WARMER MIXTAPES #905 | by Elliot Adamson
1. Justin Vernon | Hazleton
To ease up the pain of having to pick out my favourite songs and then cancel that list down to a mere ten tracks I have went with the concept of flowing from a record I love and seeing where it takes me across a journey of what I see as absolutely wonderful Music (and I hope you think the same). Hazelton is a track penned by the pre-Bon Iver, Justin Vernon, and I had no doubt in my mind that I would start with this song. Countless nights have been spent with this track occupying my speakers for countless hours, clicking repeat every two and a half minutes and floating in the beauty that Justin's Music always seems to hold. The kind of Music that, erm, makes me feel as if I can be on first name terms with some guy that I'll probably never meet. Listening to the song now I actually don't really have an idea what this song is about, and I don't plan on finding out, my ignorance upholds the Magic of the Music.
2. Trus'me | Can We Pretend (feat. Amp Fiddler) (Bill Withers Cover)
Can we pretend that, from now on, there is no Yesterday?... Paint a portrait of Tomorrow, with no colours from Today. I first came across this song in a mixtape that is a serious, serious mixtape. I feel that repeating a word to emphasise Meaning might be a portrayal of my rusty Writing skills. The tape plays amazing songs, but its true Magic lies in how it creates an Audio landscape between the records that are played, which results in me smiling without fail at numerous points during the tape. Feel free to check it, it does not have the credit that is deserves. This Bill Withers cover sees Trus'me and Amp Fiddler take the Original and spinning it into a more Upbeat, almost Poppier direction. I feel as if the charm of this piece comes from the mixture of a Realistic portrayal of a bad situation in Life and an attitude that will trump anything thrown at it. Looking forward to better days with a smile on their face; this song is simply joyous! Oh, and that Bassline... That Bassline!
3. Frank Turner | I Am Disappeared
I think this might be my favourite track of Frank Turner's. It has numerous highs and lows and I feel that it's utterly Euphoric in numerous places during the track which seems to be etched around themes of Dreams, Escapism and Fragility. I keep having dreams of things I need to do, of waking up and not following through. It feels like I haven't slept at all, when I wake to a silence and she's facing the wall. I feel like all of us just want to run away from certain situations at some point and Frank's powerful voice perfectly encompasses this feeling in a way that makes me think that the song comes from somewhere deeper within the Artist than the song would let on at first glance - true Passion.
4. Jake Bugg | Someone Told Me
I first heard this track at Evolution Festival on the Newcastle Quayside this summer and it took my breath away. The song's intensely Personal Lyrics shows the often vastly Confident Musician in a softer, more vulnerable light than usual. There is something about an adolescent male not much older than myself showing such a real Emotional side to himself, and I feel that it is an amazing juxtaposition to the previous track. This being the Symbolic crash and burn to the racing on the edge of the former.
5. Kansas | Dust In The Wind
I think out of all the Music that has directly affected me as a person this song will top the list every time. Leaving School I went to Sixth Form to study four challenging Academic subjects; during my time at the Sixth Form I slowly came to the realisation that, although I was successful within Academia, it just wasn't the direction that I wanted to take my life in and I will gladly attribute that realisation to this song. It's kind of crazy that a song released over thirty years ago can alter the course of your life in such drastic ways. The perfect song for reevaluating decisions and thinking with a straight head; almost a recovery from the recklessness of the Adrenaline-fueled mind or the clouded vision of the pessimistic, sorrowful mind of my previous two choices.
6. Burial | Etched Headplate
What is a list without Burial one may ask? It's still a list... I guess, just not the kind that I would like to compile. In my mind Burial as an Artist encompasses Loneliness and I cannot imagine a Social situation where it would fully make sense; saying that I do find myself playing both Untrue and Raver in DJ sets, not too sure what to make of that myself. The night is darkest just before the dawn and this song captures that perfectly with it's rainy Pitch black sentiment and rare moments of Moonlight filtering through the clouds.
7. The Pogues | Fairy Tale Of New York (feat. Kirsty MacColl)
The Dawn. I'm not too sure if I know anyone who doesn't love this song, and I'm not too sure if I even want to know if any people think otherwise. The bittersweet tale of Love surviving in the midst of two people who need each other, but don't realise just how much they do. I'm not too sure how I feel about placing a Christmas song in this list, however I feel as if this one is secretly a year rounder for more than just myself.
8. Sbskrpt | We'll Be Fine
Heavily sampling Fine by Yu, this track is straight to the point and simply amazing. Works well in a club, in the car and on the couch.
9. Phantom Planet | California
I listen to this one religiously every night, which probably means I'm stuck in 2002. I'll have been seven when I first heard this on the Radio, if I remember correctly it came on when we were driving through Newcastle-upon-Tyne and I'm gonna roll with the idea that if I can remember when I first heard a record when I was seven then its probably a bloody good one. The image of driving down long roads in sweltering heat to such a thrilling song is just a form of ultimate Escapism, especially seeing as all the cars are frosted outside and the roads are usually not too long in North-East England.
10. Bon Iver | Towers
I liked the idea of making the story come full circle with a song that the Artist who started this list off wrote five years later. Towers to me has always sounded like something ending on a positive note. With Justin's Music I always get this kind of idea that there is some deep-set sorrow within the Music itself, but it only stands to intensify how beautifully Majestic it all is. I think if I could make any kind of Music I would definitely want to be able to make something as emotionally powerful and moving as anything from Bon Iver's Self Titled. All of these distorted Kick Drums and aggressive Percussion seem kind of pathetic when you have this bearded guy from Wisconsin singing in his Falsetto and playing his Guitar and crafting sheer beauty out of simple Vibrations. As far as telling a story with this list of songs goes, I'd like to think that this would be the ending. In thinking about it now I still think this should be the ending, so I'm going to say it is, and you can see the next two songs as a kind of Director's Cut or an extended ending.
+11. Ludovico Einaudi | I Giorni
At one point in my life I was listening to this at a friend's Grandma's house and we were looking at the paintings that she had painted and I think I may have had an epiphany, but without the Religious aspect. I don't want to talk too much over this piece, it is best served with a clear head and an appreciation for everything surrounding you. Looking about the Internet the composer seems to get a lot of negative comments from the Classical community as his work is often confused with Classical, although his Music is often seen as too simple to be Classical. I do not claim to be knowledgeable in the subject, however I'd like to point out that in life some of the simplest things can also be some of the most beautiful.
+12. Marvin Gaye | Let's Get It On
I don't really think this one needs words.
