WARMER MIXTAPES #209 | by Gavin Tate of The Gaa Gaa's

1. The Beatles | Tomorrow Never Knows
This was The Beatles finest hour. Revolver from start to finish is immense but this track is them at their best moment. Even though the drums are the same through out, they are still very much effective and very much memorable. This is probably or most definitely the greatest produced track track of all time. You can tell from listening to this that they spent alot of time in India whilst consuming lots of LSD. I love the seagull noises and the trippy sounds. It's great listening to this through good speakers with surround sound. It sends you to another dimension and if a song can do that, it must be good.

2. Roxy Music | In Every Dream Home A Heart Ache
This is with out a doubt one of the greatest songs ever recorded and has one of the greatest lead guitar breaks ever. Such a progressive introduction with Ferry's subtle vocal over the top. So well produced. Ive been having a massive Brian Eno phase lately but Roxy does it for me every time. To talk about great follow up records, this is one of them. It's hard for bands to follow up their first album but Roxy Music's second offer totally destroys the first on just one listen. If only bands of today wrote songs like this, I would be more interested in modern music.

3. Sonic Youth | Teen Age Riot
This song is perfect from start to finish. Kim sings on the intro and Thurston comes in on the verse. Such a great build up and the guitars sound like they're colliding. The tempo on this track is so good. There are so many changes it's hard to keep up. The video for this is amazing as well. With lots of clips of them and their hero's and messing about in rehersal. It's what inspired me to want to be in a band. I remember watching them at a festival in France called La Route Du Rock in 2005 and when they played this, tears came to my eyes. My friends and I had been waiting all weekend to see them more than any other band and the moment they came out I knew that gig was going to change my life. Nothing else has come close to being as good. Sonic Youth are the most passionate band of our time.

4. The Cure | A Short Term Effect
From the album Pornography possibly their darkest hour. This is one of the more cherpier tracks. The thing that stands out the most is the vocal delay, the way it slows down is quite haunting and I love the line static white sound. After hearing this I started using vocal delay with The Gaa Gaa's and it's become a big part of our sound so thank you Mr. Smithy. I love the bass line as well, it sounds like it's just rotating over and over but feels so distinctive as if you've heard it before in a past life. That's what makes The Cure so great. They were and still are to this day timeless.

5. Killing Joke | Love Like Blood
This is a big favourite of mine and I play it every time I DJ. They stole the intro guitar from Pink Floyd but made it sound even better. This was where Killing Joke really stumbled onto something great. I love the early stuff but this is what made people finally indentify them as a band. To hear Jaz Coleman singing about love was quite odd as most of his lyrics were aimed at politics as you can hear in the more angsty songs. The Night Time album as a whole has made a huge impact on music today with Nirvana ripping off Eighties to write one of their biggest hits Come As You Are and alot of musicians of today writing songs with more depth. You have Killing Joke to thank for that.

6. Katherine Missouri | Bury My Own
Talking of love songs, this was written for me by my girl. I love the lyrics so strange what love does. It's really bluesy but very haunting at the same time. The vocal reminds me of Hope Sandoval with Mazzy Star, it has the element of sweetness as well as darkness which is quite an unusual mixture. The chorus is very PJ Harvey esque and matches the verse's perfectly. It's hard to write a great chorus after such a strong verse but she has very much done just that on this amazing track. If you get the chance, check her out.

7. The Count 5 | Psychotic Reaction
When I was 18 I started going out to a club night in my home town of St. Helier. The night was called Bomp, a psyche/garage night. They would always play this and I grew to fall in love with it. It also inspired me to start playing harmonica as I loved how well it worked with their sound. I love the freak out at the end and again the way the tempo changes from quite erratic back to the original verse. The drums are insanely good as well. I began my huge 60's garage phase after this and it was around the same time the mojo garage complitation came out which had a huge impact on my life musically.

8. Elvis J Healey | Funeral
Written by one of my greatest friends. A ballad that will stick with you untill the day you die. I've never been able to finger pluck chords on guitar but he does it so well on this track it makes me jealous. It's about him asking a close friend or a lover to attend a funeral with him despite the fact they may not of known the person who's funeral it was. The melodys and harmonys are so addictive with lyrics We could make lots of new friends, we can wear the latest fashion trends and show them all how good we look. Us and all of them... If I ever hear a ballad better than this I'll have it played at my own funeral, untill then... Sod off.

9. The Passions | Bachelor Girls
The Passions were sort of like a more underground Siouxsie And The Banshees. They were seen as a one hit wonder band band with I'm In Love With A German Filmstar but I loved songs like Bachelor Girls more. They use the classic 50's doo wop chords on this track which is extremely catchy. Such a great vocal power and the guitars sound like rain. I think of this more of a cooler take on Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun which is also an amazing song with out losing all credibility.

10. New Order | Touched By The Hand Of God
This was the first song that ever caught my attention as a child. I think I was as young as 3 or 4. I made my older sister record it for me over and over on 2 sides of a tape cassette so as soon as the song finished, it would start again. It was a great decision for the 3 remaining members of Joy Division to form New Order. Technique is an incredible album, quite possibly their best. Out of all the synth pop bands that came out of the UK in the early eighties, New Order were one of the few that actually had their own sound that you can recognise was there own, a rare quality. I love the fact most of their songs are about football as well. Specially this track, Maradonna's goal that knocked England out of the world cup and the track that first bought music to my attention. Thank you New Order and thank you Maradonna.