such a thing could happen because whenever I listen to it now, it's nothing but pure euphoria and I'm destined to move no matter what setting I'm in. Few songs bring me the level of joy that this one does. It completely takes over me.
Song that never failed to make me feel like a bratty rebel: The Living End - Prisoner of Society
When I was listening to this tape again, I pretty much had the same reaction I did 13 years ago. I felt like stomping around and throwing non-stop middle fingers in the air. This is that kind of song. Just about anything that apes a classic punk sound will have an air of rebellion in it, which made it perfect for jumping around to as a teenager.
Song I always felt was one of the sexiest of its era: Tamia - You Put A Move On My Heart
This tune was released a little bit before I started making mixtapes, but it's always stuck with me and I couldn't have been more pleased to have finally recorded it. It was so easy going and had a slow-building sensuality that whenever Tamia finally let loose during the chorus, it would usually give me a shiver or too. This has always been one of my favorite vocal performances of the 90s because how she made you feel every phrase that she sang. Add a video that highlighted her good looks and you've got an all-time Ivan classic.
Song that served as evidence (at least for me) that the late 90s were a great time for alternative radio: Vallejo - Snake In The Grass
This was one of those songs you might've missed if you didn't listen to Q101 too often. It got some moderate spins during its day, but the interesting thing here is that you were able to find little gems like this fairly often around this time. Before KoRn and Limp Bizkit brought out the aggression in modern rock radio, something with a trip hop influence could make it on to the airwaves without anyone blinking an eye. I didn't know how good I had it at the time.
Song I always use as proof as Redman being one of the best MCs ever: Redman - I Got A Seecret!
This is not only my favorite Redman songs, but one of my favorite songs period. Definite top 250 status, if we're getting technical. There's a reason why only a handful of American MCs have successfully rhymed over a drum 'n bass track. The rhythm is not something that lends itself easily to rapping, which makes what Redman did here that much more impressive. He kept things true to his patented rugged flow, but I would always get delirious whenever he switched things up here. It borders on manic when you look at what he did technically, yet it's as cohesive as anything from the album.
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