Mystery Mixmania: The Songs (Part 1)

A few days ago, I announced that the theme to my Mystery Mixmania mix was Instrumentals. Now it's time to reveal the songs I used on my 2-disc mix.

I didn't intend to make another 2-disc mix this time around. I was really, really happy with the initial mix I made (disc 1) but I couldn't fit some of the songs I really wanted to use. I took the songs I wanted to use but couldn't and combined them with some of the rest of the 80+ possible songs for this mix. Because of the way the discs came about, I named them “The Best” (for the first mix I made and really liked) and “The Rest” (for the mix that came about rather randomly).

Disc One: The Best

1. Röyksopp - “Triumphant”: I like starting off mixes with songs that feel like they should be at the beginning. This song made sense since it is actually the first song on Röyksopp's album The Understanding. I also like the way it starts off kind of soft and gains more and more steam as it goes.

2. Edgar Winter Group - “Frankenstein”: This is a classic rock instrumental and once I settled on the theme, I felt that this song had to be on there.

3. Yoko Kanno - “The Real Man” from Cowboy Bebop: For this mix, I wanted to be kind of broad in scope so out of all the great instrumental stuff to use from Cowboy Bebop, I decided to use this. It's a really unusual song from the intense strings to the fast pace and distorted vocals. I don't think I've ever heard another song quite like it.

4. J. Dilla - “Love Jones”: A J. Dilla song was going to be a must on this mix. However, since I wanted as little vocals as possible, there was a lot of stuff I couldn't use (this is also why faves of mine such as DJ Shadow and RJD2 didn't make the cut either). However, this wonderful short instrumental from The Shining fit the bill perfectly.

5. Ian O'Brien - “Midday Sun”: I sometimes find out about artists in roundabout ways. When I first listened to the Cowboy Bebop remix album Music For Freelance, I really liked the remix of the song “Piano Black.” That remix was done by Ian O'Brien and as a result, I looked for some of his stuff. That's how I came across this song. Funny, huh?

6. Percy Faith & His Orchestra - “Theme From A Summer Place” (composed by Max Steiner): Is there anyone who hasn't heard this light, fluffy piece of music? Over time it has become the epitome of upbeat cheesiness and for some reason, I really like it. Maybe I like it because it was used in a funny scene in Con Air, who knows?

7. Ichiko Hashimoto - “Bad News” from RahXephon: This has appeared on a Mixmania mix before and here it is again. I just really like this damn song.

8. The Pillows - “Last Dinosaur (Off Vocal)” from FLCL: FLCL created a whole new fanbase for Japanese punk group The Pillows. The use of their music in FLCL (all of which had been released long before the series was released) was excellent and I certainly enjoyed what I heard. You FLCL fans will recognize this as the next episode preview music.

9. Raymond Scott - “Powerhouse”: Anyone who has watched a few Looney Tunes has heard Raymond Scott's music. Carl Stalling used quite a lot of it in many Looney Tunes including this song. The more I listen to Scott's music, the more I appreciate it.

10. Madvillain - “Sickfit”: What made me want to use this song? Hearing it as my friend's ringtone. Mind you, I already liked Madvillain and was really intrigued when I first heard “ALL CAPS” and “Accordion.” But still, it seemed like a good fit.

11. Mouse On Mars - “Pinwheel Herman”: I've used Mouse On Mars songs before on my Mixmania mixes and I tried to use one that I hadn't used before on this mix.

12. Tomoyasu Hotei - “Battle Without Honor Or Humanity” from Kill Bill Volume 1: Don't you wanna kick some ass as soon as you hear this? I wonder what else this composer has done.

13. Khachaturian - “Sabre Dance”: This is one of those classical songs that we've all heard before but knew what the hell it actually was. I picked this classical piece over such equally well known pieces such as Beethoven's “5th Symphony, 1st Movement” and Rossini's “William Tell Overture (Conclusion).”

14. Radiohead - “Meeting In The Aisle”: I really, really wish I owned the EP that this song came from. I saw it in a store once, didn't buy it, and couldn't find it again.

15. Dr. Dre - “The Next Episode (Instrumental)”: Dr. Dre's 2001 (or Chronic 2001) is the only album I own in two different versions. I own not only the original version but also the Instrumentals Only version as well.

16. Yoko Kanno - “Shadow Of Doubt” from Escaflowne TV: I love this song. It's easily my favorite song from the Escaflowne TV series. One thing to note, though: I really don't know if Kanno composed this or if her husband, Hajime Mizoguchi, did. Mizoguchi is a composer in his own right and a cellist. I think he probably played on this song but, again, I don't know if he did.

17. “Day At The Academy” from Enchanted Arms: I used this song on the previous Mixmania mix but I felt it fit here too (perhaps better). Question: Anyone know who actually composed the music for the game Enchanted Arms?

18. Tsuneo Imahori - “H.T.” from Trigun: Easily one of my favorite rock instrumentals ever. It's one of the few instrumental openings to an anime series, even though I guess you could say that the lead guitar is really the “vocal.”

19. Al Hirt - “Green Hornet”: What a cool piece of horn work. It's easy to see why Quentin Tarantino put it in Kill Bill Volume 1.

20. Rob Dougan - “Furious Angels (Instrumental)” from The Matrix Reloaded: When I first heard this song in The Matrix Reloaded, it didn't occur to me that it was actually someone's song. I thought it was part of the score. I don't know if that means I should compliment The Wachowski Brothers for making a fight scene fit perfectly to a song or Rob Dougan for making a song that works so well for a fight scene.

21. The Chemical Brothers - “Otter Rock”: I never realized just how many Chemical Brothers songs have some type of vocals in them. I liked this song and it didn't have any vocals so it worked.

22. Yoko Kanno - “Piano Black” from Cowboy Bebop: Okay, so I had to use a more “conventional” song from Cowboy Bebop too. This is one of my absolute favorites.

23. Danny Elfman - “Dead Presidents Theme” from Dead Presidents: There is more to Danny Elfman than his work with Tim Burton. A lot of people tend to just overlook his non-Tim Burton scores. I really like this theme and I think it's a bit of a hidden gem.

24. The Go! Team - “Everybody's A V.I.P. To Someone”: Remember above when I said I like to begin mixes with songs that sound like they should be at the beginning? The same is true of the end. And like the song at the beginning, this is actually the last track on The Go! Team's album Thunder! Lightning! Strike!

This post ended up being a little longer than I expected, so let's take a little breather. Part two will feature the songs of Disc Two (The Rest).