WARMER MIXTAPES #1621 | by Allysen Callery
Songs 2, 4 and 7 in my list are from albums my teen-aged parents owned, I lost them both in different ways when I was quite young, but The Music they loved is within me.
1. Shadow Band | Moonshine
Mike Bruno seems to step out from the gilded pages of Archaic Lore, creating himself from swirling smoke to sing the most beautiful Love songs, tinged with Sorrow. He has gathered some magical friends this time to share his intricate vision, calling themselves Shadow Band. This is my favorite of their songs.
2. Traffic | Dear Mr. Fantasy
Picture your head on a soft silk pillow, with your body laying upon an Oriental rug. Delicate incense smoke winds into the air, friends are nearby talking quietly, and laughing. Dear Mr. Fantasy is playing, and there's nowhere else you'd rather be.
3. Neil Young | Cinnamon Girl
Who is the girl you loved but don't talk to any more? Who wore blue jeans and laughed easily, her long hair blowing in the wind and sunlight ? Cinnamon Girl.
4. The Incredible String Band | Witches' Hat
More songs from the briar woods, for the quiet and shy people, the free folk. Wild Music for elves.
5. Jessica Pratt | Bushel Hyde
I think of Jessica Pratt as a soul sister in the Music she makes, Gentle Music belying themes of Longing and Aloneness.
6. Traffic | Rainmaker
Melancholy beauty, maybe I miss my old home? We lived in Taiwan then and listened to Music on a reel to reel, as well as vinyl.
7. The Rolling Stones | Moonlight Mile
Coming home very late at night from gigs, smoking the last cigarettes of the day, this song keeps me company as I drive home to my sleeping husband, I love him so much.
8. Iggy Pop | Funtime
I heard a snippet of this amazing song in a vampire movie I loved, called The Hunger. It came out in 1983 and had David Bowie in it, and Catherine Deneuve. I bought the soundtrack, but this song wasn't on it. This was pre-Internet, and no one could tell me what it was, or who sang it. Then, years later, I went to a party in Colorado, and someone told me about Iggy Pop/The Idiot, which I bought that week on vinyl.
9. The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Manic Depression
Beautiful Jimi Hendrix guitar and voice floats over a roiling sea of triple metre, Mitch Mitchell's gorgeous Jazz drumming. Loving someone who won't be loved, but needs it, cries out for it.
10. Ace Frehley | New York Groove
This one is kind of a joke, in that it always make me smile. I live in a small town, and the elation I feel when I drive into NYC to play Music is very real, and I get so excited. If I didn't make myself laugh, I might get nervous! Someone told me: Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.
