Beats on The Wire - Mixed by DJ Ian Head


A mix worthy of being associated with the greatest show in history (tied with The Sopranos in my opinion). Ian Head's description of the mix below. Pipo's list of the greatest shows of the last 15 years after the jump.

I always wanted to make some kinda tape like this, whether or not others have already beat me to it. There's so much great dialogue you could probably make a 12-part series of tapes, each one thematic, dedicated to a character or a season. This was just some of my favorite dialogue that I mainly pulled off YouTube - it's just scraping the surface.
Record selection was focused on instrumentals I hadn't pulled out in awhile, stuff that people might have played twelve times when it dropped but has been stuck in the crate for the last couple years. I tried to match most of the moody beats with relevant dialogue, but I wasn't trying to get too overly subliminal or deep with any selections.
The tape is a SPOILER ALERT. It's a bit of a risk making it - I know some of my friends still haven't seen the show, and I would recommend against listening if you haven't finished the series. For those who have experienced all five seasons, hopefully it's a fun, slightly heart-wrenching little trip down memory lane.

1A. The Sopranos (Sopranos gets the edge because each episode has more reply value than those of The  Wire)
1B. The Wire
3. Battle Star Gallactica (I hate you if you slept on this show.  I hate you because you get to watch it for the first time)
4. Breaking Bad (Series is still on going, but I have no idea how it will continue given where it left off).
5. Treme (I just find this show inspiring)

Others worth mentioning: The Killing, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Homeland (just missed the top 5 because it's only one season deep), Deadwood, Oz, Mad Men.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

1A. The Wire
1B. Six Feet Under
3. The Sopranos
4. Breaking Bad
5. The Office

Honorable mention: 30 Rock, Boardwalk Empire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, South Park

Rudy said...

This is funny because I just got done watching The Wire complete series for the 3rd time, lol. For some reason i'm thinking season 2 was awesome, when I used to sleep on it heavily because it gravitated away from the hood storyline, but the writing on it was fantastic. I love Dexter (but seem to lag when it comes to get around and watching it, but end up watching a season in 2 nights), I love OZ insanely, Breaking Bad is the shit and I love me some Spartacus!!!!! Gotta give some love to The Trailer Park Boys also

pipomixes said...

Ooh, forgot about 6 Feet Undet

RLFM said...

1. Treme
2A. Six Feet Under
2B. The Wire
4. Arrested Development
5. Twin Peaks

Honorable Mention - Dexter, Community, True Blood, The Office, King of the Hill, and Freaks and Geeks (the last two are very underrated in my opinion)

Pipo- I saw you're a fan of The Killing. I am an avid watcher myself, but have been troubled by how ridiculous and misleading it is. For example, I hate the way they purposely mislead the viewer and never go back to explain things. They seem to do it with every "suspect", especially Ahmed and Richmond. I hated how they had Ahmed have all those random chemicals in his house, how he randomly cancelled the appointments he had for people to come his house, how he hungout with Rosie writing her notes, how he had connections with Richmond's afterschool program and how the way he acted to the police made it seem like he was obviously guilty. Also, I hate how they had Richmond be that "Orpheus" guy and had him be violent towards that hooker, as well as ask her what it would be like to drown and all that other shit (on top of the way he acted towards the police). And this season they don't even address any of that Orpheus stuff? I know they cleared him from being a suspect because of the suicide attempt but still I think it's stupid how it's written to purposely mislead the viewer so much more than any other show I have ever watched. They do all these things to make the viewer convinced he's guilty and then in one episode all of that information is worthless and never leads to anything. It's really annoying how ridiculous it is though, and it just seems to get worse. Not to mention it's pretty much Twin Peaks without the "Lynchian" weirdness. I will definitely continue to watch it, but will also continue to be annoyed by these things.

pipomixes said...

You are right, The Killing is a Twin Peaks clone. The Orpheus stuff hasn't been explained but I think it will end up being connected to the mayor. The other Richmond stuff has been explain through the suicide attempt (such as the hooker incident). But you are right, it's gotten to the point where being a suspect now disqualifies you from being the actual killer. I only keep watching the show because I read in an interview that the creator said the killer will be revealed in season 2. But I fear that they'll reveal the killer but string us along with their capture and motive. Oh well, not much else to do for entertainment when ur life revolves around an infant

pipomixes said...

Rudy,

Season 2 is far and away the Wire's best! Poor Sabatka. Guy was just trying to protect his union

RLFM said...

I think season 4 of the wire is my favorite, but I also love the whole school thing so that might be why.

The Killing-wise, I also read that the killer will be revealed in the season 2 finale. If I was a betting man I would put my money on Jamie or Tom Drexler for the killer, but that's just because I think it has to be someone from season 1. And while I do have my fair share of complaints about the show I have to admit it is easily one of the best dramas on TV. I think this season has been much better than the past season of The Walking Dead and other than AMC's dramas I can't stand anything else so I suppose I can't complain too much about it.

Stax Logic said...

The Wire was great and all but its not on a level with Sopranos - close but no Cuban! Season 5 was a letdown and that's where it lost points IMO. I think The Shield deserves more shine as well, def a criminally slept on TV serial and had a much better final series than The Wire.
Top 10
1. Sopranos
2. The Shield
3. The Wire
4. Breaking Bad (might move a couple of places depending on quality of final series)
5. Justified (very dope, don't sleep!)
6. Boardwalk Empire
7. Homeland - awesome first series
8. Walking Dead
9. Deadwood
10.Treme

pipomixes said...

I'm surprised I'm the only one feeling Battlestar Gallactica

Buck Rogers said...

Id watch it if it had that robot Twinkie with the penis shaped helmet

Anonymous said...

whats the opening track after d'angelo is done talkin bout chess?