In 2009, I threw together a mix inspired by Kanye West’s 808s and Heartbreaks. Here’s what I said then:
I couldn’t dismiss it entirely. I left it on my iPod, letting shuffle find tracks on occasion and usually letting them play out. I started to think of it as a friend going through a rough patch. Even with the misplaced emotions, the production values were still incredibly high, so 808s could put on a brave sonic face. Basically, I couldn’t abandon it, but I knew it needed time to itself. Maybe 808s needed therapy? Then I thought, maybe what poor little 808s needs isn’t therapy, but some good company. 808s needs musical friends. And maybe a new voice to vent some frustrations.
Two years later, I’ve taken a scalpel to the original mix, nixed some fluff, maybe made it better, and uploaded it to SoundCloud.
Source Tracks, revised:
- “Heartless” – Kanye West
- “I Want To Be Your Man” – Zapp & Roger
- “Heartbreaker (Part I, Part II)” – Zapp & Roger
- “I Just Realized (Tom Moulton Mix)” – The Brand New Heavies
- “Amazing” – Kanye West
- “No One’s Gonna Love You (Blackbeard Rework)” – Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
- “Love Lockdown” – Kanye West
- “They Were Lyin’” – Ayah
- “Brave New World” – The Foreign Exchange
- “Paranoid” – Kanye West
- “Star Trek: The Next Generation (Main Title) – Jerry Goldsmith
- “Green Light” – John Legend (featuring Andre 3000)
- “Say You Will” – Kanye West
- “Sick” – Sam Sparro
- “Everywhere” – Common (featuring Martina Topley)
- “That Girl” – Esthero
(Also, various sounds from ST:TNG and Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan. Of course.)
Who knows … it might be time to try something similar with Kanye’s latest …