Ever find yourself at the end of trying work week in need of some hardcore tunage? Me too. Especially since it’s Winter Music Conference right now in Miami (more for the hot weather setting and less about the debaucherous barely-dressed fist-pumping), my office cubicle is a downright allergen come Fridays at 5 p.m. My new go-to is Milkman’s mash-up CD, Algorithms. Released in Jan. earlier this year (and after two years of work), it’s a free-handed mix of the latest pop tracks over hits from the ’70s and ’80s, and the Milkman delivers. Mashup CDs have been something of a trend du jour ever since  the genius Danger Mouse toyed with Jay-Z and The Beatles tracks. But rather than treading on possibly stale ground, Milkman cuts through with seamless transitions from song to song without it feeling awkward .

Perhaps the lone criticism I have – and this really applies to all mashups – is that Milkman uses a lot of the same tracks. The Jackson 5’s “ABC” or “I Want You Back” is in heavy rotation. The mix also includes an original house song, “Breaking Free.” Even though I’m not typically a fan of house, I actually don’t mind this song. It’s more a “shuffle” song than one I’d click to listen to, but nevertheless, I don’t immediately bypass it when it starts to play. All in all, Algorithms never fail to get me in the mood for a weekend party.

Crowd favorites:

“Sky High” Opens with the instrumentals of Cee-Lo Green’s “F**k You” with lyrics sampled from Twista’s “Overnight Celebrity,” which by the way, is still a pretty kick-ass rap song.

“Here We Go Again” Anything that includes old-school Journey besides the over played and clichéd “Don’t Stop Believing” holds a special place in my heart.

“Love Struck” Features a killer sequence of an up tempo version of MGMT’s “Kids” with Eminem running the vocals over the track.

In need of some new tunage? Download the mix for free here: http://milkmanmusic.net/fr_intro.cfm