The Soulcruzer Mixtape Series is back, because some things are worth coming back to!

If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know what this is. If you’re new, here’s the short version: it’s a curated set of songs, talked through, with a little context around why they matter and why they sit next to each other in this particular order.

Take a break from the algorithm and enjoy some intentional listening with a bit of conversation around it.

The series is back now as a companion to the live sessions over on Mixcloud. The live sessions are their own thing, spontaneous and in the moment. The mixtapes are the opposite of that. They’re considered. Slow, and built around a theme or a feeling or a year.

Which brings us to Mixtape No. 1 of this new run.

1999: Songs from the Edge of the Millennium.

I’ve been thinking about 1999 for some reason. That year had a particular feeling to it, something electric and uneasy at the same time. The millennium was coming, and nobody quite knew what was on the other side of it. The music that came out of that year was restless and reaching and occasionally furious and sometimes just pure joy.

Here are ten tracks that capture the vibe of 1999: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Blink-182, Korn, Creed, Santana and Rob Thomas, The Offspring, Rage Against the Machine, Incubus, and Travis.

The episode includes some of my thoughts on each track, but it’s not a review show, and it’s not a radio show. It’s closer to sitting in someone’s living room in the evening and just talking about the music you love with people who dig music too.

That’s always been what this series is for.

If you listen on Mixcloud, be sure to give the show a like and a follow.