For a brief period in the late 90s, one of the best ways to discover new music was through compilation albums.
These were often put together by a label as a way to push their own artists. If one of their acts had a big hit, they’d throw that on as track one, and then pad out the album with a mish mash of stuff that wasn’t selling as well. It was a bit of a cash grab, a way to squeeze just a bit more money from a hit song. Compilations usually had names that were generic and year-specific; Dance Mix 99. Megahit City 1998. More often than not, the cover art looked like it had been done by an office intern who was really into MS Paint.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I bought more than my share of these compilation albums. Most of the time, I wasn’t interested in the hits. It was the stuff they buried at the tail end of the CD that I found interesting.
This song was track number 12 on Chillout Mix 2000. As compilation albums go, it was pretty good. A lot of solid artists, not really any throwaways, and the cover art wasn’t even that terrible. It featured a sleek, modern-looking armchair of the type you might find in a bar that plays lots of Portishead, or the waiting room of a super-hip dentist.
The internet soon made compilation albums irrelevant, but I’m glad I grabbed Chillout Mix 2000. How else would I ever have heard “Homerun Ubershow”? It’s an obscure remix of an obscure song by an obscure band that I certainly would not have heard of otherwise.
So take a minute with me (or seven and a half minutes) to appreciate the compilation album.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. At first, it sounds like there are crickets in your speakers.
2. Then, it sounds like a cricket string quartet.
3. By the end, it’s a full-out cricket dance party. Cricket Dance Party. That’s a compilation album I would buy.
Recommended listening activity:
Making a salad out of whatever you happen to have in the fridge.