Tiny Mix Tapes

Runzelstirn & Gurgelstøck

Andy Ortmann — 2009-11-19T16:30:27Z

[October 2009] Amidst the monotony of life and lack of experiential living, there are few individuals who take simple concepts like "the senses" to new heights, or at least to places where you might not otherwise traverse. One such example is Rudolf Eb.er. Protagonist of the legendary Schimpfluch Gruppe/Commune and master of the absurd, he has created considerable challenging and sometimes downright confusing works over the decades. Eb.er's early sonic compositions were comprised (...) - INTERVIEWS

Headlights

Todd Olmstead — 2009-11-17T16:23:29Z

[October 2009] Iowa City and Champaign-Urbana are something like sister cities in the Midwest – both Big Ten college schools with amazing pockets of local musicianship. Ever since Headlights first came to Iowa City in December 2007, they've been good friends. I've seen them play several times over the last two years – at least five times in Iowa City as well as in Champaign and Austin – so I've had the chance to see them grow as a band. It's not (...) - INTERVIEWS

Computer Perfection

Jeff Milo — 2009-11-13T13:14:51Z

[November 2009] Gene Corduroy stands in his cozy cluttery basement studio, gesturing to his longtime friend/longtime music-collaborator Nathaniel Burgundy IV, admitting how weird it was, initially, to sing in front of him, to sing in front of anybody even, ever. But self-displacement from past comfort zones was a needed step to “defining ourselves” for the heretofore often-strict guitarist, as he had to get used to singing over the last year with Computer Perfection — (...) - INTERVIEWS

Haunted House

Chizzly St. Claw — 2009-11-05T13:25:36Z

[October 2009] This year is a big year for Minneapolis's Haunted House. Not only are they attempting to release three albums between now and next summer, but their music is taking a new direction, especially in the live setting. Indeed, it's been a long road since the band's debut as "Andrew W.K. as an Enya-inspired drunken blackout." Over the course of six months, Tiny Mix Tapes worked on an epic interview with Mike Watton, the founder of Haunted House. But while it (...) - INTERVIEWS

Julian Lynch

Emilie Friedlander — 2009-10-30T07:19:12Z

[October 2009] Describing Julian Lynch's music is difficult, period. But it is even harder to describe his music without falling back on certain buzzwords, terms that have been so overused by music journalists over the past year that they seem to designate everything and nothing at once. We might say, for example, that Julian makes blissed-out 21st-century psychedelia, waltzing lackadaisically through the bottomless archive of musical references (Western and non-) that the (...) - INTERVIEWS

Thao and The Get Down Stay Down

Ze Pequeno — 2009-10-27T16:29:51Z

Thao Nguyen is quite a mover. The chanteuse recently moved to the Mission District of San Francisco, which has lately been gaining press attention for an ascending regional sound that has not been seen in the city since The Dead Kennedys did records in the Tenderloin. Her latest album with her band the Get Down Stay Down, Know Better Learn Faster, dropped this month, making a move from a simple folk approach to more complex and electrical compositions. Even her live act has moved to a more (...) - INTERVIEWS

Sonic Youth (Lee Ranaldo)

Saltlick — 2009-10-23T12:57:50Z

[July 2009] It's been seven years since Sonic Youth released Murray Street, an album that was adored equally by their noise fans, their rock fans, and their noise-rock fans. But their last three studio albums, including their latest The Eternal (TMT Review), have been polarizing to say the least. While some have praised the band for reclaiming the alternative rock sound of their early-90s work, others have accused them of abandoning their experimental tendencies in favor of a more (...) - INTERVIEWS

Wye Oak

Todd Olmstead — 2009-10-19T14:22:37Z

[September 2009] After self-releasing their debut album, Baltimore duo Wye Oak were picked up by Merge for the album reissue. Their new record, The Knot, represents the first album they've recorded for their new label home. It is a magnificent, cohesive piece of music, combining folk music with shoegaze volume and textures that feature strong, melancholy songwriting. I sat down with Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack at my home after their performance at the Mill in Iowa City, a fairly (...) - INTERVIEWS

Vic Chesnutt

D-BO — 2009-10-16T13:52:10Z

[September 2009] Vic Chesnutt is a warrior. So when he exclaims "I am a coward!" on the opening track to newly released At the Cut — an album featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Fugazi — don't be fooled. Confined to a wheelchair since the age of 18, Chesnutt has reached ears far and wide via a two-decades-long career, with nearly 15 albums under his belt. He's collaborated with artists as eclectic as Bill Frisell and as mainstream as Michael (...) - INTERVIEWS

Jumbling Towers

Jared Bier — 2009-10-14T13:38:19Z

[September 2009] Since Jumbling Towers self-released their eponymous debut album two years ago, the band has found itself occupying a curious domain within the independent music scene. While they have indeed travailed through the limitations most unsigned acts find unavoidable, the band has nonetheless managed to establish a fan base extending far beyond the borders of their St. Louis hometown. After last year's release of Classy Entertainment, a fantastic little EP, the band is (...) - INTERVIEWS