Release date: 2000
Description: It was made by Sonic Foundry, a titan of the audio world at the time. And the box offers plenty of reasons to buy:
- “Includes 100+ songs” (You know what number of songs 100+ is)
- Highest Jukebox Rating at mp3.com
- Free CD labeling software (called Neato; I think it was one of the better-known programs for that task)
- Video playback
- Library organization
- Integrated Web browswr
- Advanced audio effects (speed, EQ, and reverb)
- Multiple skins
Unlike RealJukebox but like MusicMatch Jukebox, my 2020s computer can’t run it. But it does look like it was a good program in its heyday.
The songs
The amount of explicit language is significantly higher than in other compilations. I guess you can’t make a product that is “the ultimate in music & video” and keep things friendly. Sorry, families. (Mostly, I remain surprised that these sorts of things got sold in retail stores that way.)
Because these 101 songs are from comparatively few artists – for example, there’s an entire LP in here – I’m going to use one row for each artist.
75 Ark (3 songs)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| Dan the Automator | 417 Sleep Wiling | He played a show in September 2023 with the Wu-Tang Clan. There are some Kruder and Dorfmeister vibes here. |
Big Heavy World (3 songs)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| Chin Ho! | Girl Scare Me These Days Talk You Down | Punky alt-rock. They broke up not long after this but re-formed in 2022. They’re from Vermont. |
Common Wealth Records (4 rap songs)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Deep | Bounce | |
| Kool Katz | Loyality | |
| L.O.N f/ Pernilla | Give Me That Beat | |
| Pernilla | Hide My Heart |
Crowd Control Records (3 rap songs)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| Soundscape | Die In Your Sleep Listeners Truth |
Crystal Lake Entertainment (3 songs)
| Artist | Song(s) | Notes |
| Crystal Lake | Dreams Place Ya Bets | Labeled as hip hop. |
| Flex Man | Blowing Out Ya Speakers | Drum and bass, but a pretty boring iteration of it. |
D-Day Records (17 songs)
| Artist | Song(s) | Notes |
| Blessed with Pain | Blessed with Pain? Tribal War Blood | Death metal, but maybe the titles told you that. |
| F.I.S.T. | Lies Obstruction Hooking Pure Pain Scarred | More death metal. |
| Forever Sleep | Adagio Talvi Adagio Talvi (reprise) Autumnalis Crepesculum | Gothic death metal! See, it’s different! |
| Handsome Pete | After School Special One Mo Fo Super Spy | DIY punk stuff. |
| Low Twelve | Twelve | Death metal again! |
| Next of Kin | Enemy Neck Tie Nothin New | Metal that isn’t about death? It’s more nu-metal back when nu was new. |
| Tetanus | Eviction | Instrumental metal. My pick of the lot for that reason. It’s fun if you like sludge. |
Emperor Norton Records (6 songs)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Arling & Cameron | Le Flic et la Fille | ’70s funk soundtrack style, but then female vocals show up in the middle. Probably good for Stereolab fans. The band has 20,000 monthly Spotify listeners, so this is one of the biggest names on the disc. |
| DJ Me DJ You | Set the Controls | Sunny 2000s electronica with funky guitars. |
| Ladytron | Commodore Rock | A legitimately large band (at least now), it’s some French electronic bleepy chaos and pretty fun for those so-minded. |
| Logan’s Sanctuary (Original Soundtrack) | Metropia | This is for an imagined (but never proposed) sequel to the movie Logan’s Run. It’s made by Roger Joseph Manning Jr. and Brian Reitzell. I know this because the album has a Wikipedia entry. The song itself is pretty good. |
| Olivia Tremor Control | Love Athena | Reminds me of the Meat Puppets. They have a lot of Spotify listeners. |
| Soul Ecstasy Soundtrack | Soul Ecstasy Theme | Another made up soundtrack, this time to a ’70s movie that isn’t a sequel. |
GoodVibe Recordings (13 explicit rap songs)
| Artist | Song(s) | Notes |
| Bahamadia | Commonwealth (Cheap Chicks) One-4-Teen (Funky for You) | |
| Bedroom Wizard | Wanna-Be’s | |
| Big Dro | Spank | |
| Mirage | Jabs & Uppercuts | |
| Mystic | OK…Alright | |
| Neb Love | Bubblin’ (remix) | |
| Nuthouse | Correct Technic | |
| Phil the Agony | Clear The Lane | |
| Slum Village | Once Upon A Time Players | |
| Spontaneous | Reprezen’n (remix) SRV1 |
Journees Music (7 electronic songs)
| Artist | Song(s) | Notes |
| Beatseed | All in a Daze Work | It sounds like the Wiseguys could have made this. |
| Butter Bomb | 6 AM (DJ Voodoo and Dust’s breakmix) Pumpin’ in your Speaker (Jim Hopkin’s Nervous Twitch remix) | |
| D’Layna | Special (Formula dub) | Funky house. I’ve heard plenty like this in, e.g., Ben Rainey mixes. There are bits in here that sound very Crystal Waters. |
| Echosphere | Down to You Kite (vocal mix) | |
| Wide Receiver | Microdot | Something between Jan Johnston and the Crystal Method. If you like the former’s “Mercury and Solace” and the latter’s “Comin’ Back (The Light’s Southern Grit Mix,” you’ll like this. |
Lobster Records (5 punky rock songs)
| Artist | Song(s) | Notes |
| Mock Orange | In Even Time | I’d gotten later Mock Orange in a Topshelf Records mystery bundle, so I was surprised that Mock Orange showed up for an effort 16 years later. It appears to be the same band, although later the work for Topshelf isn’t punky at all. |
| Staring Back | The End Six | Both songs are under 2 minutes. |
| Whippersnapper | Perceptions Steady the Walls |
Mends Records (2 hip hop songs – I’ve been calling a lot of hip hop rap in this write-up)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| The Nobodies Congolomerate | It’s Hip Hop What You Hear |
Monkibo Records (2 very different songs)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Logik | Hardcore | Not only is this pop, it’s very specifically pop like Exposé’s “I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me.” You don’t accidentally make a song in that style. |
| Van Alec & Markof | Funky Mona Lisa | Hip hop |
Next Mill Entertainment (1 song)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Bambu | Acknowledge The God | The entire file is only in the left channel. Rookie error that tells you how much Sonic Foundry paid attention assembling this. |
No-Mad Industries LLC (3 songs)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| Joi Cardwell | Deliverance Last Chance for Love Sunshine | R&B/pop with some other stuff thrown in. The Deliverance album housing these three songs was a modest hit, she’s won a few awards, and she still releases every few years. An easy highlight of this jukebox. |
Nu Gruv Alliance (2 hip hop songs)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Cali Agents | The Good Life | |
| Zion I | Revolution |
Pyraplastic Records (5 big beat/drum and bass songs)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| Keltech | Big Time Fat 64 Fear Last Word Tempest | They’re the certain kind of loud that was in vogue in 200. |
Reddy Brown Entertainment (10 songs)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| POUCH | 9*1*1 City Clamber Everything I Need Foundation Ghost Town Kettle Storyteller Uncle Carl Unresolved | This appears to be an entire album (38 minutes). |
Smallman Records (2 songs)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Another Joe | Dave | Big beat that you could slip into a big beat car mix as a bit of cheeky fun. |
| Layaway Plan | Wasted | They probably like the Offspring. |
Stray Records (2 songs)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Azeem | Duragz | Hip hop. |
| Westside Chemical | Five Finger Johnny | Trip hop-ish drum and bass. It’s quite nice. |
Three Sixty Records (2 songs)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Organic Audio | Kumquat Shot | More Soma Radio Groove Salad kind of stuff. It’s well-listened to on Spotify, so you might want to check it out, although I think some of the choices have aged worse than a lot of its peers’ choices. |
| Runaways UK | Momentum | Listed as trip hop, although the beat’s more…street tough? |
Trance Domain (5 songs)
| Artist | Songs | Notes |
| Active Ingredient | Intergalactic Bluntz (dub mix) Luna Sedona Lost [credited to Active Ingredient v Lon Moher, which I assume is pronounced like lawnmower] | Electronica on the amateur side, but the song ideas are generally good. |
| Sub-Digital | As You Command Satellite Genius | You could game to this in 2000, I’m certain. Both of these songs are right around 10 minutes long. |
Under Cover Music Group New York Inc. (1 song)
| Artist | Song | Notes |
| Wyndell Long | Deep Blue | Jazzy house that’s just kinda there. |
And so we move on to: ValuSoft MP3 Jukebox
restlessmosaic.com 