philip sherburne

Michaelangelo Matos graciously invited me to submit a tracklisting to Idolator's coverage of the year in pop music. The only strictures were that all the music must fit on a single CDR, and that the selection tell some sort of narrative.

As such I present an imaginary mixtape with a title more appropriate for an academic paper: I'm Comin' Up: Buildups, Breakdowns and Glissandi (or, How to Rave without Even Trying). Please note that there is no real mix to accompany the chart, unless someone (not me) feels like making one. I declined to produce an actual mix less out of laziness than for the fact that my selection, if put together, would probably constitute a rollercoaster overload. (It was also easier to abide by the 80-minute limit without taking blends into account.)

Of all the year-end lists I put together for 2007, this one is doubtless the silliest. However, there's an essay accompanying it that I hope will make some sense out of techno's propensity, in 2007, to oscillate wildly. Break out your glowsticks.