Side Projects + Supergroups
My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a playlist around some theme. This week, Alexis M. Collazo assembles 12 tracks from various supergroups and musicians’ side projects. Read Alexis’ thoughts on each song and listen along to the Spotify playlist on top and/or the YouTube playlist at the bottom of the post.
As a music fan with eclectic taste, I often get bored of listening to the same old shit—which leads to a constant search for new and unique work. What’s even better than finding something completely new, is seeing my favorite artists branch out to something just a little different from what fans expect. Whether it’s a random side project or a collaboration that evolves into a supergroup, I love to see musicians stretch their creative muscles. For this playlist, I compiled some of the famous, the fascinating, and my own personal favorite songs that came from these musical experiments.
1. “Long Gone Day” by Mad Season
First and foremost, I can never get enough Layne Staley. And this has to be the best thing to come out of the grunge scene. I’m almost tempted to just list this entire album and call it a day. I love the variety of music styles blended to create a unique sound; in particular the jazz and blues elements that come through on this song along with the mix of vocals...it’s just perfection.
2. “Quote Unquote” by Mr. Bungle
Sometimes the stranger, the better. And it’d doesn’t get much stranger than this demented carnival music. The current lineup includes founding and longest running band member Mike Patton of Faith No More, along with Scott Ian of Anthrax and Slayer’s Dave Lombardo.
3. “Dare” by Gorillaz
I’ve been a fan pretty much since day one but had no idea who was behind the fictional band. I was quite shocked to learn that behind the curtain was Blur front man Damon Albarn. Upon further reading, it seems that Albarn is a widely varied musical artist with several solo albums and side projects.
4. “Phone Tap” by The Firm
This was a short-lived collaboration that came just around the time my interest in hip hop and rap was waning. But there was no escaping this song or the hype around the album’s release. Fans were disappointed but still this song always lingered in my head.
5. “Show Me How To Live” Audioslave
I’m pretty sure there’s a rule that Audioslave must be included in any and all discussions of supergroups.
6. “3 Libras” by A Perfect Circle
What I like most about A Perfect Circle is the chance to see a softer side of Maynard, in both his singing and lyric writing. Musically, I wouldn’t compare it to what he does in Tool but they do both explore the same emotional territory, hitting in very different ways.
7. “Alcohaulin’ Ass” by Hellyeah
Couldn’t really go wrong with Chad Gray singing and Vinnie Paul on drums. Not much departure from either of their earlier work, but I always enjoyed the extra bit of country twang that made its way into this single.
8. “Marijuana” by Brujeria
There’s a long list of heavy hitters that have been included in the band’s lineup over the years. Instead of going hard I thought it’d fun to break things up a bit with this cheeky parody.
9. “Burn” Suicide City
Covering a classic track and repping NYC. Started by Biohazard’s Billy Graziadei the band also included Jennifer Arroyo of Kittie. Despite being most well-known as bassist for the Canadian band, she’s actually a native New Yorker. I managed to catch them play a couple local shows; always a great time.
10. “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club
Who knows what the world of music would be like if the Talking Heads husband-wife team hadn’t taken time for this side project. Topping several charts when released it’s no surprise that this is one the sampled songs of the ‘80s.
11. “Diary Of A Madman” by Gravediggaz
An offshoot of the always innovative Wu-Tang Clan which includes Prince Paul and Rza. Just one more instance of their widely varying interests, influences, and styles to creating genre bending art.
12. “I'm Above” by Mad Season
I was not joking. Literally, can never get enough.
