WARMER MIXTAPES #1157 | by Christina Vantzou
Photo by Julie Calbert
1. Boards Of Canada | Peacock Tail
The first time I heard Boards Of Canada was in 2000 in the bookshop of MOCA, the Museum Of Contemporary Art in LA. I was with my boyfriend looking at Art books and magazines. These tracks were pumping though the speakers just blowing my mind. I asked someone who worked at the store what Music was playing and was told, Boards Of Canada... That was the first time I heard those three words together and I didn't know what to think. I asked him to repeat the name. Boooaaards oooof Caaaaanada. I listened to the first 2 Boards of Canada records a million times. In Art School, I took a sound class to learn Pro Tools. I took the class for one reason: to make Music that sounded like Boards of Canada. For some reason I thought I could make Boards of Canada-sounding Music in one sitting as a complete novice. It didn't happen.
2. Fleetwood Mac | Dreams
I love this song. Stevie Nick's voice (and style) (and hair) especially in the Dreams era are beautiful. The changes in this track, the layered voices, the slide guitar are all perfect. It just feels right.
3. Brenda Lee | The End Of The World (Skeeter Davis Cover)
The old recording, the voice, the slow piano arpeggios, the sad lyrics, the STRINGS…
4. Vangelis | A Way
I have to include my countryman on this list. We both have the same first 3 letters in our last name. We both like to compose on keyboards. I wish I were him basically. Vangelis made so many albums that it's difficult to choose one track. And there are clearly ones to eliminate. But I feel that ultimately the world as we know it would not be the same without Vangelis. He's a genius. I chose A Way for this list but I could've gone with Intergalactic Radio Station or Pulsar or Creation Du Monde or anything from the Blade Runner soundtrack…
5. Wu-Tang Clan | C.R.E.A.M.
In High School, I listened to 36 Chambers on CD in my bedroom until the CD wore down and started skipping. The idea of Sampling really resonated with me, even when I was 14 years old and didn't have any experience making Music whatsoever. C.R.E.A.M. uses a sample from The Charmels - As Long As I've Got You. There's a lot of great sampling in Hip Hop, but Wu-Tang are my favorite in that department.
Until recently, I thought Sinéad O'Connor wrote this song, but it was actually Prince. Jimmy Scott's version is my favorite. There's something about his voice next to the string arrangements and his slow singing style that gets me.
7. Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man | Mysteries
I discovered Portishead in High School. I saw them play live with my friend Jeremy in DC in Art School. It changed my life. I would not be making videos and Music today if it were not for that concert. As far as Portishead's sound, I love all the samples embedded in the tracks and I love Beth Gibbons' voice. Beth made a solo album and Mysteries is the track from that record that stole my heart.
8. The Hollies | The Air That I Breathe (Albert Hammond Cover)
Recorded in 1973, released in 1974. The recording is soft on the ears in a 70's way. Radiohead understood the greatness of this track. Creep uses a chord progression and vocal melody from The Air That I Breathe. Radiohead were successfully sued for plagiarism and now Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are credited as co-writers of Creep.
9. Fugazi | Waiting Room
I first heard this track as a teenager in Kansas City. Ian MacKaye, the founder of Fugazi, was into Straight Edge + Hardcore + DIY ethics. This track has something embedded in it that will always remind me of being 15 years old going to all ages shows in Kansas City.
10. Sparklehorse | Saint Mary
Sparklehorse has a special place in my heart. Meeting Mark Linkous changed my life. I remember talking to him about Saint Mary. After a horrible accident in a London hotel room, Mark ended up in Saint Mary's hospital, where he wrote this song. The nurses were sooo sweet… he told me. In Mark's lyrics I find there's always a mix of Southern charm, a somewhat mystical perspective (sometimes involving animal deities…or maybe that's just my take on it), some darkness, and a great sensitivity to everything and everyone. Saint Mary talks about sweet nurses, rabbits, guns, bloody elevators, getting back to the woods, and ponderings of the Universe… What more could you want from a melancholic Pop song?
+11. Panda Bear | Ponytail
When I read the lyrics for Ponytail I fell in Love. I made silk screen print of the lyrics. I put it on the wall next to where I was working composing Nº1.
When my soul starts growing
When my soul starts growing
When my soul starts growing
I get so hungry and I wish it never
Never would, never would
Never would, never would
Never would
Never would stop growing
When my soul starts growing
When my soul starts growing
When my soul starts growing
I get get so full and I wish it never
Never would, never would
Never would, never would
Never would
Never would stop growing
When my soul starts growing
When my soul starts growing
When my soul starts growing
I am as I want to be and I know I never
Never will, never will
Never will, never will
Never will stop caring
