Over the past few months, we've been getting in touch with bands, celebrities and more to ask them to create eight-song-long mixtapes for YOU. So crack out your Walkman and enjoy...
The tracks on this mixtape have been chosen by Frank Turner, the folk/punk singer-songwriter from Winchester. He has shot to solo fame in the last couple of years with his honest and charming songs and his raw and powerful voice, but if you're not into acoustic music, he's the guy who used to be the vocalist for hardcore punk band Million Dead. Totally different sound, same awesome voice.
The
Hold Steady - Constructive Summer
I
fucking adore The Hold Steady – I even have some of their lyrics tattooed on me
– and you need to start a mix tape with a bang, so here's a perfect song. It
also includes a shout out to Joe Strummer, so it's pretty much perfect.
Jamie
T - Sticks 'n' Stones
I've
loved Jamie's stuff since the very beginning, and I actually think he's getting
better as time goes by. This song is such a great pop song, plus I once lived
in Hampton Wick, so that makes me love it a little more.
The
Weakerthans - Tournament of Hearts
The
Weakerthans are probably, if you forced me to choose, my favourite band, and
this song is as good as any for explaining why. Perfect melodic whimsy, solid
rock backing, and a love story told through the metaphor of the sport of
curling.
The
Band -
The
only band in history who could have got away with being called The Band. This
is my favourite song of theirs from one of the greatest rock'n'roll documents
of all time. If I could make music that sounded this epic, I would, all the
time.
Frightened Rabbit - State Hospital
This
is the title song from their new EP and it's a fantastic return to form for
them. Brilliant Scottish miserablism at its best.
Flanders and Swann - The Slow Train
I have
a weak spot for music hall stuff like this – I actually recorded a cover of
this song a few years back. It's also a sweet melancholic tribute to a sort of
lost England, which gets me every time.
Converge - Last Light
Converge remain my favourite heavy band, having first taken the title back in
1997. They just keep getting better with age, which is ridiculous really. The
intensity never drops. This song is a fucking masterpiece.
Townes
Van Zandt -
I have
Townes' initials inked on my wrist, because I believe he may be the Platonic
ideal of a songwriter. His music is so sparse, so simplistic, and yet is says
more than anyone else's. This live record is the defining document in my
opinion, and it's crushingly sad, yet somehow uplifting as well.
Find Frank Turner on Facebook, or check out his music on his website.
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