WARMER MIXTAPES #825 | by Samuel Björn Oden Eklund [ODiN] of Crazy Gang
I chose to write about 13 of the songs that has been Extremely Important for me both as an Artist and as a Human Being. Most are from my mid-Teenage years when discovering New Music meant something way different than it does today.
1. Meat Loaf | Bat Out Of Hell
Epic. This is no doubt my favourite Meat Loaf song. This is the Music I want to make. Not that the length should matter, but, come on, 9:51, that's a Proper Length for an Opening song! I often talk shit about Guitar Solos, because I usually feel they don't really serve a purpose more than to impress people interested in Guitar stuff by being Technical and Complicated. And, oh, my God, I just got an Intense Feeling of Déjà Vu. I can't really remember, but I suddenly got a feeling I've written a similar text about this song before when I was younger. I just need to declare so many things about this song. But I won't, because I don't want to spend weeks thinking about what I need to say about it. Just listen to it and hopefully you'll understand. Hopefully you'll feel the Adventure calling you out into the Open Wild. No matter how Old or Young you may be, if you have it in you it will never ever fade. And, if it ever did, I seriously believe that this song is what you'd need to get back. Like a Bat out of Hell.
2. Cam'ron | Spend The Night
Some Melodies are Divine. Some Melodies are Perfect. So Perfect Angels must be singing them from Skies High Above to stab my heart like nothing else can. Touch my Soul. One of them is the well-known Better Off Alone melody. Another is the melody in 4 Voice's 1993 track Eternal Spirit that Araabmuzik borrowed for the Spend The Night beat. I was still fairly fresh in Korea when I discovered this song. I remember walking around Campus, full of Strange Emotions of Insecurity, Excitement and Curiosity as I was bumping this Huge Song. A lot of memories from back then are brought back as I'm thinking about it and since I haven't resolved anything at all concerning my Golden Years and my Inability to revisit them I'm not comfortable thinking about it. There's just so many Emotions I can't deal with.
3. HIM | When Love And Death Embrace
Back when I was maybe 14 or so I would listen to HIM a lot. I mean A LOT. And, shit, it took some time for me to discover this song. When I did though, it was all I would listen to. I remember walking around in School, the song playing in my ears on Max Velocity, feeling like Blood was pouring all on my Insides. This was by far the most Emotional part of my Teenage-years. And HIM was exactly what I needed, not as any kind of Bandage for my Inner Wounds, but rather more Bags of Blood to Support me in my Endeavors. There was this girl I loved in secrecy. After that - another. After that another - one who turned me down for her boyfriend, how strange... And I had yet to find a true friend to support me. In that Darkness this song Echoed. I can still taste blood when I hear it.
4. Blink-182 | Going Away To College
It was really hard to pick just one Blink song. I wish I could've picked 5. Or 10. Or 20. But it had to be this one this time. The reason why I love Blink so much is the Raw, Uncontrolled and Unrefined Energy of Emotions they somehow manage to deliver like no other group ever has. People don't understand and hate, but Blink weren't ashamed about the things they wanted to say, like so many others are. And I Love that. Going Away To College focuses on the event so many people should be able to recognize and relate to: having to separate from someone you love with no resolution or hope of being able to get back to that happy place you've grown so fond of. Going away to College. Mark Hoppus' Lyrics are so straight that even a Swede like me, who never found myself in such a Scenario, can relate more than I should (I never went to College). Because it's about Being Young. Young and Scared, in the midst of a Change Too Great for You to Handle Alone.
5. Perfume | チョコレイト・ディスコ (Chocolate Disco)
One time in High School I'd had a very bad day. I felt really stressed and worn out for some reason I've forgotten long since. But I was on the edge. I remember sitting on the bus on the way home with 40 minutes of sweating in an uncomfortable position to look forward to. I was listening to the album Game by Perfume and when the song Chocolate Disco came on it was just too much for me to bare. This Sugar-coated Pop Song represented all my Dreams of a Better Place, a Happy and Problem-Free Environment where Everything I'd come to Dream for was Real. But there I sat on that fucking bus I'd been riding for years and I just wanted to give up. I was on the verge of crying, but I had to keep it all in and instead I started Hyperventilating, looking at Myself and my whole Miserably Gray Life from Above. I can still remember.
6. Strawberry Switchblade | Since Yesterday
In the Eighties there were two Scottish girls who would dress up in Lolita dresses. They had crazy Hair, crazy Accessories and were very Pretty. And they made Insane Pop Music. Who wouldn't be excited to discover Strawberry Switchblade? Too bad they only made one album. It was hella good though. And their biggest hit Since Yesterday is their best song in my opinion. But, although it's an extremely good Dream-Popy song, I'm just not sure if I Love it more than I Love the Duo. Just Google them. I spent a lot of time in High School watching Rose McDowall in that Top Of The Pops performance on YouTube. I feel very sad every time I think of how I won't be able to go back in Time and date her. Lucky Boyd Rice and David Tibet...
7. The-Dream | F.I.L.A.
I want to cry every time I hear this song. I never did, for the record. But I see no end to how god damn beautiful this song is. I Love it with all of my Heart and Soul. I know every Line, every Rhyme, every Melody, every Second of it. That's how much I've listened to this Masterpiece. I could never tell you my favourite The-Dream song, there are maybe 5-7 songs that are on that level, so high up I can't Distinguish one from another in terms of Perfection. The rest of his songs... Yeah, they're not up there. Most aren't even close. But those few times he got it right he made History in this little Pop heart of mine. F.I.L.A. is definitely one of the songs that stands out the most.
8. 2NE1 | 사랑은 아야야
Wow, I remember when the Full-Length dropped. As to expect of a K-Pop album the Music alone didn't really Live Up to the Joy of Watching the Music Videos with the pretty girls and Sparkling Colors. And those insane Settings. But there was one song that I immediately fell in Love with, 사랑은 아야야, which officially is poorly translated as Love Is Ouch. What a lame title. But, shit, this song is Beautiful. So Bright, High and Fragile. I still don't understand all the Lyrics, but only understanding fragments of it is enough for me to feel more than I guess most other stupid K-Pop fans do when they hear it. I remember talking about the album with my roommate Erika who told me it was the worst song on it. Fuck it, people don't need to understand.
9. The Streets | It's Too Late
I must have been 17 or so when HJ introduced me to this track. It would be the only song I'd be listening to for the rest of That Grey, Sad Summer in Old Town when we shared his room in that weird, awesome building. It would Rain a lot. I also remember listening to Field Mice a lot, especially the album For Keeps. It was also the Summer when I discovered K-Pop after HJ had showed me the New Music Video for Girls Generation's Gee. This would change my Life Forever. Sorry, I was supposed to write about this song, but as I'm now listening to it all these memories come back. And I guess that is a description good enough at this time.
10. Futurecop! | Tonite's Hero
Yeah, I forgot, this was yet another song HJ introduced to me the very same Summer. I'm talking about the Original one from the The Unicorn And The Lost City Of Alvograth EP, the one without the Vocals. This one doesn't need Vocals, it's perfect as it is. The Melodies tell everything I ever wanted to hear about Love as I envision Blue, Pink and Purple objects and remember a pretend-Childhood from a time when I was yet to be born. I remember sitting by my laptop day in and day out, trying to make Music, but I didn't really know how to back then. This song inspired me a lot to try new things as I attempted to recreate the Sound. I never managed to, though.
+11. Cam'ron | Just Us
I know nothing at all about Hood Love. But Cam'ron's told me plenty about it through this song. Yet another song I feel like crying to. So Big. So Raw. Man, Cam, you need to sing more! You never painted a picture so vivid in my head as you did with Just Us. I Love how Hopeless and Real it feels, at least that's something I can relate to. Lovers meant to Lose.
+12. T. Mills | Rich GirlsI have this scene playing in my head, a very strange, but beautiful one to me. It was sometime around Christmas many years ago, definitely in High School. Probably the Second Year. It was Dark out and I was waiting for a bus to take me away from my Hometown, into the City. I was All Alone. And it was snowing so hard I could barely see anything at all farther than 10 metres away. I was listening to Rich Girls by T. Mills, thinking of how fucking amazing and unique the song was. This, of course, has nothing to do with the song more than being a very pretty and personal memory of mine. T. Mills inspired me a lot. His Finders Keepers EP was very different and didn't sound like anything I'd heard before. I remember comparing him to Lil Wayne. Hehe. Because of the Auto-Tune, obviously. I just Loved how Shameless and Cocky he presented himself through this song, Witty, Young and American as Fuck.
+13. Jimmy Eat World | My Sundown
I didn't know which J.E.W. song to pick at all. While browsing through Clarity and Bleed American, My Sundown was the one that evoked the most emotions, so it had to be this one, I guess. Not necessarily the best one, but it just reminded me of some things. How I used to feel the last year in High School. I was so into Emo back then. And some Math Rock. And Post-Hardcore. I really lived inside myself back then. I still do, but years have passed and I feel I've grown as a person since then in many ways. Back then I was very scared of the People around me, the Unknown World Surrounding me. Still I thought I was so Confident and I thought I'd already learned everything I needed. Such a cliché. But I miss this time a lot. I feel I haven't felt as much as I did back then since. Other things have taken over me. Shit, it's fall already, time to listen to some J.E.W. while walking around in a Dead, Colder City, trying to Bring Back the Best Parts from Then. Plus, it's a good last song.
