Blue Beats For Longing

What's better than trip-hop when you don't want rap but need to bob your head? Instrumental versions of hip-hop songs. DJ Flack posted this mix of "rainy day head-nod beats" a few days ago, and I've listened to it half a dozen times already. Some big tunes in there (I can't stop humming the cheeky chipmunk melody from Lonely, Akon's hit of this summer, which kicks off the mix) and plenty of classics. I can't remember the last time I heard a mix so consistent -- a grey melancholy permeates all 48 minutes of it, like walking with your hood up and your head down on a wet sidewalk in a rainy city. Highly recommended.