Rating: 4/5 stars

The men’s soccer team gears up for its game against Westminster College. (Jared Bullock | Student Life)

For many people, playlist creation is an art. The “doing homework” mix, the “road trip” mix and the “party” mix—each has its necessary ingredients. The men’s soccer team has found their own recipe for a genre not to be overlooked: the “pump-up” mix.

Anyone who owned a Jock Jams CD as a kid will be pleased to hear Gary Glitter’s “Rock & Roll, Pt. 2” starting off the mix. The title may not be familiar, but if you’ve yelled, “Hey!” after a touchdown at a football game, you know the song. It’s a great selection to begin with—it’s appropriately sporty and eases the WUSTL FC fans in the crowd into more subtle stadium hits later. House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and a mashup involving “Thunderstruck” from AC/DC round out the expected tracks of a soundtrack to a sporting event.

The mix is extremely successful at finding exciting music without resorting to just cliché, fast-paced, current chart toppers. Perhaps the most surprising and impressive track choice is Ram Jam’s version of “Black Betty.” The guitar accents are perfect musical companions for cleats meeting soccer balls, and the song moves the mix into a more fast-paced phase. It’s a respectable throwback and has the kind of beat that will get your blood pumping just a little bit faster.

The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” gives another nod to more old-school taste, and other fans looking for their rap fix will like the choice of “In My City” by ABN.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the mix is its use of mashups and unlikely musical pairs to entice the listener. The musical experience is something like when you heard Peyton Manning was hosting “SNL”; it was doubtful he’d be funny, but the longer you stayed with the show, the more hilarious he was.

The mashups begin with a rap track laid over one of the most improbable companions one could imagine: “Man of Constant Sorrow,” a bluegrass song made famous in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” While it seems like a pair doomed to fail, the fast-paced lyrics with the twangy background is a combination that goes well with the rhythm of warm-up.

Equally impressive is the Girl Talk mashup “Play Your Part (Pt. 2.)” The part of the track most likely to turn heads is the combination of Journey’s “Faithfully” and Huey’s “Pop, Lock and Drop It.”

For those in search of an any-occasion song for their iPods, a surprisingly low-key portion of the mix comes with “Lost+,” a remix of Coldplay’s song featuring Jay-Z. The track is the perfect background for a beautiful afternoon game, pumping through the speakers of Francis Field as red-and-white uniforms flutter in the wind during warm-up.

Those curious about the men’s soccer mix can hear it live as the Bears take on Carnegie Mellon University at 11 a.m.  Sunday on Francis Field.