WARMER MIXTAPES #176 | by [BYODeath]

When I think of mixtapes I always think of driving around alone at night in Vermont when I was younger, when all the mixtapes I made were dark & weird & sad, so this mixtape is a tribute to those days.

1. Einsturzende Neubauten | Kalte Sterne
I find it's always best to start a mixtape off with something evil, plus this song has one of the best basslines ever.

2. The 6ths | Aging Spinsters
And then of course follow it up with something fragile & poppy. This is one of my favorite Stephen Merritt songs. I feel I learned a lot about songwriting from listening to Stephen Merritt songs. This songs pretty sad but also mentions heads bursting into flame which is cool.

3. Atari Teenage Riot | Sick To Death
This is a great song for driving around hating where you live. The trick is that, unless you actually are from Berlin, you substitute wherever you are from when they chant Burn____Burn...so when I was growing up it was Burn Barre Burn.

4. Joy Division | Something Must Break
It's tough to find underexposed Joy Division songs, but I think this one qualifies. It's from towards the end of their short career when the sense of impending doom was amazing and the icy synths are killer.

5. His Name Is Alive | We Hold The Land In Great Esteem
I discovered HNIA back when I would check out pretty much anything 4AD put out, and even by 4AD standards HNIA are something special. They really create their own little world. This song is beautiful & it mentions blood a lot.

6. Black Sabbath | Children Of The Grave
Black Sabbath are the best band ever. Children Of The Grave is about the end of the world which is awesome...Except wait, Black Sabbath are actually saying we need to learn how to love to prevent the end of the world. Just one of many examples of Sab's subtlety & wit.

7. Guided By Voices | Club Molluska
I chose this GBV song to represent a side of Robert Pollard that isn't often remarked upon, the creepy, loner with a 4-track in the garage at 4 am side. This song is spooky & oddly heartfelt & one of my favorites. A song for the outsiders written by someone they didn't even know existed.

8. Nicole Kidman | Thirst For God
This is a song by my friend Jon. It's a pretty dark song, but I feel there's hope. Songs about escape always seem kinda hopeful. This provides a nice counter-balance to the ATR song when Jon sings I'm ready to go the hell out of this place.

9. Mortiis | Vandaren's Sang
I used to put this on a lot of mixtapes. There's something endearing about the idea of a lonely troll in his basement using a Casio & a 4-track to make epic RPG soundtracks. This song is Dungeons & Dragons to me.

10. Orchestral Manouvres In The Dark | Of All The Things We Made
This is my song to play over the end credits of an imaginary movie. OMD have made a lot of pretty songs & I think this is the prettiest. It could be about the end of a relationship or the end of the world & I think that says it all.