I've always been a huge fan of mix tapes, muxtapes and the like, and realized how much of an influence they have in our lives. From cds like the "Now" series, or "Ibiza chill out 2008", it really brings music to the masses. I must say, that initially I would call myself a big hater of these types of albums. To me it seems that they just serve the purpose of providing people with no particular musical tastes some kind of sonic enjoyment. 

However the other night, I was round a mates and she was playing all these amazing euro-trash anthems from the 80's and 90's. Where she grew up in Sweden you could subscribe to a monthly tape which would keep you up to date on the latest and the greatest in euro-cheese. Sadly, I was not aware of 90% of these amazing tunes. Its strange to think that today, Shaggy, Destiny's Child and the Nickelback could be the most enjoyable songs for you to listen to in 20 years, even though you may despise them today.

That night she and I made an amazing mix for her to bring to work for her colleagues... which im sure they hated (Ace of Base, Cutting Crew, Samantha Fox, UB40), but later she emailed me a zip file of these, and I was so excited to slap it into itunes.

But the thing that really started this kind of thought process about compilations came today on a really packed tube ride home. I was flipping through my ipod playlists and came across "Summer 2008". I completely forgot what was on there from a couple months ago. Played on random, my entire summer unraveled in front of me, through my headphones. Excitement from finishing university, depression, anger and sadness from splitting up with my boyfriend and friends moving away, frustration of being unemployed, and the soggyness of camping in Cornwall. All of the songs really brought it back to me. 

This is the mix:

Bon Iver: Skinny Love

Gossip: Fire with Fire

Alela Diane: Pirates Gospel

Tom Waits: Never Let Go

Regina Spektor: Summer in the City

Björk: Human Behaviour (Live version)

Beck: Everybody's gotta learn sometimes

Beck: Gamma Ray

Dusty: The Windmills of your Mind

Baby Dee: Teeth are the only bones that show

Paul Simon: Graceland

Goldfrapp: A&E

Thats what really excites me about music, that it can really bring up a huge buffet of psychological emotions, good, bad, ugly, happy and really bring you back to a time you had thought you had forgotten.

After many years performing live and developing a name for themselves, UB40's fortunes changed at the beginning of 1980, when they were asked to support The Pretenders on a UK tour. The cover art for UB40's first album, released that year, was a reproduction of the UK’s unemployment benefit card, with the title Signing Off rubber-stamped in red. It referred to "signing off" the dole and getting a job, both an acknowledgement of the launch of the band and a celebration of their new status.

Because they were from the West Midlands and they were a large multicultural group playing music of Jamaican origin, UB40 were initially thought to be part of the two-tone music scene which had burst out of nearby Coventry. Rooted in Caribbean ska, rock steady and reggae, the two-tone style was popularized by Coventry bands including The Specials and The Selecter. Signing Off made it clear that UB40 were not part of the two-tone movement. While they were part of the same social and political tendency, their musical approach was quite different. Their sound was more relaxed, sophisticated and sultry.

In 1983, UB40 released the album Labour of Love, a direct tribute to the musicians who had inspired and influenced them. The phenomenally popular 'Red Red Wine' was the album’s first single, and it went straight to #1 on the UK charts upon its release, remaining on the British charts for two years. In 1984, the song became UB40’s first U.S. #1 and went on to be a worldwide hit for the group.

UB40: Greatest Hits (CD, Digital Album)

1. (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You
2. One In Ten
3. Red Red Wine
4. If It Happens Again
5. Here I Am (Come And Take Me)
6. Sing Our Own Song
7. I Got You Babe [featuring Chrissie Hynde]
8. Groovin' (Out On Life)
9. My Way Of Thinking
10. The Way You Do The Things You Do
11. Higher Ground
12. Please Don't Make Me Cry
13. Kingston Town
14. Come Back Darling
15. Don't Break My Heart
16. Cherry Oh Baby
17. Breakfast In Bed [featuring Chrissie Hynde]
18. Rat In Mi Kitchen
19. Homely Girl
20. Until My Dying Day
21. Swing Low [featuring The United Colors Of Sound]

Buy the CD:

• In North America: UB40: Greatest Hits
• In Europe: Greatest Hits