WARMER MIXTAPES #27 | by Nicolas Makelberge and Johan Tuvesson (Karl X Johan) of Nicolas Makelberge
SIDE A | by Nicolas Makelberge
1. Elaine Page | Nobody's Side
From an greatly unappreciated musical, not the most exciting subject Chess as a cold war analogy, but the music is epic, especially for me at ten years old, in a home filled with IKEAS take on post-modernism à la 80's.
2. Public Enemy | Don't Believe The Hype
First experience of profound, life altering disbelief I ever had. I think I got something planted in my head there in our livingroom in Skåne which autopiloted me 15 years later to Queens and the US where I lived for some years.
3. The Doors | Touch Me
The closest to a creepingly obsessed fan I ever came was to The Doors at age 17. Something heartfelt and charming to listen Jim Morrisson at an obvious moment of weakness and disorientation in Touch Me.
4. The Posies | Solar Sister
Best Indie the US ever produced? Roskilde Festival 1994, only reason I was there. Never went back.
5. Putsch '79 | Penguins Are Deep
There's something about my Gothenburg that just equates great electronic music of all sorts. It's a genre and city native to austerity, stoicism, exactly as it's supposed to be. Putsch doing Penguins from Finland, which just reeks of an uncompromising contemporary presence (in the best sense of the words).
6. Siouxie And The Banshees | Cities In Dust
Alone, arriving in Prague at night, leaving Sweden behind again, new city, new people. Lighting a cigarette alone on a balcony at night and this song echoes a distance. Bells and chimes; it’s greatness.
7. Hapka & Bílá | Dívám Se Dívám
Something about an melancholic old men singing, especially in Eastern Europe which in some weird sense spells out unfulfilled, unarticulated longing. That combined with the Czech farmlands on the way to Karlsbad makes for very important memories.
8. Ted Gärdestad | Come Give Me Love
A genius, even on his last record, even if it's obviously composed by someone drowning in the sometimes chaotic unpredictability of life, it has its place, in its own peculiarity, out there in the sea of records.
9. Keith Jarrett | The Köln Concert
What can one possibly have to say about this record? If you haven't listened to it, then please don't. A rollercoaster ride, which probably encapsules the widest emotional range displayed by the human personality (through a single piano). Masterpiece is probably an understatement, not that I'm a jazz connoisseur but…UNDENIABLE!
10. Fleetwood Mac | Seven Wonders
A band which has been close to my heart for a long time.
SIDE B | by Johan Tuvesson
1. R. Kelly | I'm A Flirt
The singer of all singers. It became an instant personal classic the moment I heard it back in 2007. It's just so honest and playful. One of the more truthful songs I've ever heard.
2. Alizée | J’en Ai Marre
This song just sucks you in. And whenever you think of it, you also think of the play back TV performances she gave when she released it. It's pure sexual power, not cheap, but dignified and controlled.
3. Fire Inc. | Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young
It contains the best chorus that I know of, period. Everything about Jim Steinman's music is over the top and I know it leaves some people laughing at it. I'm not one of them. I love his idealism and I can't get enough of the multiple voices pounding out lyrics about staying pure and true to your dreams. It's beautiful.
4. Fleetwood Mac | Bleed To Love Her
Lindsey Buckingham's best lyrics.
5. R. Kelly | If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time
He always exposes himself to ridicule, and this is no exception. That's one of the reasons he's the best singer of our time. There is no distance or layer of attitude between you and him when you listen to this song. That's why it doesn't ring false, not for a second.
6. Bruce Springsteen | Racing In The Streets
One of few Springsteen tracks I still return to. It's romantic yet frank and harsh. I remember visiting Corsica a few years ago. Every night before dinner I ran up this mountain just outside Calvi, listening to this track on repeat. The Sun used to set just as I reached the top. I love thinking about that moment even today. I know it sounds like a balearic cliché, but it wasn't.
7. Jackson Browne | In The Shape Of A Heart
I hadn't heard this until a few weeks ago. Now I listen to it all the time. I can't put my finger on why. It just gets to me.
8. Maurice Jarre | Bulding The Barn
I have loved this track since I was ten years old. Love it still. It's too complex to be played by anything but a full orchestra, and still it was recorded on shitty synthesizers. The melody just keeps evolving, even now many years later.
9. Jon & Vangelis | I'll Find My Way Home
When you hear it the first time you think it starts out big. But then you realize it just gets bigger and bigger. And still, it's so dynamic all the way to the end. For a while I liked the idea of Vangelis more than I liked Vangelis himself. But now I know better.
10. Agnetha Fältskog | Wrap Your Arms Around Me
Her voice is so private, just like she is. Even when she sings her heart out you feel like you know nothing about her. But it's ok. To me, she equals integrity.