WARMER MIXTAPES #298 | by Pat Parra
Here's my list of songs that will probably always be dear to me and the photo is by my brother Danilo Parra.
1. Diane Cluck | I'm Yr Here-I-Am
This YouTube video of her playing this song live in Brooklyn hit me by surprise and made me cry halfway through. I was like what the fuck, I never cry. I'm always on the look out for movies that will make me cry since nothing does in my daily, but Diane Cluck just got me with her eyes in this performance. I was dumbfounded and hooked after she stole my tears. I was also kinda angry about it.
2. Lykke Li | Let It Fall
The previous was a good intro to this song. Although this song never made me cry, I like the subject matter and the feeling of it. It always calms me down. My latest memory of this song is working at a
vintage clothing store in San Jose where I was fired for being too slow. I couldn't help but slow down when this was on the store speakers. Yes there appears to be a theme thus far to my choices which I feel fine about. Crying is a therapy and release that is much needed in my life, since it's so hard for me, and Lykki Li seems to understand this perfectly.
3. Bob Marley & The Wailers | Cry To Me
Fuck it, I'm going to get all the crying songs out of the way first. I love this song. I have a super ghetto acoustic recording of it which I love. There was a time when I wanted to get to know the women in my life at the deepest level possible. I wanted every girl I was involved with to share their darkest secrets with me, until it started happening all the time and became too much with suicide threats and all. Now I'm super weary of people opening up to me too much. Which sucks but I haven't had the energy for it lately since I have a hard enough time trying to figure out what to do with my own secrets. I put this song on a mix tape for my friend Morgan. I guess I wanted to get
close to her.
4. Slick Rick | A Love That's True, Pt. 1
I'm not sure how I feel about the trend of this list. Just a real ass love song. He has so many great ones. I put this song on like three different mix tapes for girls. I had to let 'em know what I ultimately
wanted and what I was too smart to deal with. This song just makes me mad at coke head chicks.
5. Nirvana | Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Cover)
Their cover of this song is amazing. Makes me think of the girls who cheated on me. Sucks I relate to and feel this one so much. But it makes me say fuck bitches get money.
6. Black Sheep | La Menage (feat. Q-Tip)
This song discusses my dreams and makes me feel like a smooth ass player. All my greatest aspirations are in this song. Makes me think of being on the bus in San Francisco, seeing mad fine honies and being too scared to talk to them. Girl you sound as good as a cd.
7. Gene | Where Are They Now?
Incapable of breathing, incapable of love. An incredibly beautiful song and I've been feeling like this for the last five years.
8. Michael Jackson | Billie Jean
Seems to be everybody's greatest influence and he definitely was mine. He made me want to be black until he turned white. My first song ever written on guitar was about him. I was 5, singing, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson, Michael... Magical dude, and when I was little I was
swept up in, hypnotized and scared by his magic. He made making music seem untouchable for me because he was so out of this world. A true super star, I don't think we have any left since.
9. The Veils | Vicious Traditions
Reminds me of driving to San Jose with my bass player Neto. He brought this song to my attention because he thought it sounded similar to one of my songs. I was honored, I love the build up of this song and of course The Veils always seem to bring the heart and purity in their music.
10. Lucybell | Ver El Fin
A vampire song on the soundtrack of the first vampire movie made in Chile. This song makes me think of being with my cousins in Chile, the summer watching telenovelas like Tentación and going to the beach of Viña.
+11. Placebo | Without You I'm Nothing (feat. David Bowie)
A powerful song full of darkness and desperation that makes me think of Tara, a cancer friend who shares my love for '90's music. Their voices work surprisingly well together on this track and I can't really get enough it.
+12. Jeff Buckley | I Know It's Over (The Smiths Cover)
Jeff's cover of this Morrissey song literally makes my heart stop as I feel that no one on Earth could understand my connection to it.
+13. Lonnie Johnson | Careless Love
Lonnie Johnson is a fearless gangster of a song writer and performer. I'm always in the mood for this song, which is sad because I suppose it means I'm always angry at women.