What makes a good mix CD? It depends on the listener, but one thing I enjoy is when the DJ knows their music inside and out, to where they're playing puzzles with the songs they play and the records they scratch within. The cover art, a play on the infamous DaVinci code, suggests that perhaps there are codes and puzzles within. In other words, one has to dig deeper than the surface to find the code. Perhaps in this case, one has to go past the clever cover to see if there is any trickery involved.

Let's get this out of the way right now, John Doe of the 1200 Hobos is a master at what he does. "Popular Fallacies (True Lies)" is a very intelligent mix CD that not only shows his skills on the turntables, but also shows how skilled you can be simply by knowing the music you play. By doing this, he sets himself apart from the competition and into a world that has been explored by a select few.

This CD would be hard to describe in a simple fashion, for it is filled with over a million songs, edits, and cuts from the old school to the new, from the new soul to the old grooves. John Doe does it seamlessly and is able to tell stories that will make any record collector nerd jealous. Beats match with the lyric, lyrics blend in with the music, by the time you get through a minute or two you may realize that John Doe is speaking to you with his crates.

"Popular Fallacies (True Lies)" is the perfect example of how all mixes should be done, but not everyone is going to go out of their way to add mental skill to their music. This is on a much higher level.

Music Vibes: 10 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 10 of 10

Originally posted: February 24, 2004
source: www.RapReviews.com