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Mixtape

Art

Nostalgic Drawings of Strangers’ Mixtapes

By Alison Nastasi on

The heyday of mixtape trading has passed, but Portland artist Kate Bingaman-Burt has revived the vintage format in her drawings that we spotted on Beautiful/Decay. Several of the referenced cassettes were found at thrift shops for mere cents, which is a little depressing considering that most people slaved over their conceptual compilations to create a deeply personal selection of songs. (At least they did if they were us.) Other tapes were sent to the artist at her request. The notebook-style drawings capture every detail that tapeheads miss about the format — including the miniature spools that threatened to snap and unwind from overplaying. Feel all the nostalgic feelings in our gallery. … Read More

Partner Buzz

Listen to Beth Ditto’s Exclusive MAC Mixtape

By Doug Levy on

Last week saw the debut of a match made in glamorous indie-rock heaven: Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto’s all-new limited-edition collection for MAC Cosmetics. Featuring striking colors and shades with names like “Beth or Glory,” “Booyah!” and “Vagabondage,” the line has everything you need to bring out your own inner rock star.

To celebrate its official debut, we asked Ditto to curate a mixtape that embodies the vibe of the collaboration, and what she came back with is a stirring mix of dance-floor hits and old-school jams, running from Mama Cass to Missy Elliot and from the Rolling Stones to the Fresh Prince. Check out the full track list after the jump, and then click through to rock out while you get your glam on. … Read More

Partner Buzz

The Perfect Fusion Mixtape featuring Bon Iver and Emmy the Great

By Doug Levy on

With its new Orient Apple flavor, Absolut combines crisp apple sweetness with ginger spice. It’s a fusion we’re so enamored with that we created a soundtrack for it. Our Perfect Fusion compilation features an equally inspired blend of artists and sounds — and the whole thing is yours for free.

It includes UK folk-pop darling Emmy the Great, Aussie psych upstarts Cloud Control, and our latest tropical crushes, ChuCha Santamaria y Usted, plus mainstays like TV on the Radio, Bon Iver, and UNKLE. Check out the mixtape now and treat yourself to a taste of Orient Apple. Click through for the full track list and your free download. … Read More

Music

Mixtape: Flavorpill’s Austin BFFs SXSW Party

By Russ Marshalek on

Flavorpill’s joining the sweat, heat, and taco trucks of South by Southwest this year to throw a party with some of our best friends. Combining forces with The Musebox, I Rock I Roll and The Bell House NY, and sponsored by HP: Everybody On, we’ve pulled together a bunch of our favorite bands to play some music and liven up the Austin afternoon. So, if you’ll be making the yearly arduous pilgrimage to Texas, join us on Wednesday, March 16 from noon until 6 pm at Lipstick 24. We’ll have Flavorpill faves like Oh Land and Class Actress alongside bands destined to become your new favorites, like the genius, guilty dance-glee of Kids of 88. RSVP for the afternoon of awesome here, but do it quickly as we’re nearing event capacity.

To whet your appetite for the acts you’ll see at our showcase (or, if you won’t be in Austin, to enable you to party along with us from the comfort of your own home), we’ve curated a mixtape of songs from the bands who are performing. Check out the slightly twisted event flyer below, and view the mixtape’s track list, which you can download as one file for your listening pleasure. … Read More

Music

Snow vs. Ice: A Hibernation Mixtape

By Judy Berman on

As yet another thick coating of snow buries the Northeast and January creeps toward February, it’s begun to seem less like time for sledding and ice skating than time for deep, peaceful, wintertime hibernation. If you woke up this morning to the news of a snow day, we assume you’re going looking forward to some extra moments of sleep. And we’ve got the soundtrack to that nap (or, for the unlucky ones, your day at work).

This Hibernation Mixtape pits snow songs (Side A) against ice songs (Side B) in a collection designed to lull you into vivid, dream-filled sleep. The artists on the tape — Atlas Sound, Grouper, Real Estate, Brian Eno, Kate Bush — may often be odd, but there’s always something magical about their compositions. Let Side A ease you slowly into slumber, while Side B gradually swells to wakefulness. Listen after the jump. … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Ender Wiggin

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: The miniature hero of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, Ender Wiggin. … Read More

Music

My High School Mixtapes: A Critical Analysis

By Margaret Eby on

This time of year, when visiting my parents’ house for tree trimming and turkey eating and general holiday festivities, I’m always confronted by insistent reminders of my not-so-distant adolescent self: my mixtapes. Though by the time I got to high school, the tape was being swiftly eclipsed by the mix CD and iPod playlists, my beloved broke-ass 1994 Saturn Coupe wasn’t equipped to handle such technological innovations. Add in the relative difficulty of destroying a tape — as opposed to the fragile and scratchable surface of a CD-R — and, of course, the Wes Anderson-instilled romantic appeal of outdated audio equipment, and you’ll begin to understand why I ended up making a lot of tapes.

Every Christmas, I rediscover them, scattered in the backseat of  my younger brother’s car or stacked in neat piles next to my college textbooks. This year I chanced listening to their potentially cringe-inducing contents. Listed below, as best as I could muster, a critical reassessment of four of my high school mixtapes. … Read More

Music

The Flavorpill Mixtape XLIV: Rye Rye, Cee-Lo, The Thermals

By Margaret Eby on

The 2010 CMJ Music Marathon is upon us, which means that there’s new music been thrown around left and right here at Flavorpill (You already have our unofficial showcase this Saturday marked on your calendars, right?) This week’s mix features some new tracks from old favorites (Crystal Stilts, The Thermals) and a couple of up-and-comers (Twin Shadow, Dom). Right click + save as to download individual tunes or scroll to the bottom to nab the whole mix. … Read More

Music

Mixtape: Lollapalooza 2010

By Judy Berman on

As fas as summer festivals go, Lollapalooza is one of the biggest and most diverse out there, attracting pop fans and indie snobs alike. So, whether you’re traveling to Chicago for three days of musical revelry or admiring the event from afar, our Lollapalooza megamix — co-presented with RCRB LBL and Jetsetter — is essential listening. Listen to tracks by Hot Chip, Phoenix, Yeasayer, Javelin, and many more after the jump, and head to RCRB LBL to download your favorites.

… Read More

Music

Mixtape: Songs About Robots

By Caroline Stanley on

Robots have been inspiring musicians for years (see: “Sheep” by Pink Floyd), but that doesn’t mean there has been some kind of cultural consensus on where they fall on the good vs. evil axis. After the jump, we’ve rounded up a mixtape of the 20 definitive robot tunes, and divided it up so you’ll be able to pick sides. Side A: Robots are good. Side B: Robots are evil. Enjoy, and drop any glaring omissions in the comments! … Read More