“Safe for Work, Volume 1” by DJ Ayres

by The Hairpin

Close your eyes. Now open your eyes. It’s a present! The first volume in our new mixtape series, “Safe for Work.” Not everything cool is NSFW! For our inaugural mix, we asked the super-groovy DJ Ayres to select songs without swears. He one-upped us: “This a mixtape of songs about working. Some songs are even about dancing at work (so to speak). Everything here is safe to listen to at your jobby job. Aside from the theme, it’s a very random bag, but we guarantee it will make your day go a little faster.” GUARANTEES, people.

Tracklist after the jump…

1. Hot Streak — “Body Work (Intro)”
2. Michael Jackson — “Working Day And Night”
3. Daft Punk — “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”
4. Old School Junkies — “Work Me! (Gadamit)”
5. Prince — “Let’s Work”
6. Masters At Work — “Work (DJ Ayres Chinkuzi Remix)”
7. Ciara — “Work”
8. Missy Elliot — “Work It”
9. Wiz Khalifa — “Work Hard, Play Hard”
10. J. Cole — “Work Out”
11. Gang Starr — “Work”
12. They Might Be Giants — “Seven Days of the Week”
13. Johnny Paycheck — “Take This Job And Shove It”
14. Dolly Parton — “9 To 5”
15. Donna Summer — “She Works Hard For The Money”
16. Miike Snow — “Devil’s Work”
17. The 2 Bears — “Work”
18. LNR — “Work It To The Bone”
19. Nacey — “Work For This”
20. Steely Dan — “Dirty Work”

Honorable Mentions: Cher “Working Girl,” Bangles “Manic Monday,” Rolling Stones “Salt of the Earth”

To listen to more of DJ Ayres’s work, visit http://www.djayres.com and http://www.itstherub.com or go see him live at The Bell House in Brooklyn on the last Saturday of every month!

Artwork by Esther C. Werdiger.