WARMER MIXTAPES #1643 | by Caleb Nichols (CHURCHES, Port O'Brien) and John Metz of Grand Lake and Soft People
SIDE A | by John Metz
1. Pavement | Silence Kit (Silent Kid)
Pavement was my real introduction to Indie Rock when I was 14, and it really felt like I had discovered a new world. I stumbled upon the earworm of a song, Cut Your Hair, in all of its aggressively catchy and toungue-in-cheek glory and I wondered what the deal was with this mysterious 90's band that I'd never heard of. I then found Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and the local record store and kind of picked it up on a whim. I was entranced. I'd never heard anything like it before. I was blown away by the sloppy/laid-back feel that is so heavily anchored by the sing-song melody of Malkmus' vocals. For me, it so perfectly captured the feeling of suburban summer as a teenager, lazing around with friends and trying to come up with something dumb to do. I felt like I had discovered a more emotional and honest version of Punk Rock that I could relate to in ways I never had with any Music previously. The whole album is somehow so simultaneously sloppy and perfect and I will never tire of it. I can't even describe the absurd amount of Nostalgia I feel when I hear this song.
2. Tune-Yards | Now As Then
I absolutely love Politics in Art and I think anyone who derides it is missing the fact that all Culture is political. With this latest album and especially this song, Garbus manages to succinctly and eloquently wrestles with the problems and paradoxes of unchecked White Privilege, cultural appropriation, and White savior-ship that every white ally should be aware of. She gracefully lays out the whole thought process of vocally opposing White Power structures without acknowledging one's own place within them - and she does this not by criticizing an other, but checking her own privilege and her own contradictory experience of being so outspoken about Social Justice while enjoying her position of Privilege in making a career writing about these issues. She spells out the whole point in just a few sputtering lines, opening with I am exceptional, I am an exception, I am the exception. That's for me - that's also for me. I am a contradiction, I'm fascinating, they might look like me, but they don't know. In addition to being so powerful lyrically, it's also a masterfully crafted and beautiful song, as can always be expected from Tune-Yards.
3. Sonic Youth | Sympathy For The Strawberry
I have always been drawn to the melding of Pop with Art Music, and in my mind, no one has done it better since The Beatles than Sonic Youth did. Murray Street is such an interesting album in its ability to restrain the raw power of their No Wave influence without completely stamping it out. The melancholic beauty of this track is a feeling that I think few can achieve more effectively than Kim Gordon. The song seems to encompass all the things that SY does best - sprawling walls of Noise, delicate melodies, and the driving rhythm of Shelly's drumming keeping it all moving. Gordon's poetry is always a joy to hear as well.
4. Broadcast | Michael A Grammar
I have a history of failing to appreciate brilliant Music until years after a friend shares it with me (especially with one friend in particular - sorry buddy). I first heard Broadcast shortly after Tender Buttons came out and this friend enthusiastically recommended them to me. I gave a couple songs a listen and thought they sounded cool, but promptly forgot about them. A few years later, they came up again because my first boyfriend really liked this album. It wasn't until about 5 years ago that it suddenly clicked for me and my intense love for them began. Tender Buttons feels like a really rare gem to me with masterfully crafted sounds and textures complimenting Trish Keenan's haunting and solemn Pop melodies. This track is one of the best Sad Pop songs I've ever heard and I frequently find it bouncing around my head for days on end. It's almost painfully catchy.
5. Moonface | Fast Peter
When Spencer Krug, one of my favorite songwriters, released the Dreamland EP: Marimba And Shit-Drums, under this strange new moniker, it felt like a very special treat. The single, 20 minute track on one side of a 12" record was an expanse of Music inspired by Krug's dreams and woven together seamlessly. It was such a unique release that I wasn't sure he would even release anything else under the name. However, the follow up, Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped, seemed to stay true to the bizarre original idea behind the project, with expansive songs and personal narratives. Fast Peter achieves a longing, nostalgic feeling despite it's major key and upbeat trot, and its relatable story about an old friend make it one of my favorite songs of his.
6. Deerhoof | There's That Grin
I will always love Deerhoof in all of their evolutions. I feel like Breakup Songs is one of their more underappreciated albums. The almost unfeeling Dance Music sections of the album seem to counterbalance the sweet and simple songs that fill the brief record. I love the herky-jerky movements of this track which is essentially a simple Love song. I particularly love the use of samples on this one.
7. Parquet Courts | Violence
Returning to my love of Politics in Music, I feel that Parquet Courts do this better than any other band in recent memory. Violence really jumps out at me more than any other track on Wide Awake!... It features a groove somewhat reminiscent of William Onyeabor and I love the strange juxtaposition of a dark and biting social commentary song that you can dance to. In that way, it reminds me of a Minutemen track like Maybe Partying Will Help - recognizing that there are so many problems and acts of Violence happening at all times that woke people are constantly aware of, and trying to find some sort of release or respite from that is necessary. Songs like these bring the two opposing feelings together in a beautiful way. As usual, A. Savage's lyrics are profound, and I always love a Spoken Word style of singing.
8. The Breeders | All Nerve
The Breeders newest and long awaited album did not disappoint, but this song is really something special. It successfully replicates some of the sweet and sullen moods from some of their earlier work, with the classic Breeders drive and is just simply one of the most powerful and heart-wrenching Love songs I've ever heard. (The Breeders also always make me think of my husband, who was my real introduction to the band.)
9. Julia Holter | Feel You
Julia Holter seems to have an incredible penchant for elaborately orchestrated, yet tasteful and casual Pop songs. I could listen to this song over and over again. It's musical beauty is paired pleasantly with playful, almost Stream-Of-Conciousness words which almost seem unfitting, but somehow work wonderfully together. I very much look forward to what she brings us in the future.
10. FROG EYES | Don't Sleep Under Stars
Few bands mean as much to me as Frog Eyes and Carey Mercer's songs do. I've followed everything Mercer does since I heard Tears Of The Valedictorian and I could not be more thankful that the band went out with such a bang. Their latest and last, Violet Psalms, is an incredible gift of a final album full of brilliantly well-crafted songs which seem like an authentic summation of their entire career. Don't Sleep Under Stars is a standout for me, and seems like a very fresh, yet familiar Frog Eyes song. There a tons of little musical details and intricacies all over this track and the synth parts sound incredible. Every part of the tune is enchanting and I love its playful lyrics: Don't sleep under stars - they bewitch your undeveloped brain. Thank you so very much for everything, Carey.
SIDE B | by Caleb Nichols
1. King Krule | Dum Surfer
I get this feeling when I listen to this song. It's very abstract and hard to describe. Perhaps the sounds produces a unique chemical response in my brain and make me feel similarly to how I felt listening to Blur in 1997 as a teenager. This song makes me remember this feeling of hearing this messy and perfect British Music during the summer gloom of our coastal town. I don't know exactly how these two things are linked, me as a 15 year old in 1997 have a strange musical experience with Blur's self-titled record, and me, in my mid-30's in 2018, hearing King Krule and feeling the same old feeling, which I hadn't felt in years. So this Music is a Time machine for me, while also being new, which is novel and makes me wonder.
2. Unknown Mortal Orchestra | The World Is Crowded
Maybe UMO is the greatest band in The World right now. Certainly one of them. They make interesting, thoughtful records that have real Pop gems on them, mixed in with more cerebral fare. And then, to top it off, they put on an insane live show that has reaffirmed my faith in Music several times in the last few years. Seeing them at Irving Plaza in New York City in 2016 felt like The Universe slapping me in the face and screaming get off your ass and keep working! I love this particular track for its combination of groove and lyrics. It's a bit shocking when he sings in another life did she blow my brains out?
3. Miles Davis | Blue In Green (with Bill Evans)
I have been writing Music this year and desperately trying to capture the feeling of Unrequited Love and for me this song is one near perfect expression of that feeling. It revels in an odd delicious luxury of Sadness, which is a part of the pain of feeling isolated and rejected, or of simply wanting something so badly but not knowing and not wanting to know if it is possible to have.
4. Rufus Wainwright | Who Are You New York?
When I was a teenager I read about Rufus Wainwright before I heard his Music. It was an interview in Spin magazine, and he talked very nonchalantly about being Gay, which, in 1996, was totally insane to me. I was an instant fan. And then of course it helped that he made the kind of Music that gets under your skin in a deep way. This is my favorite track of his currently. I am mildly obsessed with the whole album it's from, All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu. But this song. Oh boy. John and I lived in New York for 3 months in 2016. We meant it to be longer, but we just couldn't hang. And so when he sings Who are you? This city will tell ya... it sort of stings, in a good way. Also: who can match his voice? And this composition: it is truly a beautiful piece which reminds me of a mashup of Debussy and George Gershwin.
5. Björk | Blissing Me
Oh, this song. What a thing this last Björk record was. She is so blatantly honest I can barely handle it, and of course her voice. Björk is like the true Madonna. She constantly reinvents and transforms. She's like Bowie, in that regard. And I love this song, which tells such a nice story about two people falling in Love through Music.
6. Blood Orange | Charcoal Baby
I love living in the musical moment more than I love dwelling in the past. So I wanted to include something very new to me. This is the newest thing that I love and I don't have much to say about it.
7. Belle & Sebastian | Poor Boy
It's easy for me to say that Belle & Sebastian are my favorite band. They are just pure Joy. Have you seen them live? It's so Life-affirming. You really should, especially now. This is my favorite track they've released since The Cat With The Cream back in 2015, which I also really really love as much as anything else in their catalog. This song just has the moves: it makes me want to dance, or at least strut, and I always have to sing along to the bridge. It's a good one for feeling a bit sassy, and for driving (actually this whole playlist was created with driving or cycling in mind). It could be a good song to send to someone who hasn't made up their mind about you, perhaps. To remind them that you're the real thing.
8. Shy Boys | Something Sweet
This is the sweetest song by the sweetest little band from the midwest of the USA. On one of my favorite labels, Polyvinyl. There is nothing much to say here, except that I appreciate this type of record existing and being promoted in 2018.
9. Melody's Echo Chamber | I Follow You
I work at a College and one of the students shared this album with me and I couldn't believe how good it was. I love how motifs are repeated throughout the album, and I love the softness of her voice and the angular nature of the guitar.
10. The Drums | Heart Basel
This is one of those songs that changed my life songs. Recently. It just hit me at the right time, and coincided with me re-discovering having feelings that I thought I didn't have anymore. It's so young and fresh and has one of my favorite lyrics: And I wanna share a cigarette and I want to go dancing in the rain! That's everything really. Also, another band to see live. HE HAS THE MOVES. I had so much fun at The Drums show I saw. A good dream.
1. Pavement | Silence Kit (Silent Kid)
Pavement was my real introduction to Indie Rock when I was 14, and it really felt like I had discovered a new world. I stumbled upon the earworm of a song, Cut Your Hair, in all of its aggressively catchy and toungue-in-cheek glory and I wondered what the deal was with this mysterious 90's band that I'd never heard of. I then found Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and the local record store and kind of picked it up on a whim. I was entranced. I'd never heard anything like it before. I was blown away by the sloppy/laid-back feel that is so heavily anchored by the sing-song melody of Malkmus' vocals. For me, it so perfectly captured the feeling of suburban summer as a teenager, lazing around with friends and trying to come up with something dumb to do. I felt like I had discovered a more emotional and honest version of Punk Rock that I could relate to in ways I never had with any Music previously. The whole album is somehow so simultaneously sloppy and perfect and I will never tire of it. I can't even describe the absurd amount of Nostalgia I feel when I hear this song.
2. Tune-Yards | Now As Then
I absolutely love Politics in Art and I think anyone who derides it is missing the fact that all Culture is political. With this latest album and especially this song, Garbus manages to succinctly and eloquently wrestles with the problems and paradoxes of unchecked White Privilege, cultural appropriation, and White savior-ship that every white ally should be aware of. She gracefully lays out the whole thought process of vocally opposing White Power structures without acknowledging one's own place within them - and she does this not by criticizing an other, but checking her own privilege and her own contradictory experience of being so outspoken about Social Justice while enjoying her position of Privilege in making a career writing about these issues. She spells out the whole point in just a few sputtering lines, opening with I am exceptional, I am an exception, I am the exception. That's for me - that's also for me. I am a contradiction, I'm fascinating, they might look like me, but they don't know. In addition to being so powerful lyrically, it's also a masterfully crafted and beautiful song, as can always be expected from Tune-Yards.
3. Sonic Youth | Sympathy For The Strawberry
I have always been drawn to the melding of Pop with Art Music, and in my mind, no one has done it better since The Beatles than Sonic Youth did. Murray Street is such an interesting album in its ability to restrain the raw power of their No Wave influence without completely stamping it out. The melancholic beauty of this track is a feeling that I think few can achieve more effectively than Kim Gordon. The song seems to encompass all the things that SY does best - sprawling walls of Noise, delicate melodies, and the driving rhythm of Shelly's drumming keeping it all moving. Gordon's poetry is always a joy to hear as well.
4. Broadcast | Michael A Grammar
I have a history of failing to appreciate brilliant Music until years after a friend shares it with me (especially with one friend in particular - sorry buddy). I first heard Broadcast shortly after Tender Buttons came out and this friend enthusiastically recommended them to me. I gave a couple songs a listen and thought they sounded cool, but promptly forgot about them. A few years later, they came up again because my first boyfriend really liked this album. It wasn't until about 5 years ago that it suddenly clicked for me and my intense love for them began. Tender Buttons feels like a really rare gem to me with masterfully crafted sounds and textures complimenting Trish Keenan's haunting and solemn Pop melodies. This track is one of the best Sad Pop songs I've ever heard and I frequently find it bouncing around my head for days on end. It's almost painfully catchy.
5. Moonface | Fast Peter
When Spencer Krug, one of my favorite songwriters, released the Dreamland EP: Marimba And Shit-Drums, under this strange new moniker, it felt like a very special treat. The single, 20 minute track on one side of a 12" record was an expanse of Music inspired by Krug's dreams and woven together seamlessly. It was such a unique release that I wasn't sure he would even release anything else under the name. However, the follow up, Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped, seemed to stay true to the bizarre original idea behind the project, with expansive songs and personal narratives. Fast Peter achieves a longing, nostalgic feeling despite it's major key and upbeat trot, and its relatable story about an old friend make it one of my favorite songs of his.
6. Deerhoof | There's That Grin
I will always love Deerhoof in all of their evolutions. I feel like Breakup Songs is one of their more underappreciated albums. The almost unfeeling Dance Music sections of the album seem to counterbalance the sweet and simple songs that fill the brief record. I love the herky-jerky movements of this track which is essentially a simple Love song. I particularly love the use of samples on this one.
7. Parquet Courts | Violence
Returning to my love of Politics in Music, I feel that Parquet Courts do this better than any other band in recent memory. Violence really jumps out at me more than any other track on Wide Awake!... It features a groove somewhat reminiscent of William Onyeabor and I love the strange juxtaposition of a dark and biting social commentary song that you can dance to. In that way, it reminds me of a Minutemen track like Maybe Partying Will Help - recognizing that there are so many problems and acts of Violence happening at all times that woke people are constantly aware of, and trying to find some sort of release or respite from that is necessary. Songs like these bring the two opposing feelings together in a beautiful way. As usual, A. Savage's lyrics are profound, and I always love a Spoken Word style of singing.
8. The Breeders | All Nerve
The Breeders newest and long awaited album did not disappoint, but this song is really something special. It successfully replicates some of the sweet and sullen moods from some of their earlier work, with the classic Breeders drive and is just simply one of the most powerful and heart-wrenching Love songs I've ever heard. (The Breeders also always make me think of my husband, who was my real introduction to the band.)
9. Julia Holter | Feel You
Julia Holter seems to have an incredible penchant for elaborately orchestrated, yet tasteful and casual Pop songs. I could listen to this song over and over again. It's musical beauty is paired pleasantly with playful, almost Stream-Of-Conciousness words which almost seem unfitting, but somehow work wonderfully together. I very much look forward to what she brings us in the future.
10. FROG EYES | Don't Sleep Under Stars
Few bands mean as much to me as Frog Eyes and Carey Mercer's songs do. I've followed everything Mercer does since I heard Tears Of The Valedictorian and I could not be more thankful that the band went out with such a bang. Their latest and last, Violet Psalms, is an incredible gift of a final album full of brilliantly well-crafted songs which seem like an authentic summation of their entire career. Don't Sleep Under Stars is a standout for me, and seems like a very fresh, yet familiar Frog Eyes song. There a tons of little musical details and intricacies all over this track and the synth parts sound incredible. Every part of the tune is enchanting and I love its playful lyrics: Don't sleep under stars - they bewitch your undeveloped brain. Thank you so very much for everything, Carey.
1. King Krule | Dum Surfer
I get this feeling when I listen to this song. It's very abstract and hard to describe. Perhaps the sounds produces a unique chemical response in my brain and make me feel similarly to how I felt listening to Blur in 1997 as a teenager. This song makes me remember this feeling of hearing this messy and perfect British Music during the summer gloom of our coastal town. I don't know exactly how these two things are linked, me as a 15 year old in 1997 have a strange musical experience with Blur's self-titled record, and me, in my mid-30's in 2018, hearing King Krule and feeling the same old feeling, which I hadn't felt in years. So this Music is a Time machine for me, while also being new, which is novel and makes me wonder.
2. Unknown Mortal Orchestra | The World Is Crowded
Maybe UMO is the greatest band in The World right now. Certainly one of them. They make interesting, thoughtful records that have real Pop gems on them, mixed in with more cerebral fare. And then, to top it off, they put on an insane live show that has reaffirmed my faith in Music several times in the last few years. Seeing them at Irving Plaza in New York City in 2016 felt like The Universe slapping me in the face and screaming get off your ass and keep working! I love this particular track for its combination of groove and lyrics. It's a bit shocking when he sings in another life did she blow my brains out?
3. Miles Davis | Blue In Green (with Bill Evans)
I have been writing Music this year and desperately trying to capture the feeling of Unrequited Love and for me this song is one near perfect expression of that feeling. It revels in an odd delicious luxury of Sadness, which is a part of the pain of feeling isolated and rejected, or of simply wanting something so badly but not knowing and not wanting to know if it is possible to have.
4. Rufus Wainwright | Who Are You New York?
When I was a teenager I read about Rufus Wainwright before I heard his Music. It was an interview in Spin magazine, and he talked very nonchalantly about being Gay, which, in 1996, was totally insane to me. I was an instant fan. And then of course it helped that he made the kind of Music that gets under your skin in a deep way. This is my favorite track of his currently. I am mildly obsessed with the whole album it's from, All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu. But this song. Oh boy. John and I lived in New York for 3 months in 2016. We meant it to be longer, but we just couldn't hang. And so when he sings Who are you? This city will tell ya... it sort of stings, in a good way. Also: who can match his voice? And this composition: it is truly a beautiful piece which reminds me of a mashup of Debussy and George Gershwin.
5. Björk | Blissing Me
Oh, this song. What a thing this last Björk record was. She is so blatantly honest I can barely handle it, and of course her voice. Björk is like the true Madonna. She constantly reinvents and transforms. She's like Bowie, in that regard. And I love this song, which tells such a nice story about two people falling in Love through Music.
6. Blood Orange | Charcoal Baby
I love living in the musical moment more than I love dwelling in the past. So I wanted to include something very new to me. This is the newest thing that I love and I don't have much to say about it.
7. Belle & Sebastian | Poor Boy
It's easy for me to say that Belle & Sebastian are my favorite band. They are just pure Joy. Have you seen them live? It's so Life-affirming. You really should, especially now. This is my favorite track they've released since The Cat With The Cream back in 2015, which I also really really love as much as anything else in their catalog. This song just has the moves: it makes me want to dance, or at least strut, and I always have to sing along to the bridge. It's a good one for feeling a bit sassy, and for driving (actually this whole playlist was created with driving or cycling in mind). It could be a good song to send to someone who hasn't made up their mind about you, perhaps. To remind them that you're the real thing.
8. Shy Boys | Something Sweet
This is the sweetest song by the sweetest little band from the midwest of the USA. On one of my favorite labels, Polyvinyl. There is nothing much to say here, except that I appreciate this type of record existing and being promoted in 2018.
9. Melody's Echo Chamber | I Follow You
I work at a College and one of the students shared this album with me and I couldn't believe how good it was. I love how motifs are repeated throughout the album, and I love the softness of her voice and the angular nature of the guitar.
10. The Drums | Heart Basel
This is one of those songs that changed my life songs. Recently. It just hit me at the right time, and coincided with me re-discovering having feelings that I thought I didn't have anymore. It's so young and fresh and has one of my favorite lyrics: And I wanna share a cigarette and I want to go dancing in the rain! That's everything really. Also, another band to see live. HE HAS THE MOVES. I had so much fun at The Drums show I saw. A good dream.
