WARMER MIXTAPES #1206 | by John Vincent Latham Lechowick [Real Rashy] of Heimo Korth, BFG, Amateur Prose, Rash Gone Grimey and The Ballatician$

1. Sigur Rós | Starálfur
I wonder if it remembers me. That's what Bill Murray says in The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou when this song plays. I don't want to spoil the movie, but this scene makes me cry. Every time. And there couldn't be a more perfect song. I'd say more, but the experience of the movie trumps my ability to explain. The combination of losing a loved one, the relief of proving your truth, and closure.

 2. Francis Monkman | Main Title (The Long Good Friday Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
There are many great movie themes. This is the best. Nothing beats this. I'm waiting for someone to turn it into a beat. Especially because the Argento-style arpeggiated synth is coming into Hip Hop. It's just such a pump-up jam. Monkman is very hard to track down, but was in a band called Sky that consisted of four composers. Pretty outrageous stuff.

3. Keali'i Reichel | Wanting Memories 
In about 1994, maybe '95, my parents took my brother and myself to Hawaii. I don't remember the year, but it was after the earthquake. I was still young. It was an amazing trip, with helicopter rides and waterfalls and snorkling. The colors, the smells… - what I didn't know was that the trip was a result of my maternal grandmother passing away. I knew she had died, but didn't know that my parents had decided a family vacation was the best way to provide healing. This song came on in the car, and resonated with everyone. I remember singing along; I remember crying. Both my parents love this song, but it's still hard for them to hear it. We all loved Mimi very much, and this will always be the song that reminds me of her. And, even though it hurts to know she'll never come back, I know she's always with me in spirit.

4. Mama Cass | California Earthquake 
Mama Cass is my favorite Female Vocalist. This is my favorite song of hers. The Music is so dramatic and powerful. And the lyrics still resonate. Atlantis will rise. Sunset Boulevard will fall. That's so epic. She's so beautiful. I can't get enough of this song. The Mamas & The Papas have made tons of incredible Music, but this song just really digs into a Californian's soul. It's like a weird Hate/Love anthem. My brother made a beat out of this track and I used it for a song called F_ck Rapey Murdock. It gave me the juice I needed to express my distaste for that Media capitalist fascist.

5. Beirut | Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)
I was playing chess with my friend Evan. We sat on his roof in the Sun, smoking a joint. This song came on, and he immediately apologized because he thought I'd lambaste it as a flighty Folk tune. Instead, the Music mesmerized me. It provides the exact type of energy that I enjoy in Music; melancholic, Waltzing almost fatalistic Dance. It's not happy. It's not sad. It's hard to describe. But the whole album became a staple for me, and I even ended up sampling their song Scenic World for a group track called Blue Drink. On an amazing album, Mount Wroclai is my favorite track. On an unrelated note, Nicklebacklemore (Macklemore) jacked this track and made his own drinking song. Grammy, Grammy, Grammy.


6. Lil Wayne | Let The Beat Build (Instrumental) 
I don't care what the mix is. If it doesn't have an instrumental, I don't want it. This instrumental kills it. I've written to this as many times as I've written to anything. Wayne kills it, don't get me wrong. No disrespect. But I needed a beat and I can listen to this on repeat for a 10-hour no-break shift. I have.

7. Jackie Wonderful | The Place Where Lovers Go To Die 
My focus in Expression is Tonality. In both Writing & Rap, I try to gauge the edge of Happiness and Sadness. Of Anger and Relief. I strive to understand the web of emotions, and what movements trigger what events. This track pretty much talks about dead people and maggots and decomposition, but it's probably my favorite Love song ever. I'm so envious that he was able to create this sonic environment. Using Rap, singing, fake languages, and wonderful details, Jackie Wonderful shoots Love through a lens I had never seen. I'm praying there's an Animated Music Video for this.

8. Blind Melon | Change 
Freshman Year of College in upstate New York. Hiking out to the Hudson River, walking along the train tracks as Metro North cars passed. Autumn. Scarves and Coors Light. The first time I felt truly Free & Alone. Like anything was possible; I didn't have to be anyone but myself. The numbing October breeze off the bay; throwing rocks at the telephone poles…

 9. Dusty Springfield | Son Of A Preacher Man
Any time. Any day.

10. Deltron 3030 | 3030 
This is the only Prog Rap album I've ever heard. This is the best song. I would listen to it in my headphones before every basketball warmup, High School & College. It's unprecedented & will probably never be repeated. I didn't want to include any Hip Hop because I would never be able to boil down all my idols & their genius into 10 tracks, but this song is so wonderful and in many ways beyond Rap that it deserves a spot. Plus if I'm trapped with 10 tracks on an island, I want my pump-up jam.