Warmer Climes

WARMER MIXTAPES #834 | by Lauren Denitzio of The Measure [sa] and Worriers

1. Superchunk | Learned To Surf
I got into Superchunk late, but this song instantly became one of my favorites. I jumped around too much to this song the first time I saw them and hurt my ankle pretty badly just because I was THAT PSYCHED, and I usually don't jump around for bands much anymore. It's such a Self-Help song, but I Love it.

2. Flamingo 50 | First In Line
One of the Best Pop-Punk bands from the UK that doesn't get talked about enough. You'll be hard pressed to find better Pop-Punk songs than this. I'm biased, they're my friends, but this song is the epitome of Post-Breakup Punk Songs and is Amazingly Catchy and Bittersweet. I've said it for years that Lou's Voice is my favorite in Pop-Punk.

3. The Shins | New Slang
For two or three years I listened to this song way too much. That first Shins record really is Amazing and this song is the Standout. Even if that movie Garden State hadn't told everyone about it. It sounds like a Modern Day Beach Boys and is Perfect for a Rainy Day Walking Around with Headphones On. A Silent Killer of an Unrequited Love Song.

4. Operation Ivy | Knowledge
I feel like the Operation Ivy record Energy defines a Generation of my Friends. If you loved this record as a kid you REALLY LOVED this record and the first song Knowledge is an Instant and Wonderful Throwback. I think I quoted this song on my Yearbook page.

5. Rancid | Ruby Soho
Before I ever heard Green Day I heard this song on the Radio. That Summer a friend dubbed a Cassette of the Record it's on - …And Out Come The Wolves - and included three Minor Threat songs on the end. That's how I started listening to Punk. It reminds me of that Summer when I was maybe 12 and had no idea what was going on, but I knew that I loved that song and that band. I still haven't officially met Tim Armstrong, but one day. ONE DAY.

6. Radon | Grandma's Cootie
I've heard that this is the first song Radon ever wrote. Dave Rohm is an Amazing Songwriter and he's able to turn the most Sad and Depressing Emotions into Rallying Calls. This is one of my favorite songs that I definitely inadvertently ripped off once.

7. Mission Of Burma | Academy Fight Song
I heard this song on Jon Solomon's Radio Show on the Princeton Station when I was in High School. This was in the late 90's, before they got back together. I told my uncle I really liked them and he bought me their albums on CD. This is one of their hits and it always makes me want to jump around and yell out the chorus I'm not judging you, I'm judging me!...

8. Billy Bragg | It Says Here
I bought this single when I was away from Home one Summer during High School. I knew his name because Rancid references him in one of their songs. I picked it up on a whim and he's now one of my Musical Heroes. This song is about Bias and Politics in the Media and how we're sorta brainwashed by it all sometimes. His songs are some of my favorites, it's hard to pick just one!

9. Sleater-Kiney | Ironclad
This is my favorite song off of their record All Hands On The Bad One. I was in a Sleater-Kinney Cover Band for a Halloween show and we played this and it's so Hard yet Amazing to Learn to Play. I don't know whether to call them Riot Grrrl or just Post-Punk, but they're a Significant Feminist Punk Band and played a Big Role in the Evolution of my Politics Growing Up.

10. The New Pornographers | Letter From An Occupant
The New Pornographers record Mass Romantic was one of the first more Indie records I ever listened to, after growing up on a lot of Punk and, oddly, Folk/Country. This song is not only my favorite on that record, but the song that made me totally fall in Love with Neko Case's voice. She's one of my favorite Singer/Songwriters at this point and this song holds a special place in my heart as Overused on Mix Tapes and a time in my Life where I very Actively Sought Out New Music - something I wish I did more often now.

+11. Neko Case | Man
The single off Neko's new record is the Punkest song in Attitude I've Heard in a Long Time. I adore a lot of her more Mellow songs, but I'm a sucker for a really good Floor-Tom part and her Lyrics here are the Fiercest yet. It's one of those songs that makes me want to Stop Making Music, because I think she just Won the All-Time Songwriting Contest.

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