Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
Joining me once again as guest curator is DT
Carell, host of Space Castle. DT, welcome back,
my friend. What's up, dude? I'm happy to be here.
Glad to have you back on. And tonight we're doing
something a little different because the topics
I've had you on in the past, you've had preparation.
I did. Tonight, I reached out to you what about?
15 minutes ago? Yeah, a little less than that.
I'm not nervous. Not at all. Tonight is the second
ever no topic episode of my weekly mixtape. So
it's a little bit different. You don't pre -plan
for something like this. You can't pre -plan
for something like this. It's like having a baby.
Yeah. You're not ready until it's here. For those
that don't know what the first No Topic episode
was like, let me explain. Tonight, as like a
regular episode, DT and I will be curating this
No Topic mixtape. And due to the nature of this
kind of episode, we're only going to do one side.
Before the show, we flipped a coin, and I won
the coin flip, so I get to choose the first song
of the night. And then DT will choose the song
that follows me up, and we'll flip -flop choosing
songs until we've mapped out this 10 -song playlist
that each one of us are going to have to try
to name. At the end of the show, you can take
our conversation to the next level by visiting
the episode page at myweeklymixtape .com, where
you can give our final mixtape a listen. via
the embedded playlist. And if you like what you're
hearing on the show, you can help me out by either
telling a friend, leaving the show a five -star
review wherever you're tuning in, or becoming
a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash
myweeklymixtape. There you can enjoy ad -free
episodes of the show, be a future guest, and
so much more. All right. We have no topic. And
instead of me just picking a song, Off the top
of my head, I'm going to let my phone do the
talking here, and I'm just going to open up all
of my songs and give it a big scroll. I got about
10 ,000 songs. It's kind of like if you watch
The Price is Right when you spin the wheel, that's
happening right now. So you got to get through
9 ,000 Kenny G tracks. All right. We're going
to start off tonight's episode in 1993. One of
my favorite soundtracks of the entire decade.
And the opening song on that. So it's almost
poetic that an opening song popped up here. Yeah.
But we are going to go with Helmet and House
of Pain. Just Another Victim from 1993's Judgment
Night soundtrack. Holy shit. Okay. This song,
honestly. is so the soundtrack as a whole was
so unique and so much fun and it really kind
of set the bar for what new metal needed to become
for it to become a viable genre in and of itself
i feel like the movie believe it or not i've
never seen i've talked about this before because
i talked about this entire album on the soundtrack
your life podcast and this soundtrack in my humble
opinion was bigger than the movie Well, the soundtrack
was, if I remember right, it was all pairings
of like metal and like new metal bands with rappers,
right? Yes, correct. Like all of it. So it was
like Slayer and Ice -T and stuff like that. Like
it was like almost like they drew names out of
a hat or something and did like a compilation,
which ended up being like the soundtrack for
the movie. Yeah, this is a great fucking soundtrack.
And the problem is, well, here's the thing. With
this type of episode. You can go in any direction
with this. You could jump on now because I kind
of gave you this one's pretty easy to start with
because you could take it the rock direction.
You could take it the hip hop direction. You
can kind of go anywhere because this song really
is a blending of the two vibes there. Yeah. I
mean, I love the whole soundtrack and I love
this track in particular. As soon as you said
it. That guitar riff, it immediately popped into
my head, and I knew what this was going to be
about. And I'm already kind of feeling a vibe,
and I really dig it. I like the track a lot.
I like the absolutely random pick. So, I mean,
yeah. Crap, okay. Let me pick something at random.
Okay, I don't know where we're going to go with
this, but like you said, the door's wide open.
It's Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance. So, I mean,
it's the opening track off of their, what year
was it? It was like 2010. Their album, The True
Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. So, if you're
not familiar, it was their fourth, third or fourth
studio album. What's cool about this track is
the fact that they were deliberately trying to
mimic the sound of Saturday morning cartoon anthems,
like themes. Because when they wrote this album,
they were so tired and exhausted emotionally
after doing the whole Black Parade thing that
they deliberately went into the studio to write
something happy and cheerful and crazy and zany
and whatnot. And they pulled it off in spades
with this track. I don't know what vibe we're
going for just yet, but I'm kind of happy with
the pick. I really dig it. It's got a little
anger to it. Little, like, sort of ironic anchor,
similar to Helmet and House of Pain. Yeah, okay.
We got some heavy guitar riffs in here anyway,
which is pretty dope, so. Yeah, just another
victim in the, na -na -na is very much, it's
upbeat, it's fast, it's energetic. It's like
anime music almost, yeah. But it maintains that
emo vibe that My Chemical Romance was pretty
much one of the big torchbearers for in the 2000s.
Mm -hmm. Hmm. I think I'm going to stay on that
emo vibe. Okay. And bring it down tempo -wise
a little bit. But energy -wise, I think it's
going to be cranked up. Okay. And I'm going to
go with the title track from the band's 2002
album. So I'm definitely going to lean into this
punk 2002 emo vibe. And we're going to go with
Finch, What It Is To Burn. This song is absolutely
massive. favorite finch songs ever when my wife
and i were dating and we were doing the road
trips back and forth from new jersey to new hampshire
i always threw finch songs on mix cds that i
was listening to heading up there and i would
always put these songs on her mixes and there
were two letters to you and stay with me that
for some reason she has no recollection of ever
hearing even though i put them on several dozen
of these mix CDs I gave her. But what it is to
burn is definitely one that stuck out to her.
It is a very powerful song and very heavy. There's
some visceral screams mixed with lush harmonies.
It's just such a fantastic tune. It blows my
mind that Finch was not one of the biggest bands
in the punk emo scene in the 2000s. So I know
we went from rap metal kind of this mashup to
emo punk to emo punk so it's it's a weird vibe
we got going on here but these three songs would
fit on a playlist because they're all heavy so
at least we've got that going all right i'm gonna
throw you for a loop here because this is freaking
wild so my next pick is it's hot water music
The song is Remedy off of their 2002 album Caution.
So Hot Water Music isn't necessarily emo. They're
more like hardcore, post -hardcore. But all the
emo kids that I grew up hanging out with back
in the day going to the scene and whatnot were
all about Hot Water Music. I knew people who
had Hot Water Music tattoos who were going out
to the scene shows and all that type of stuff.
And musically, sonically, they're actually very
similar to Finch, which is kind of weird. Yeah,
great album, great song. I love the Finch Pig,
by the way. I didn't mean to cut that short and
not contribute to that conversation. Awesome
band. And I do agree that they should have been
much bigger than they were, because like you
said, they had such a lush sound, and there was
so much to offer besides just a sort of pseudo
-emo post -hardcore sound. I think Hot Water
Music was the same way, where everybody knew
about them, but they never really famous. They
never really broke it big. They never had music
videos on MTV or anything like that back in the
day. But like I said, I knew so many people who
had hot water music tattoos. Like, like they
were just one of those quietly, incredibly famous
bands that were never actually incredibly famous.
It's strange. Yeah. This is one of those bands
that to me was ridiculously underrated and influential,
completely influential to the point that I know
where I'm going to go, but I want to talk about
this album because I'm so glad you picked something
off caution. Trusty chords to me. Is one of my
go -to workout songs. Yeah. It's weird because
it's a heavy, weightful song. Yeah. But it just
feels so good when you're listening to it. It
makes you happy. Lyrically, might not be the
happiest band on the planet, let's just say.
No, like I said, that's why they kind of fit
in with the emo sort of vibe. It's just because
they weren't the happiest of dudes when they
were writing music. It's also music that ironically
like fires you up and get you ready to go at
the same time. Like you want to jump into a circle
pit or like jump on the treadmill or yeah, just
change the vibe. It's something you'd listen
to while you're pissed off at work and you either
want to lean into that or, or burn off some of
that energy. Yeah. And I'm going to lean into
hot water music because I think they're great.
And I'm going to go with a band that has covered.
hot water music in their live shows so every
band for the 2000s yeah pretty much and you know
coming from new jersey this is really leaning
into it let's go with the gaslight anthem oh
bring them into the fold they do a fantastic
cover of trusty chords if you want to look that
up but i'm going to go with one that it's probably
my favorite gaslight anthem song ever i'm going
to go with 45 yeah you got to yeah handwritten
is such an amazing album but 45 has that vibe
that my chemical romance finch hot water music
house of pain and helmets kind of the outlier
here but that's okay i'm okay with that but 45
coming out of remedy it keeps that because 45
is not lyrically a happy song No. But musically,
I don't know why I feel so good every time I
hear it. I think it's cathartic. I think it's
really cathartic. I mean, it's about moving on
from a shitty relationship and, you know, let
somebody else lay at her feet, like that type
of thing. Like, you're becoming a stronger, better
person. You're moving on from a shitty situation.
And I think that's kind of the same thing from
all the songs we've picked so far, oddly enough.
What's wrong with us, Brian? Are we okay? Do
we need therapy? Well, here's the thing. House
of Pain and Helmet, musically... Are the yin
and the yang so far. Yeah. But for the rest of
the songs, it's been a lyrical musical yin and
yang in the sense of more upbeat musically, but
maybe a little more downtrodden lyrically. So
now we're up to track six. We're halfway there.
Where do you go with this? We're going to get
sad and think about death and stuff is where
we're going to go with this, Brian. Oh, no. We're
going to keep with the same vibe because now
I'm on this roller coaster ride with you and
it's nothing but down. I am going to pick off
of the Toxic Airborne Events self -titled album
from 2009, Sometime Around Midnight. This song.
much like the lyrics describe, ripped me in two
the first time I heard it because I had just
gone through a very terrible breakup. But it's
also, again, a very cathartic song. It's about
breaking up with somebody, seeing them in a concert
or something for the first time after you've
broken up, making small talk, trying to be happy,
and inside you're just being ripped apart. And
then you get incredibly freaking drunk. You stumble
out of the venue, you make an ass out of yourself,
and you somehow make it home. But you survived.
But it very much fits with that vibe of 45 by
Gaslight Anthem, where it's just cathartically,
whether you're doing it in a healthy way or not,
getting out of a bad situation and a bad relationship
and moving on with your life and trying to pick
up the pieces later on. So you're definitely
taking us out of the emo punk and definitely
more into the emo. side of things i'd say i would
like in the airborne toxic event more to the
cure than i would punk but this song definitely
has a lot of different elements in it you factor
in the americana part where the beginning almost
with the violin and everything else and it kind
of just builds and builds and builds but it's
also definitely a slicker production than some
of the other stuff we did On the first half of
this mix. But the vibe is definitely there. And
I have this weird feeling coming out of the end
of this song. And I think I know where I'm going
to go with this. And this is on paper might really
seem weird. But hear me out. I trust you. Implicitly.
I hope so. Because I'm going to go back to 2004.
And I'm going to go with a group that I've seen
open for the Counting Crows. And I just, at the
end of the Airborne Talks event, I caught a vibe.
And I'm diving into that vibe where it's not
necessarily, I don't think these two bands would
ever tour together. But musically, I feel like
there's something happening here. And I'm going
to go off of 2004's The Clarence Greenwood Recordings.
And I'm going to go with Bullet and a Target
by Citizen Cope. It reintroduces a little bit
of that hip hop delivery. But if you listen to
the song's vibe, you'll definitely melodically
hear where it comes out of the airborne toxic
event. Yeah, I absolutely love the pick. And
again, it's one of those people, like you said,
who he should have been much bigger than he was
and just never quite made it huge because of
his ability to combine those genres at just the
right time in the right decade as well. Super
chill. Super dope. Still carrying along with
the vibe we're somehow putting together miraculously
here. But I also really, really love the pick.
So, yeah. Bullet in a Target. Awesome pick. Love
it. We got three songs left. We got three songs
left. Give me a minute. Now I'm digging. It's
not as easy as it. No. Yeah. Okay. So, I'm going
to keep with this vibe from Citizen Cope. In
kind of a weird way, but I think you're going
to dig it. I think once you realize where I'm
going with this, it's going to come together
and you're really going to like it. It's going
to convalesce. It's going to be beautiful. It's
going to be fantastic. The pick I'm going to
throw at you to match the energy in a strange
way, at least for the first half of the song,
is going to be Little One by Highly Suspect off
of their 2016 album, The Boy Who Died Wolf. So
it starts out with that light twangy guitar and
you got those sort of moody vocals. And it's
a song about... reflection and just not being
healthy enough to be there for somebody else.
It's, again, kind of a downer. But then the second
half of the song kicks in with a full electric
guitar and the full band, and it just goes off.
And Highly Suspect is one of those bands from
the 2010s that I just absolutely fell in love
with the first time I heard them. Because again,
their ability to combine genres. It's not necessarily
just alternative rock or metal. It's very melodic.
It's very introspective. And it's this dude who's
got like a ninja side tattoo down the side of
his face. And you wouldn't necessarily like expect
him to write those sort of introspective and
very personal and honest lyrics. But he does
it with panache. He does it with style. An incredible
voice, like that raspiness that Citizen Cope
kind of also has too. And yeah, I think I've
successfully built off that vibe. A little bit
of a curveball. But if there's two people on
this planet that know music, it's... Probably
you and somebody else, but I'm trying my best
here. Man, you really did capture the Bullet
and the Target vibe, but you upped the intensity
because this has that chorus that is just so
powerful and so big and so emotional. Yeah. Man,
this is definitely not one to be like a happy,
sunny Saturday road trip mix for sure. although
just another victim does kind of it kind of teases
you in a weird way at the beginning of this one
before this journey unfolds but when i think
of highly suspect and i think of little one i
immediately know the next song that needs to
follow it up and it's one of my favorite songs
that i saw live in 2019 from their album okay
i'm sick i'm gonna go with bad flowers the jester
keeps that same vibe and that same intensity
from little one and again it's this really emotional
powerful song that has found its home from the
toxic airborne event woven through citizen cope
and the highly suspect like this is a tale of
two vibes here and i'm loving it so coming out
of little one by highly suspect we're gonna go
with bad flowers the jester Love the pic, and
I think you matched the vibe perfectly. I think
you and I have actually talked about Bad Flower
before, not on a podcast episode, but just like
shooting shit, talking music. Yeah, yeah. Yeah,
absolutely got that melodic sort of emotional
lyrics. And then, like you said, it kicks in
the second half, just like Little One by Highly
Suspect. Yeah, that's a perfect choice. I really,
really like it. I really dig it a lot. Finding
the other bookend to Helmet and House of Pains,
just another victim. So there's a band that immediately
comes to mind after you mentioned Bad Flower,
just because they recently toured with them,
I think like last year. It's one of my favorite
bands. And I don't know. I'm just going to go
with it because we're just having fun here. Like,
you know. You know, so keeping up with the high
energy of the back end of the song, I'm just
going to go full on energy and I'm going to keep
with the sort of introspective, like very carefully
crafted lyrics, but I'm going to go a little
less emo, a lot less emo. I'm going to bring
full energy back towards where we were with,
you know, the House of Pain and whatnot. Just
because this band immediately just came to mind
as soon as you said Bad Flower. The song I'm
going with is It's Dead, Sarah. It's the song
Monumental Holiday off of their self -titled
album from 2012. Again, just because they toured
together and I watched a whole bunch of videos
on YouTube because they couldn't make the tour
and it looked phenomenal. But I thought they
were such a great pairing touring together. And
I think they're going to be a great pairing for
this playlist. The song is just slap you in the
face, rock and roll. I think Susie Melody is
one of the best guitar players just out there.
I think she's phenomenal. I think the lead singer
is just absolutely insane. Now that I think about
it, I think we've actually talked about them
on another episode, but I don't care. They are
such a great band and they're so hardworking
and they crank out such great music that they
deserve to be recognized, to be talked about
as many times as we can throw them out there.
So the track is Monumental Holiday. it is a banger
it is awesome and i feel like we've gone from
high energy to real low energy to you know we
need therapy to let's get angry and jump in the
circle pit again so that's where i'm leaving
us off i could have went with a bunch of different
songs from dead sarah including weatherman like
that would have fit in really well here and we
definitely i think i remember you talked about
it wasn't a my weekly mixtape episode you talked
about dead sarah With a playlist wars. I want
to say it was like the 2021 playlist wars. You're
right. It was the best of 2021. One of those
two years. Cause they just put out an album.
Yeah. Yeah. Like it's laugh loud, pretend to
let go, live your life like an Eskimo, which
is not a politically correct term now, but in
terms of just going out in the wilderness and
being by yourself and telling society to go F
itself. That's what the song is all about, but
it's high energy. It's super killer. It's just
awesome. Couldn't agree more on the song. I completely
agree with everything you have to say about dead
Sarah. I'm so glad you brought them into the
fold because along with a couple of the other
bands we mentioned tonight, I feel like we've
brought some lesser known underrated groups to
this playlist, which might factor into where
I'm going with the name I'm coming up with. as
I'm mulling it over. But before we even get to
any of that, let's remind listeners of the 10
songs we've put together in this no topic playlist,
which I got the good fortune to kick off tonight
with Helmet and House of Pains, just another
victim from the Judgment Night soundtrack. We
then had My Chemical Romance's Na Na Na, Finch's
What It Is to Burn, Hot Water Music's Remedy,
Gaslight Anthem's 45, Toxic Airborne Events Sometime
Around Midnight, Citizen Cope's Bullet and a
Target, Highly Suspect's Little One, Bad Flower's
The Jester, and Dead Sarah's Monumental Holiday.
And just like a regular episode, head over to
myweeklymixtape .com to hear the entire mixtape
we've created tonight through the playlist embedded
on the episode page. DT, what are you naming
this mixtape? I think I'm calling this the, we
probably should be in a therapy mixtape. A lot
of emotions we need to purge and process, I feel
like. It's a Monday and it's daylight savings.
I feel like everybody's feeling a little down
right now. There's about to be a huge blizzard
outside in Denver, Colorado. So I don't know,
those feelings just surfaced. So what about you,
Brian? Well, when I listen to this mix and I
hear these songs back to back to back, There's
only one thing you could possibly name this mixtape,
and it's Finding Emo and the Musical Skateboard
Ramp. That's it. Perfect. Never mind. Don't even
put what I said in the episode. Just fucking
delete it. Amazing. Now I'm going to make it
graphic so we can have a cover for this playlist
now. Because it starts so high and then there's
that dip in the middle that's just so gut -wrenching.
But then as you come out of the Joker and into
Dead Sarah, it brings you back up to the other
end. And then there was such an emo theme through
it. I just thought it was funny to call it Finding
Emo in the Musical Skateboard Ramp. It's fantastic.
I love it. Well, if anybody out there listening.
has a name for this mixtape that they would like
to chime in with, share it on social media or
hit me up at myweeklymixtape at gmail .com. DT,
before we close things up, why don't you let
people know where they can find all things Space
Castle. Yeah, absolutely. You can find me at
SpaceCastle .net. It's where you can find all
the YouTube videos and all the stuff I'm doing.
The YouTube is obviously the main feature. I'm
out there doing nerdy videos like every couple
of weeks. So yeah, movies, video games, whatever
kind of strikes my fancy. So come and hang out.
That would be amazing. I would appreciate it.
And thank you. As always, DT, this has been an
absolute blast. Thank you so much for joining
me on my weekly mixtape. Dude, of course. My
pleasure. Remember, you can find My Weekly Mixtape
on almost all the social media haunts at My Weekly
Mixtape. You can also head to MyWeeklyMixtape
.com to check out the full catalog of My Weekly
Mixtape episodes. And if you like what you're
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and so much more. That's all for this week. Thanks
again for listening, and until next time, enjoy
the tunes.