The greatest thing Mazda has ever produced isn’t a car but a mixtape.
13 tracks meticulously chosen for a sensory experience like no other. Mazda seamlessly merges sing-along earworms with punchy drum-lined tunes that make you want to wind down the windows and cruise.
The mixtape entered my possession through my first car, a 2005 Mazda 3. The mixtape is now one of my prized possessions and can be found in the CD player in every car I have owned since.
The CD features 10 songs from various artists and 3 songs that were used in the early days of Mazda’s ‘Zoom Zoom’ campaign. The mixtape was released in 2001 as a purchase gift with any new Mazda vehicle in Australia.
The three Mazda songs only run for about one minute each but still manage to pull you into the auditory experience Mazda has cleverly crafted.
A Side
Track 1
The opening track ‘Zoom Zoom Zoom’ was composed by Kao Rossman for the 1993 martial arts film ‘Only the Strong’. The song features the characters engaging in a topless martial arts/dance performance on the beach.
Yes, you read that right.
Track 2
‘Get Set’ by Taxiride is the most recent track of the mixtape with a 1999 release year and the only Australian band to feature.
It is a perfect second song selection as the longer build-up allows us to disconnect from the daze of the opening track. It’s also the first song that plays on the driving theme found throughout the mixtape.
Track 3
The Lemonheads’ 1993 cover of the Simon and Garfunkel track ‘Mrs. Robinson’ from “The Graduate”. An iconic song given a punk rock twist is the pump the mixtape needs to get you into second gear.
Track 4
This is where the mixtape really starts to get good. When the musical tapping of the steering wheel turns into a full-blown karaoke session for Dexys Midnight Runners’ international no.1 hit ‘Come on Eileen’.
The high energy and passion exuding from the song takes the listening experience to the next level.
Track 5
Wilson Pickett’s 1966 Grammy Hall of Fame song ‘Mustang Sally’ starts to round out the first half of the mix. The soulful blues melody and rhythm pair perfectly with the bounce of the previous track.
The track also cleverly plays on the driving theme established earlier in the mix.
Track 6
The A-Side concludes with another rendition of the opener ‘Zoom Zoom Zoom’. This time with a slower beat and fewer lyrics. Nothing super crazy but it does act as a palate cleanser to prepare you for the mixtape’s B side.
B Side
Track 7
The mix rolls back into life with the famous guitar riff of Chuck Berry’s (or if you follow the Back to the Future timeline, Marty McFly’s) 1958 ‘Johnny B Goode’.
Instantly recognisable, the guitar, vocals, and presence of the rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry blast from the car stereo and into your soul itself. It will turn even the most mundane of drives into a lively 88mph adventure.
Track 8
The 80’s British pop renaissance continues with The Escape Club’s ‘Wild Wild West’. Reaching no.1 on the U.S Billboard charts in 1988, the song continues the mixtapes trend of catchy drum beats and earworm-worthy choruses.
Track 9
The mix slows a touch here but for good reason. A great mixtape is full of rises and falls. Mazda chose The Cars’ 1984 hit ‘Drive’ for this.
The drop in tempo is perfect after the full-on sounds of the previous tracks while still sustaining the rhythmic toe-tapping drum beats found across the mixtape.
Track 10
As well as rises and falls, a good mixtape needs a sprinkling of guilty pleasure songs too. And nothing hits that mark better than Los Lobos’ ‘La Bamba’.
Made for a movie of the same title, Los Lobos’ rendition of Ritchie Valens’ 1938 hit brings the party back to the ride in all the right ways. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that could sing anything but the chorus, but try stopping them from loving it anyway.
Track 11
Rounding out the 80’s British pop rock is The Fine Young Cannibals’ Grammy-nominated song ‘She Drives Me Crazy’. More drums, more guitar, and another catchy chorus. This song is the epitome of the mixtape and is a perfect penultimate song.
Track 12
In case you had any vocal capability left the mixtape sends you off with a bang by closing the journey with the B52’s world-renowned ‘Love Shack’. The song that makes you want to rip open the top of your car to turn it into a convertible and head to the beach. A song worthy of capping off an exceptional display of mixtape curating by Mazda.
Track 13
Mazda closes the mixtape with a 20-second song of their own titled ‘Roll Up To See The Man’. A song of little importance except to remind us that the last 30 minutes of our drive were made unforgettable by the greatest producer of mixtapes, Mazda.
Mazda produced a couple more mixtapes for Russia and Greece, before phasing out the purchase gift. Mazda has never made a public comment on their reasoning for this, but their 2016 decision to discontinue CD players in their cars entirely is evidence enough that their mixtape days are over.
Those who own the CD are now proud owners of a piece of history, a toe-tapping, song-singing, car-dancing piece of history the world is likely to never see again.
Zoom Zoom.
Original photos by James Whybrow