Artist	Song
The Beta Band	Squares
Aesop Rock	9-5ers Anthem
Blackalicious feat. Rakaa & Babu	Passion
Jay-Z	Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Atmosphere	Between the Lines
Cannibal Ox	The F-Word
Sage Francis	Makeshift Patriot
Prefuse 73	Nuno
DMX	When I'm Nothin'
Fantomas	Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With me
Vitalic	Poney Part 1
Daft Punk	Aerodynamic
Basement Jaxx	Where's Your Head At
Pink	Get the Party Started
Gorillaz feat. Ibrahim Ferrer	Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)
Super Furry Animals	It's Not the End of the World?
White Stripes	I'm Finding it Harder to be a Gentleman
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club	Red Eyes and Tears
The Strokes	Someday

Comment:

Finally, the 25th year. Looking back on the project, I think I've done more than just refute the original beef I had- of course rock didn't die in 1977. It only got better. The kind of music that fueled Baby Boomer emotions is still around in a mutated strain, but there's a much bigger wealth of styles to be found. While mainstream pop dominates, the alternative (with a lower-case a) is still readily available, a network of enthusiasts in college radio stations and indie webzines concocting a sort of unofficial Billboard. Genres upon sub-genres bridge gaps without blinking- try pinning down the Avalanches or Fantomas or Super Furry Animals or the Beta Band and they'll slip out from under you like a limber luchadore. Rap lyrics are less likely to sound like the Sugarhill Gang's elementary party-rocking and more like an otherworldly blend of Gil-Scott Heron and Rakim- only deeper. An American producer can release an alleged "novelty" album/side project featuring vocalists from California, Britain, Japan and Cuba and parlay it into a Top 40 album. And in the end, somehow, this mix winds up being my favorite of the series. What can I say, I'm a big fan of the future.

UPDATE: And now it's even more of a favorite - a better SFA track, Sage Francis' haunting 9/11 critique, Pink's Blondonna disco-pop, DMX's fatalistic soul, Jay-Z's izzo-ramic lyrical stylings and Vitalic's jackhammer house. Sadly, the circle is broken up since the first track of the '77 comp is no longer obvious Strokes influence Iggy Pop, but it's a small price, I guess.

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