WARMER MIXTAPES #1507 | by Dillon Bakke [PRETTY VILLON]

1. Black Sabbath | Into The Void
Anything Black Sabbath brings me back to my early childhood years, when it was just my brother, mom, my old man and I. I don't remember much from those years, but the memories that stand out most are a lot of Heavy Metal, He-Man toys, our Rottweilers and feeling like nothing could ever hurt our family. My dad was and still is the strongest & one of the most admired men in the South.

2. The Dillards | There Is A Time (with Maggie Peterson) (The Andy Griffith Show Soundtrack)
After my old man got put away, grandma and grandpa Bakke took it upon themselves to babysit my bother and I whenever needed. They were always there, no matter what. If grandpa wasn't playing cards with his bestfriend Stan, he'd be watching his favorite program, The Andy Griffith Show. From time to time while the program was playing I'd hear Charlene Darling's beautiful harmony peaking out from a sea of Sound created by her backing band, The Darling Boys.

3. Tracy Chapman | Fast Car
After grandpa Schnell passed, mom moved my brother and I North to the cities. It wasn't that life was bad in the South, but because most of her family had migrated North, I think she also wanted to offer her sons more opportunities in Life. My mom would regularly play 10,000 Maniacs featuring Natalie Merchant or Tracy Chapman tapes on our commutes from South to North as she was always good at keeping her boys connected to the Bakke family.

4. Tituss Burgess & Ensemble | Under The Sea (Disney's The Little Mermaid Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Disney's The Little Mermaid was the first cassette my mom bought for me. Sometimes I'd surprise her after a long day at work by singing and dancing along to the Music. It would always make her so happy, she even brought me to an audition at the Children's Theatre, but I was too shy in front of the directors so I failed to make their cast. It was best just performing for my mom anyway, as she earned my act by working so hard for my brother and I.

5. Ace Of Base | The Sign 
Ace Of Base was one of the second cassettes my mom gave to me. Again, I'd memorize the album and, from time to time, would perform just for her.


6. White Zombie | Thunder Kiss '65
After my mother was able to afford moving our family out of the crime-riddled neighborhoods where rent was affordable, I was able to structure new relations with kids from similar backgrounds as myself. They listened to Rock 'N' Roll. Soon I grew out of my mother's shell of Disney soundtracks and Pop Music, I was back to my foundation of Hard, Loud and Dark Music.

7. The Smashing Pumpkins | Perfect
Rock 'N' Roll gave way to Alternative Rock and with the help from old radio stations, such as 93.7 The Edged and Rev. 105, I was introduced to a collection of new sounds. Those days were golden and The Smashing Pumpkins will always bring me back to the beginning of a great transition of Music in my life.

8. The Immortals | Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat) (Mortal Kombat Original Soundtrack)
At around the same time as Alternative Rock was introduced into my life, my Hmong friends and I would spend days fighting each other on Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. It seemed like every week a new game would be released, so I'm guessing the developers of Mortal Kombat ll (Probe Software) felt a need to offer something more to the consumer and gave a 4-track promotional album to first buyers. That was my introduction to Electronic Music and I couldn't put that shit down! It was like the Beethoven of our time and, besides the random sound bytes taken from the games itself, no real words were needed for those Techno/Euro House producers to get their emotions across, just pure computer generated sound.

9. 2Pac | Ambitionz Az A Ridah
When it came to choosing 2Pac or Biggy, I went West. Shakur to me will always be a great storyteller and a true man. Less about show & more to the Truth.

10. alt-J | Hunger Of The Pine
Last on my list is what I currently have playing on repeat through my earbuds. Hunger Of The Pine, to me, is just a great getup and go song. It's a shame, but I feel that a majority of the remaining tracks on This Is All Yours fall to the wayside, compared to their previous release An Awesome Wave, which to me was… Well, an awesome wave of Sound.