WARMER MIXTAPES #85 | by Kurt Feldman [The Ice Choir]/(The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart) of The Depreciation Guild
1. Scritti Politti | Oh Patti (Don't Feel Sorry For Loverboy)
This is one of the best vocal performances ever committed to tape if you ask me. And as far as keyboard/programming goes, David Gamson has reached enlightenment. They even got Miles Davis blowin' on the bridge section...I don't even listen to Miles Davis, but can you beat that?
2. The Associates | Take Me To The Girl
The bassline is really tight (I think Michael Dempsey from The Cure played it), and the chorus has that part where it goes all minor theme variation. I don't think enough songs do that.
3. Microdisney | Ambulance For One
Dances in rain in the garden. He's laughing with his membranes all torn. Like Morrissey, Cathal Coughlan wrote dark lyrics over perfectly played jangle pop, only, I prefer Cathal Coughlan because he's a scary Irish guy who's vocal performances, melodies and lyrics command attention and Morrissey is kind of a wuss who sings the same 3 notes in every song. No disrespect to the other Smiths - Andy, Mike, Johnny and Craig were right on time.
4. The Legendary Pink Dots | Casting The Runes
This song has some serious halloween synths which are pretty crucial for scarytime mood-setting. There's also a guitar solo that happens a little after the 2 minute mark which sounds like a swarm of metal robot locusts attacking a swimming pool. I love that part.
5. Kissing The Pink | Desert Song
This song has the word asunder in it. You could only get away with that in 1983. If I had a Porsche 911-Turbo, I would head to the salt flats, put on the leather driving gloves, and just blast this shit, top down.
6. Prefab Sprout | Looking For Atlantis
Brilliant lyrics, production through the roof, and Wendy's eerily perfect backing vocals, what more needs to be said?
7. Real Life | Catch Me I'm Falling
You've probably heard their other, more famous single, Send Me An Angel, but this one blows that track out of the water. Great, dreamy guitar sounds throughout and there's even a really tasteful shred solo towards the end of song! You should also check out the drummer in the video for this song wailing away on the Simmons pads like the dangle-earring baddass that he is.
8. Care | Whatever Possessed You
This song reminds me of winter and it has my favorite Bells synth patch ever.
9. Gangway | Believe In Me
This song is really cool because on the one hand, you've got this church organ which evokes a kind of sad vibe, yet there's this diesel swing beat and a whoa-oh-oh refrain thing which overall, makes the whole thing sound kinda hard (in the Hangin' Tough sense). Very slick.
10. Xymox | Shame
Really great and totally aggro bass programming on this track. The detuned vocal samples make it seem like there were these souls of torture victims flying around in the studio while they were recording. It's probably just an SK-1 though.
