Double Dee & Steinski - The Ultimate Lessons

These guys started it all. DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Girl Talk, The Avalanches, and countless others can all trace their style back to the original mash-up artists Double Dee and Steinski.

It begins with a 1983 contest held by Tommy Boy Records. Participants were asked to remix the single Play That Beat, Mr. DJ by G.L.O.B.E and Whiz Kid, and in addition to a small monetary prize, the winner received some air time and free promotion by Tommy Boy.

The entry submitted by Double Dee and Steinski was composed of sound clips and samples not only from contemporary funk and disco, but also from older sources like Little Richard and the Supremes. Their entry, titled Lesson 1 - The Payoff Mix, won first place. This launched their career (though they still remain relatively unknown), and prompted many sequels and derivative works.

Although the album was never commercially released due to copyright issues, bootleg copies have been passed around for the last 25 years. The album posted here, The Ultimate Lessons contains the three original Double Dee and Steinski mixes, as well as several more recent recordings they inspired.

Burt Bacharach - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

WARNING--This album may be a danger to your health. Potential dangers include: chapped and/or bloody lips due to incessant whistling, fainting from lack of food/water due to uncontrollable humming, and song-stuck-in-head related insanity. Please take the proper precautions and only engage in responsible listening.

My first draft of this post included lines like "if you like the movie, you'll love this soundtrack," and "if you haven't seen this movie yet, move it to the top of your Netflix queue." But I scrapped them when I remembered this is not a movie blog, and I don't care if you see the movie or not. But you need to give this soundtrack a chance.

Although every track is highly enjoyable, South American Getaway is far and away the most memorable song, and it is the one that will have you wishing for some peace and quiet inside your head. This is not a standard soundtrack in a modern sense--there are only a few instrumentals and very little 'theme music.' Instead there are a bunch of catchy pop songs written by Burt Bacharach at the peak of his career. There are three version of 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' although one would've probably been enough. The other five tracks are jazzy, western sounding jingles that, unfortunately, are overshadowed by South American Getaway.

As a whole, you probably won't listen to the entire album on a daily basis. But, if you are like me, you will be compelled listen to South American Getaway on repeat for the better part of a month.

Link is here.