This mix is a bit of a sidequest as I put the finishing touches on a pretty fire N.E.R.D. mixtape that I’ve been working on. Occasionally, I give flowers to some of the great pop tapes and CDs I grew up with. At times, I'll also include a mixtape from other artists who were highly influential to me, especially when they seem to be otherwise missing from the internet for some reason. I stopped DJing in 1994, dropped out of college, and ran off to the Navy, realizing that rocking parties with two tape decks wasn't going to translate to club gigs anyway. For the next 20 years, I was just a DJ fanboy. During that time, I really dug the late '90s big beat scene, with artists like The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and Groove Armada. The Chemical Brothers’ commercial mix CD, 'Brothers Gonna Work It Out,' was a massive influence, so much so that when I returned to DJing in 2013, now with the benefit of a laptop and controller, I specifically studied it until I could recreate it. Needless to say, their old DJ sets are a huge influence on me and all are worth a spin when you find them. This particular Chemical Brothers DJ set has been on my hard drive for 21 years, titled “ChemBros_Soundsystem_XL_2003.mp3,” and was originally recorded from the radio in 2003. I most likely downloaded it from Kazaa or Limewire. It stayed in heavy rotation on my Creative MuVo MP3 player at the time. Now, it's nowhere to be found online, which is a shame, so I'm uploading it here as I finish up my N.E.R.D. mixtape. Enjoy — it knocks. If you're listening on Apple Podcasts and feeling generous, kick me a quick 5-star rating and a positive review.