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Tiny Mix Tapes: Top 25 Of 2008

admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:55:22 +0000

Below are my… you guessed it, top 25 albums of 2008. Now while I’m assuming most people won’t know who any of these bands are, its ok, you aren’t missing much. I had a difficult time actually coming up with 25 albums that I listened to so I could rank them. It isn’t the strongest list I’ve made in a while, but hey ITS A LIST. Please go to Tiny Mix Tapes and enjoy the rest of the awesome end of year stuff the gang has put together.

25. Black Kids – Post Traumatic
24. The Flaming Lips – Christmas on Mars
23. Times New Viking – Rip It Off
22. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
21. Submarines – Honeysuckle Weeks
20. Tapes ’N Tapes – Walk It Off
19. Oxford Collapse – Bits
18. She & Him – Volume One
17. Man Man – Rabbit Habits
16. Islands – Arm’s Way
15. Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
14. Santogold – Santogold
13. Ben Folds – Way To Normal
12. Mates Of State – Re-Arrange Us
11. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
10. Devotchka – A Mad And Faithful Telling
09. TV On The Radio – Dear Science
08. CSS – Donkey
07. The Phenomenauts – For All Mankind
06. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
05. The Decemberists – Always A Bridesmaid
04. The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
03. Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell
02. Tim Fite – Fair Ain’t Fair
01. Girl Talk – Feed The Animals

I’ve also included my addition to this year’s Tiny Mix Tape.

08. Tim Fite – “Big Mistake” (Fair Ain’t Fair)

“Big Mistake” is an anthem to those who feel they need to prove something to others. Tim Fite is nothing without his twisted sense of humor, and he states that he is that type of person, slowly revealing how he’s saving his flaws for one big mistake. I’ve always felt such a song could have been featured in a burlesque or vaudeville show in a different era. You find yourself almost walking in it, soft acoustic guitar guiding you through the workings of one person’s soul. It flows from one personality trait to another, becoming jagged one moment and swelling with a choir at another. It’s dark, but set to very cheerful chords that won’t let you forget: there is always a side to people that most don’t want to admit they have. A lie don’t mean nothin’ if nobody knows when you’re lyin’. In the end, Fite doesn’t reveal if he will ever admit to making a mistake, but time doesn’t matter if it’s only a matter of time, right? —Alaska Nick

Off To Blip

admin — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:00:08 +0000

Tiny Mix Tapes is sending myself and another writer off to the Blip Festival in Park Slope this weekend. I am pretty excited for the opportunity to cover a type of music I know very little about. I posted the festival’s trailer below and that should give you a good idea about the kind of music I’m talking about. I attended part of last night, but Friday and Saturday are definitely the big days, tons of big acts. I hope to take lots of good audio and get a few interviews in there as well. So over the coming week or so, expect a few posts about Blip 2008.

Tiny Mix Tapes: Uncle Monsterface

admin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:07:15 +0000

Tiny Mix Tapes has posted my review of the band Uncle Monsterface from mid November. This one was interesting because I was asked to keep it down to 300 words, so I took it as an exercise in focusing my article. I hope it turned out for the best. The band is really interesting to say the least, I’ve seen them twice and if anybody in the Tri-State wants to blow their kid’s mind and have the best birthday party on the planet, I would highly recommend them. Ok, fine, I’ll admit, I would also like them to play my birthday party… hint… hint. Below is an exerpt, but you’ll have to go to TMT to find the full article.

On a cool November Friday night, Otto’s Shrunken Head became host to one of the geekiest things I’ve ever seen short of a Con of some sort. Surrounded by fruity drinks, bamboo, and ancient Land of the Lost episodes on a television, “sock puppet rock band” Uncle Monsterface take the stage.

Tiny Mix Tapes: The Builders & The Butchers

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:34:35 +0000

Once again, I am proud to say I have had another article published on Tiny Mix Tapes. After a bit of an absence (I could lie and say I was busy, but I was lazy) I got to review Portland’s own The Builders & The Butchers. It was a great show, and I’m super jealous of everybody at UAF who will get to see them at the end of the month. Plus, many thanks to Ryan Sollee for talking to me before the show. Below is one paragraph from the article, you are just going to have to head over to Tiny Mix Tapes to read the rest of it.

Frontman Ryan Sollee has a John Darnielle-sque quality to him, in that each lyric belongs to a story of a distant place and time, but he still seems pained to sing them. His face contorts, as if the sweat dripping from his forehead is burning his eyes. His feet stomp, guitar slung high across his chest; Sollee is a man possessed, . The entire band is possessed; the audience is possessed. Sollee’s like a caricature of Leadbelly crossed with Bon Jovi. One second he is intently focused on the microphone in front of him, aching to get the words out, and the next guitars become axes and are being held high against one another for dramatic effect.

Tiny Mix Tapes: Tokyo Police Club

admin — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:44:55 +0000

GO ME! I have had my second piece published on Tiny Mix Tapes.com. As much as I would love to post the entire article here, I want as many people as possible to actaully to go the site and check it out along with some other articles available. Below is the first paragraph and a link to the site.

I have never been fashionably late to anything in my life. I have this constant fear that I am going to be missing out on the best part of an event if I am anything but punctual. Too many times have I entered the Bowery Ballroom only to be harassed by bouncers as they corralled me and my fellow concert-goers into the dungeon bar, our prison until the doors finally opened. But this time I was going to be smart — this time I left late. The doors opened at 8 PM, so I left my house at 8:30 to catch what I was hoping to be a long subway ride downtown. I walked into the place and once again was herded to the bar packed with what seemed to be a high school graduation party. I knew the crowd was going to be pretty young. Read More