Summer Mixtape: Blast Off!

Hello ladies and gents. It's been a while since posting on here for me, and with this mixtape exchange I've found a good opportunity. I'm a member/lurker on a message board called Mortigi Tempo, and every month or two we participate in a mixtape exchange. We all sign up and draw a partner, and send them some sweet tunes over the internet and/or the mail. This is my most recent mixtape for a member of the board, and I figured I'd share it with Voila, maybe you guys will enjoy it. I'll go through it and give a brief synopsis on the track list and we'll be off on our way!

Blast Off!

1. Blast Off! - Lettuce
Lettuce is quite simply a powerhouse of get down, get groovy funk. Based out of Boston, these guys will give you no choice but to move to the groove.
2. Can You Get to That? - Funkadelic
Don't let the name fool you, this isn't exactly funk in the same vein as the last track. This was in Funkadelic's early days before they morphed into the funk monster that was Parliament (better known as P-Funk). Think Sly and the Family Stone with a more laid back, sparse feel.
3. Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) - Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie Orchestra
These guys speak for themselves. Just a few legends struttin their stuff live in Vegas.
4. Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
Some people might remember this song as that song from back in the 90's with the awesome music video of that guy dancing in the white room with the moving floor. Some might remember this artist as the group that played "Canned Heat" years later, which is infamously known as the Napoleon Dynamite dance song. I remember this song as a feel-good, funky jam courtesy of the best acid funk group to come out of Britain.
5. Mr. Sexy Boy - Chin Chin
I might be writing a review for this album later on. I heard another Chin Chin song on college radio earlier this summer and loved it so much I called the station to find out who it was. Ordered the CD, and I can't put it down. These disco-soul-funksters from Brooklyn are irresistibly catchy while still maintaining an astounding level of musicality. One of my favorites on the mix.
6. Unfunky UFO - Parliament
Coming to you from the aforementioned P-Funk (see track two's description) this is the epitome of dirty space funk, played by those who created it. Just get down on this one.
7. Building Mode 6 (from the Sims Original Soundtrack) - Jerry Martin and Marc Russo
This is the transition from the first part of the mix to the second. This is just downright beautiful. I'd exit and enter building mode on the Sims until this song came up.
8. Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly and the Family Stone
Fitting for the season. Feel-good soul from one of the funnest groups around.
9. Slippery People - Talking Heads
I know this is cover of a certain soul song, but I can't think of the group at the time. Either way, this is among the Heads' grooviest songs, this version taken from their legendary live album Stop Making Sense.
10. It's Your Thing/Jackson's Thing - 29th Street Saxophone Quartet
It's simple. Get four saxes, give them some funky music, and make em rap. Nuff said.
11. Human Nature pt. 2 - Youngblood Brass Band
My favorite brass band on the planet, this recording was from when they still had their founding member and virtuoso on the sousaphone, Nat McIntosh. This song is slightly reminiscent of Chicago.
12. March of the Pigs - Nine Inch Nails
Rocking track from the king of industrial metal.
13. Song for the Dead - Queens of the Stone Age
Probably my favorite track from these guys, Dave Grohl's drumming is spectacular. You'll wonder how they're staying together in the frantic sections of this balls-to-the-wall rocker.
14. Soma - Smashing Pumpkins
Ending the mixtape on a quiet note, this song is quite simply beautiful. Listen to it loud with lots of bass. I'd say it's the Pumpkins' most beautiful song in their catalog, and that is certainly saying a lot.

Hope you folks enjoy the mix, it's a fun set of songs that should make you move and make you feel good. More mixtapes will keep coming as the exchanges keep happening. Blast off!