WARMER MIXTAPES #4 | by Bryce Afonso
1. Red House Painters | Have You Forgotten
Not long ago I made a road trip up the Pacific Coast to visit a friend of mine. I listened to this song on the way there and on the way back. The song's beauty was magnified by the sweeping views of the sun dipping into the ocean and the smell of the crisp sea air pouring through my windows. But the real reason this song is special to me is that I met a girl while I was at my friend's house that I really took a liking to. This song brings back the excitement of seeing her and the sadness of leaving.
2. My Bloody Valentine | I Only Said
This is the very first song that got me into shoegaze and, really, good music in general. I remember it came on the radio one night as I was listening to music and I was blown away. I remember specifically the horribly obscure vocals and repetitive ending and thinking I had never heard anything like it. It's important to understand that I grew up in a rather conservative household so secular music was kind of taboo. This song pretty much marks my transition between conservative and secular music and I'll never forget it.
3. Nick Drake | From The Morning
When I was about 16 or 17 I was extremely into film and I began writing a screenplay entitled Alphabet City (sadly it remains unfinished). Because of the lonely vibe this song exudes, I used it in a critical scene where the protagonist decides to start a new life somewhere else. Perhaps the best acoustic guitar song ever written.
4. John Murphy | In Paradisum
One of the few things in existence that can make me cry.
5. Starflyer 59 | West Coast Friendship
During my high school years I was dating a girl I really liked. While we had been dating for about a year, another girl (a personal friend of the family) invited me to attend some sort of high school dance with her. Because she was such a close friend of the family my parents had recommended (enforced) I go with her strictly on a platonic level. Needless to say my girlfriend at the time was not too pleased with the decision. Anyways, I listened to this song driving over to the girl's house to pick her up for the dance. The chorus sarcastically drones: These are the best days of our lives/Crazy as it seems.
6. Blur | Battery In Your Leg
Years ago I visited my aunt on her houseboat in Seattle. We spent a week moving up the coast towards Vancouver, stopping at little coves and harbors along they way. The very last day of the trip we docked in the heart of Seattle. I remember sleeping on the porch that warm summer night and listening to this track as I watched the city fall asleep. The combination of this song with the smell of the air, the light of the buildings, and the passing by of his and her silhouettes cumulated into one of the most memorable moments of my life.
7. Via Satellite | Seven Winged Lions
This is an unbelievably good song. It contains, in my opinion, the best description for how strong a relationship can be between two people. The lyrical content pertains to the book of Revelations: Seven winged lions will fall/They can't separate us. When the bells come in at the end you can't help but believe the words being sung. Simply gorgeous.
8. Brian Eno | Always Returning
This track makes me feel like I'm leaving someone I desperately love.
9. Shocking Pinks | This Aching Deal
Easily one of the best opening tracks of any album (It's listed as track 2 but it's really the first song). This is lo-fi shoegaze at its finest. The New Order inspired bass line hooks you in from the start.
10. Jonny Greenwood | Prospector's Arrive
This songs wonderfully dark piano and strings paint a beautiful yet deadly portrait of a bitter American frontier during the 19th and early 20th century. Easily part of one of the best soundtracks of all time, Prospector's Arrive is ideal reading/brooding music for the recluse in all of us.
