Today I am inviting you to explore the history of music via the monomyth of SoundCloud mixes. You guessed it ? The evolution of the Big Bootie (BB) Mixes by Two Friends. I first discovered the BB mixes in my early days on SoundCloud circa 2012/2013. I had just downloaded the app after a friend showed me a sickkkkk dubstep remix to ?If I Die Young? (https://soundcloud.com/fernando-pinheiro-8/if-i-die-young-dubstep-remix) and I began immersing myself.
One fateful night while chilling with the boys, we hopped in someone?s car to grab some Cluck-U Chicken and the self-appointed AUX cord fiend decided to unleash the unrestrained potential of BB #1 on SoundCloud for the whole convoy. Although the drive was only 15 minutes, I was hooked and listened to the rest of the mix when I returned home that night. Since then, I have been listening to every new edition upon release and constantly revisiting my favorites.
In order to give my concrete rankings of all 17 mixes, I have committed to the daunting process of listening to every single mix in the order they were released. It is currently 8:34:07 PM ET on May 8, 2020, as I click play on BB #1. I have no idea when I will actually get through these all, but the over/under is 118 hours according to Bet365 (Note: I have no official sponsorship or affiliation with Bet365). I solemnly swear that I will not skip any of the newer mixes or my pre-determined favorites in an effort to provide equal opportunity for all mixes. For those of you just looking for the list, I will put it at the end if you are prone to spoiling things for yourself.
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 1
Vamos A La Playa avec Levels by Avicii is just phenomenal. How does someone even come up with the novel idea of smashing those songs together? A stroke of genius. I tip my hat to you gentlemen and scholars. Overall, this mix has classics of electronic dance music sprinkled throughout. Strong start, strong finish and I was in the zone during the middle portion working on laying out the format for the rest of this piece.
Some things to consider when ranking it are 1) it was a pioneer and paved the way for all those that follow it on the list, 2) it had first dibs on every song that existed at the time, 3) it is the longest BB mix sitting at 1 hour and 12 minutes, 4) the actual mixing is rather limited to a few inter-playing of two songs in the beginning and end and then a lot of alright transitions, but rudimentary compared to the later mixes that have 5 songs in play at any given moment.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Beach, Cluck-U runs
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 2
Things quickly turned south in this one. I was not gelling with the songs initially. A few good tracks, but not my style. Towards the end I warmed up to it slightly although it is objectively worse and contains less enjoyable songs than Vol. 1. Further, the mix is also on the longer side at 1 hour and 7 minutes. I will not be listening to it again anytime soon.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Attempting to rank all BB mixes and therefore being required to listen to it, Late night postgame where everyone is probably about to fall asleep after the bars and you don?t mind leaving your phone in the living room when you inevitably crash
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 3
Krewella ? Alive is a rocket start. BB #3 introduced a trademark of all future Big Bootie iterations. I am of course referencing the notorious soundbites that appear near many drops throughout the mixes. Quick rebound from Vol. 2 plus Coldplay and The Beatles noticeably had me in a good mood. Pretty good tempo and mood throughout with a few interesting switches. Good one to tune in to for a distance run or swim if you have waterproof headphones. Lastly, my brother got his first Warzone win while I was bumping this so it is a good luck charm.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Going for a run or swim, Chilling, Warzone
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 4
I wish the first 15 minutes of this mix were cut, save the Ferris Bueller soundbite. All for the experimentation, but that was an odd intro in my humble opinion. The 52 minute mark onward is top-notch, but the overall score will be weighed down tremendously by the beginning.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Lighter gym session
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 5
This is the first one of day 2 I am listening to while cleaning out the garage. Really feels like a step up in terms of overall quality and enjoyability. Provided motivation and energy to quickly finish the task at hand.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Cleaning out the garage, Raking leaves, Mowing the lawn, Physical labor
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 6
So many throwbacks and well combined songs that are great for singing along with during a road trip or blasting during drinking games. This one is elite and passes the test of time. If you time this mix on a road trip with an hour until ETA, you will pull in the driveway with Take Me Home playing. It also ends the way BB #1 begins, which was a nice loop to close.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Beer die, Road trip
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 7
Loved the Martin Garrix intro, but then felt like they were trying to reinvent the wheel a little bit with some of the clutter in the next few minutes. It soon recovered, however, and I would recommend this if you are grinding for school. BB #7 is the shortest at 56 minutes.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Studying, Homework
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 8
I think this is the first BB volume that seamlessly got rap in the mix. Could just be my taste of rap. Nice finish as well. Really gets the boys energized.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Pumping up the locker room
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 9
Two Thumbs Up. Best one yet in my opinion. Strong balance of rap/pop/edm. Zoned out playing video games to this one.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Playing FIFA/Chel
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 10
Had completely forgotten about the load of laundry I started earlier in the day until I saw the cover photo for this mix. Made laundry enjoyable and had a decent amount of songs that were not repeats. Once you listen to enough of these you feel like you can hear Fade Into Darkness on every single one. These are all starting to blur together, which in a sense is good as they are not sticking out as bad.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Laundry
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 11
Yeah?this is it. I could just about wrap this exercise up here. About 5 seconds in and The Office intro reaffirms what I already knew: BB #11 is the ultimate SoundCloud mix. Congrats on 14 million plays!
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Fits any situation, Darty, Party, Pre-Game, On the bus to Foxfields (IYKYK), etc.
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 12
Some of the drops let me down and some transitions that stuck out as not even transitions. I still really liked it overall and the songs, but if one is listening carefully for innovation and technical strength, then this one lags behind its brethren. Upbeat ending with that Mike Williams beat followed by Taylor Swift?s greatest song: Mean.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Gym/Lifting
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 13
Really strong mix. Drake and Josh theme song was a highlight for me. Also, More Than You Know was my top listened to song on Spotify so this set is really catering to my preferences.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Poolside, Hot tub
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 14
I heard Laurel. Their skills are on display here packing this one full to the brim with bangers. Great summmer energy and would highly recommend a listen here.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: On the open seas
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 15
Only one that beats this in my mind is BB #11. Has a little bit of everything and my favorite sound bites.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Very flexible, block party
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 16
Some really good parts, some really forgettable parts. Let down after 15.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Power hour
Big Bootie Mix, Volume 17
A ray of hope during these trying times. Also, my favorite artwork so far. The ending with all the graduation songs is timely. I recommend watching the music video they compiled for this mix as well. My peewee hockey team would have crushed this back in the day.
Preferred Listening Scenarios: Graduation, Quarantine
Listening time for those degenerates who gambled on this was 110 hours. One final thought, I think that all of their mixes have the innate ability to grow on you once you familiarize yourself with the song transitions and can anticipate the next song or acapella being mixed with the tune.
Ranking (please read above for more detailed commentary):
- BB #11: 2F?s Magnum Opus.
- BB #15: Bro, I?m straight up having a good time.
- BB #9: Gold mine.
- BB #6: Landmark BB mix.
- BB #13: Tough to differentiate between 13/14 so I ranked on total plays.
- BB #14: Tough to differentiate between 13/14 so I ranked on total plays.
- BB #17: Much needed atm.
- BB #5: Shows signs of future perfection.
- BB #10: Solid and worth including in the rotation.
- BB #16: Middle of the pack.
- BB #7: A bit extra.
- BB #8: Finally getting rap invovled properly.
- BB #12: Good songs, lacks overall spice.
- BB #1: Big nostalgia x factor.
- BB #3: Smooth mix with good vibes and songs but production lacking.
- BB #4: Neat trick I found here is to skip to 15:00.
- BB #2: Objectively the worst.
