MIXTAPE: 100 Akres - The Pat Benatar Beat Tape

The concept of this beat tape is simple (and a little bit genius):  Producer 100 Akres took Pat Benetar’s 1982 classic “Get Nervous” and gave it the ‘future shock’ treatment.  With every track clocking in at around 2 minutes or under, the beats are as succinct as they need to be.  Here are a few of the stand-outs:

-“Vic” uses a piece of “Breathe and Stop” by Q-Tip.

-“Late (Miss The Pill)” is my favorite track.  It has an electro-afrobeat thing going on that is undeniable.

-“Fight Club” makes effective use of the tabla and a few piano plinks.

-“Let Me Out” is my least fave track.  It starts off with the beginning notes of the extended version of Soul II Soul’s “Back To Life” (you know?.... “Steady, are you ready?  What’s goin’ on?”  It was also used in the beginning of the movie “Belly”).  So when you hear that, you automatically think whatever follows is gonna be fire, but alas, it was more like hot GarBage (pronounce it like Minaj).

Half of the 10 tracks have campy 80’s commercials attached to the end of them for things such as Backwoods, Datsun cars, Goodwill, Bob’s Big Boy, and a trailer for the Hollywood Vice Squad movie!!!

With the exception of songs like “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is A Battlefield,” and “Invincible (from the Legend of Billie Jean King soundtrack), I don’t really know much about Pat Benetar’s music, except that she has a way with power chords, and that she came across as a beautiful bad-ass in the “Love Is A Battlefield” video.  However, after listening to this beat tape, I am compelled to revisit her music, so that I may once again go back to the future.

You’d think I’d be tired from all this time traveling by now, but I’m not.  It’s actually pretty rejuvenating!  If you’d like to get your piece of this audio “fountain of youth,” click here to download this beat tape.  100 Akres’ also has beat tapes for Whitney Houston, Billy Ocean, and David Bowie.  Also, be sure to check out his blog, FreshNerd, featuring lots of cool new art and music from around the globe.