On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a 12-song playlist around some theme. This week, Shak Lambert presents a dozen songs that would make up his perfect soundtrack for a car chase.
Ever since I was a baby, I was an absolute gearhead. I used to read Auto Trader just to know details of every car around, I had a collection of literally hundreds of Hot Wheels, and going to auto shows was like my own personal Christmas. Hell, my first word was Ford (yes, as in the Ford Motor Company). Ironically, as I grew older, the idea of high speed racing in real life became significantly less appealing due to it being, well, unbelievably dangerous. However, my growing love of media at the time (watching movies like THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS and BAD BOYS II to playing games like Midnight Club II and Gran Turismo) quickly scratched that itch.
With all that said, here’s a selection of 12 songs that I would consider my personal perfect soundtrack to a car chase. I had to cut it down from a list of about 40+ songs—some of which I kept changing as I wrote this. But regardless of what songs I cut out, all 12 are ones that give me the adrenaline rush just as satisfying as driving 200MPH.
1. “Breed” By Nirvana
I imagine the opening drum roll as the musical version of revving your engine right before the beginning of the race. It’s a perfect start and the rest of the song maintains that momentum all the way throughout.
2. “Lost Weekend” by The Qemists (feat. Mike Patton)
The first of three drum-and-bass songs on this playlist, I hear this song and I imagine being in the wildest off-road rally race in a jungle.
3. “Brother’s Keeper” by Waka Flocka Flame (feat. Wooh Da Kid)
A Pitchfork review once described Flocka’s music as “a furious torrent of gangsta rap id.” That statement is about as accurate as it gets. The energy provided in his music is absolutely unmatched, this one included.
4. “Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine” by The White Stripes
The amazing main riff. The banging drums. The swagger in Jack White’s vocals. This song is practically BEGGING to be used in a cinematic car chase.
5. “Dem No Worry We” by Red1 (feat. Afu-Ra)
Dem No Worry We is just a song that’s just as energetic as it is just cool. This choice is mainly here because the beat makes me want to go into a frenzy.
6. “Supermoves” by Overseer
There are two things I immediately think of whenever I hear this song: Neo running over dozens of Agent Smiths in the iconic MATRIX RELOADED trailer, and hitting my nitrous in Need For Speed Underground, vision blurring into nothing but neon streaks as I hit the final straightaway into the finish line. This song kicks ass.
7. “Arson” by City Morgue
City Morgue’s brand of punk/hardcore-inspired rap is a assault on the senses. The duo’s hyper-agressive vocals and production is one that screams “play this loud and fast”.
8. “Line & Sinker” by Billy Talent
Billy Talent’s debut album is one of my all-time favourites. It’s a pop-punk album that’s got a ton of fury behind it, and Line and Sinker is a perfect example of that, just from the very first second.
9. “Don’t Give Up” by Noisettes
It’s almost impossible to listen to the frenetic pacing of “Don’t Give Up” and not want to move as fast as you can.
10. “Showdown” by Pendulum
Pendulum was my gateway into drum & bass, and just like The Qemists a few songs back, their hard rock-inspired sound just feels like it was made for driving recklessly.
11. “Lassitude” by DJ Fresh
The third drum-and-bass song in the playlist is the one closest to its traditional electronic style, but it’s one that just makes you want to move from point A to B as fast as you can.
12. “Points of Authority / 99 Problems / One Step Closer” by Jay-Z and Linkin Park
Of course, I have to end this playlist with the single greatest rap-rock collaboration of all time. Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s triptych of a mashup is a perfect blend of the badass sound that defined Linkin Park’s early sound and Jay-Z’s legendary lyrical dexterity.
