WARMER MIXTAPES #987 | by Rich Trapp [Sleepsound] of arabesk

1. The Libertines | Death On The Stairs
This song brings back all the fond memories of my brief yet personally transformative residence in London. It is the Sonic manifestation of every drunken night, every hungover morning, and every unforgettable adventure my friends and I experienced in that amazing city. I can't wait to go back.

2. Pinback | Walters
Pinback sounds how I feel: Comfortably Melancholy. Not too depressing, not too cheery. Just the perfect level of Relaxed. Mellow. Not to mention the fact that Zach Smith's Bass Playing is criminally underrated.

3. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers | Moanin'
Without a doubt my favorite Jazz song, from my favorite Jazz album. Sparked my interest in the World of Jazz. But more importantly, it's from the Soundtrack to GTA IV; my favorite Video Game. Brings back memories of Liberty City.

4. The Strokes | Is This It
The entire Is This It album. Picking the best song on this album is like picking your favorite child. Everything about it: the crunchy Guitars, the driving Bass and Drums, Julian's growling Voice, and the All-American swagger of the Strokes' Style solidify this as my favorite album. It's truly a Masterpiece.

5. Enemies | Fierce Pit Bosses
This album (We've Been Talking), and especially this song, successfully achieved what no other band could do for me: it made Math Rock Catchy. The intricacy of the Guitar, the shuffling of the Drums, the pounding of the Bass - it's awesome in so many ways, and has introduced me to some great New Areas of Music.



6. Todd Terje | Inspector Norse
Infectiously Catchy, impossible not to Dance to. Never ceases to make me Happy. Sounds How Candy Tastes. There need to be more things like this in Life.

7. Arctic Monkeys | Cornerstone
An Extraordinary Song with Extraordinary Lyrics. Appropriately titled, as to me it is the cornerstone of Alex Turner's Musical Output. It establishes him as maybe the Best, definitely the Most Lyrically Entertaining, Songwriter Today.

8. Bart Constant | Do Better (Animals Make Me Angry)
The Hypnotic Beauty of the Piano hooked me from the start of this song, and its gradual swelling into a piece Simplistic in Structure yet Monumental in both Sound and Feeling solidified it on first listen as one of my favorite songs. A truly underrated band from Germany. Worth checking out. The Music Video is amazing as well (it won Awards and stuff).

9. Tokyo Police Club | Nature Of The Experiment
Brief, Bombastic, Bass Driven. All the things I Love jammed into a neat little Post-Punk package. I also enjoy Alliteration in case you haven’t noticed…

10. Grizzly Bear | Two Weeks
Catchy, Fun, and Uniquely Psychedelic. The Piano Skips, the Bass bounces, the Drums skitter, the Vocals float. Yet somehow they all meld together perfectly. Can't think of any band that sounds quite as interesting as Grizzly Bear.

+11. Real Estate | Out Of Tune
The Soundtrack to Every Summer. Accurately captures the feeling of Suburban American Life (in my opinion, much better so than Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs). It portrays the kind of tired, dreamy, relaxing,and carefree feeling of the Suburban Northeast. Plus, Real Estate is from New Jersey, about 30 minutes away from me, so I feel like I can somewhat relate on personal level.

+12. Tycho | A Walk
Figured I should include a song that actually sounds similar to the Music I make. This is the main inspiration behind my Music as Sleepsound. Tycho introduced me to the wonderful world of Ambient Electronic Music, and this is my favorite song of his.