WARMER MIXTAPES #107 | by Brent Tomchik [Brob Ront Experiment]

1. New Order | Ceremony
It was the first time I realized my dad didn't have bad music taste. After listening to new wave and electronic 80s bands growing up, I discovered New Order, and with that a keen sense for looking back to music of the past and how much it can change in a matter of 15 years. Also, the song is a reminder of the immortality a single person can have through a piece of music. Joy Division's late singer Ian Curtis lives on through this song.

2. Pearl Jam | Brain Of J.
The first album I had ever bought was when, at 8 years old I purchased Pearl Jam's album Yield. My friend Jason had it, and I kind of looked up to him at the time. I would make myself a fort in my family's basement and listen to this song in an old CD player on repeat. It was the only song I liked on the album, the rest sucked. I picked up the album a couple years ago and listened to it, only this time around there was not a single bad song on it. Not only that, it's now my favorite album from Pearl Jam. How does this happen? What changed? I still am not sure.

3. The Arcade Fire | Une Année Sans Lumière
My best female friend, and the girl I should have dated in high school, always said she only listened to The Arcade Fire during the winter time. They were her winter listening band. I miss her every damn day.

4. Kevin Shields | Are You Awake?
Seemingly simple charm in music without lyrics, and a perfect sound for the soundtrack to the film Lost In Translation.

5. The Smashing Pumpkins | Farewell And Goodnight
Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins will always be the type of band mate I never want to become. I am fascinated by the entire album Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness; how what seemed like a suicidal double-disk release turned out as a chart-topper and timeless collection, and also how selfishness and a need for perfection can tear a band's friendships so far apart. This song incorporates every band member at the time, and portrays what I imagined the band to be like personally, while at the same time representing how I felt when I realized they weren't a real group at all.

6. Air France | Collapsing At Your Doorstep
Thanks to Air France, I was reassured that beautiful, creative music (at least in my own eyes) lies not only in the past. I just had to start looking deeper, and in this case beyond the close-minded borders of the United States. Their art, and using environment sounds in their music, really inspired me to open up my ears. I now listen to the trees, to the winds, to the cars, to footsteps. Their sound is very hard to describe, other than that it makes me happy when I groove to it.

7. My Bloody Valentine | To Here Knows When
Such a dreamy and peaceful sounding song, like a lullaby. No matter how many impersonators, My Bloody Valentine will always have such an other-worldly feel that very few are able to capture. It is this other-worldly-ness that fascinates me so much. Despite their preference for wall-of-sound style, there is a distinct loveliness to it. It makes me feel like I am finding beauty in the midst of chaos, and being able to create beauty out of chaos, and make others see it, is a rare art. Only one of my friends and none of my family recognize My Bloody Valentine as a great band.

8. Blake Reary | Nowhere Near
This guy made this tune with one piece of software, Fruity Loops, and the software plug-ins involved with it. Hell, with the right skill, knowledge, and plug-ins, nearly anyone can do almost as good a job as he does. Yet it is so rare. The home recording studio is very under-rated.

9. The Twilight Sad | The Room
What an awesome Scottish voice. Absolutely awesome. The more I listen to it, the more I am infatuated with its sound and how it works with their music. This song just builds and builds and builds and roars until the booming percussive tone just pounds at the doors of your heart.

10. The Go! Team | Universal Speech
Some of the most fun I have had listening to a song. There are so many different things going on, that it becomes playful and teasing. Like there are a bunch of children taking you by the hand on an adventure through sound and space, shoving you and showing you as many things as they can because it's all dramatically exciting.