WARMER MIXTAPES #1429 | by Alexander Smyth (Fez) of Nolita View
1. Frank Zappa | Camarillo Brillo (Live from Hammersmith Odeon, 1978)
Growing up my Dad would play a lot of Frank Zappa and, while a lot of it went over my head, I’ve always really liked this one.
2. Talking Heads | This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Live from Stop Making Sense DVD)
I discovered the Stop Making Sense Talking Heads live recordings around the time I moved to London and if I was to pick a favourite from this list of favourites it would be this track, it’s absolutely flawless to me. The film is great as well with all the (now iconic) visuals and the way it builds from just David Byrne strumming his Acoustic guitar at the start.
3. Andrew Bird | Plasticities
I saw Andrew Bird at Latitude Festival in 2007 and he was brilliant. I’m not sure why I haven’t looked further into his back catalogue – probably because I always end up putting this song on repeat.
4. Ought | Habit
This was my favourite song from last year, I remember it had been a long time since I had heard something that really knocked me out and then I heard this. The way it builds at the end - very cathartic.
5. The Strokes | Hard To Explain
Like a lot of teenagers, The Strokes had a big impact on me and I could probably pick any track from Is This It. Room On Fire is probably my favourite Strokes album, but this brings back more memories of around that time.
6. The Replacements | I Will Dare
Great album opener.
7. The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Castles Made Of Sand
One of the main inspirations for me to learn guitar was Jimi Hendrix. As soon as I could barely play a chord, I jumped straight ahead of myself to slowly working through the tab to this song. I wouldn’t advise this as it’s tricky for even an advanced guitarist and I still can’t play it. Jimi Hendrix had such an unique melodic style and that really got me, especially compared to some of the other virtuoso guitarists who were more purely Blues based.
8. Phoenix | Lisztomania
I remember listening to this album a lot when it came out. It’s very Poppy, but the playing also has a classy, refined quality to it. There is also quite a melancholic feel to the vocals and the shift in the second verse still gets me.
9. The National | Driver, Surprise Me
I had to pick a song by The National because they are probably the band I have listened to the most over the last 10 years or so. We actually took the name of our band from this track.
10. Nicholas Krgovich | You’re Through
I only heard this last week and I think it’s great, it’s got a really summery feel to it which comes across in the video. I expect I will be playing it a lot over the new few months.
+11. Pearl Jam | Yellow Ledbetter
This reminds me of driving my Mum’s car around South Wales as a teenager. I still have about 10 Pearl Jam live bootlegs lying around somewhere.
