i made a mixtape today, a compilation disc if you prefer. inspired in equal parts by matos' mix project and freaky trigger's c90 series, i'm going to discuss it here.

usually when i make a disc, it contains new things that i'm feeling and old songs that are either chosen subconsciously because they convey my mood or because i was reminded of their existence (and greatness) by the radio. (all of this is to say that i rarely make 'theme' discs unless they're being assembled for someone else.) this one is like all of the rest, then, and it begins with:
1. harold melvin & the blue notes, "the love i lost"
why here? there were only three tracks on this entire disc that i thought suitable for the leadoff spot; the other two ended up being used to change mood or tempo. and, besides, i think the "love i lost" makes for one of the best openers in the history of pop. like most great gamble & huff productions, it starts slow and builds, instrument by instrument, establishing the mood before the singer opens his mouth.
why this song? unlike most gamble & huff productions, however, a mood isn't created so much as a palette. the mfsb orchestra embellishes and expands it, creating a canvas the size of philadelphia for teddy p. to bark out his grief in the most upbeat of fashions. and by the time he's removed the dagger from his heart, the nation's fifth-largest city proved just large enough to contain it all.