Mixtape Confessions

By Ben Rubenstein

So You Think You Can Make Me Like Dance?

[11.Nov.09] :. Rubenstein views dance much like his girlfriend watches a baseball game; the subtleties are lost on him.
 

Wedding Players

[30.Sep.09] :. When it comes to controlling the behavior of revelers at a wedding fest -- or rather, rolling with the behavior of revelers at a wedding fest -- a live band can adapt far better than the average DJ.
 

Just Eat It

[2.Sep.09] :. I'll take the wasabi potato croquettes that came with the lamb racks in the "Sheep in Wolf's Clothing" dish (inspired by TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me") over Hard Rock's seasoned fries any day.
 

Vinyl Spin Cycle

[18.Aug.09] :. Each time I sheepishly purchase another CD, I’m digging myself further into the technological hole, and falling farther behind the cool vinyl-playing crowd.
 

Don’t Quit Your Day Job—If You Have One

[14.Jul.09] :. Koko Taylor imitator Ladykat drives the city bus that I occasionally ride – at least that, I hope, gives her health insurance.
 

The Best of the Basket Cases: Round 2

[10.Jun.09] :. Ben bursts open the bubble mailers and announces this round of … winners (honoring the best and brightest of the many unsolicited CDs sent to him).
 

Get Your Bootleg On: A Mashup Mystery Solved

[29.Apr.09] :. It began as a simple message board for bedroom DJs. Partnerships were formed, skills were developed, and in some cases, careers were launched.
 

Waltzing with Wilco

[7.Apr.09] :. As any experienced concert-goer knows, a lively audience can mean the difference between a lackluster event and a memorable night. Sometimes, it’s more important than the band's actual performance.
 

Kids Listen to the Darndest Things

[11.Mar.09] :. Like these kids, my enjoyment level has never been as high as it was for the crap I loved when I was 13.
 

Concert Overload

[3.Feb.09] :. Free-for-all shows are like a "cool" parent trying to be your friend, instead of your authority figure. While it seems like a good situation at first -- no curfew, no rules -- you realize, eventually, that what it really needs is some structure.
 

Sold on the Street

[17.Dec.08] :. The guys selling their hip-hop CD-Rs on the street know exactly where to find their prey: outside the independent record store, in and around shows of like-minded artists. What makes them so hard to resist?
 

I’d Like to Thank…

[25.Nov.08] :. I'm thankful for my wonderful girlfriend, the Boston Celtics taking home the NBA championship, and Wu-Tang, Nas, People Under the Stairs...
 

Parents Just Don’t Understand

[21.Oct.08] :. For every tween who raids his parents' record collection, there are 30 more who can't get in the family car without headphones plugged in to their own tunes.
 

Event Etiquette

[2.Sep.08] :. Enthusiasm at sporting events and concerts is great. But when your spirited dancing turns into a one-man mosh pit, it's a damned annoying distraction.
 

Gone Festin’

[28.Jul.08] :. Yes, communing with thousands of music fans at summer festivals is fun...for a while. But then it becomes a group of people whom you really didn't plan on spending your weekend with, unless you typically hang out with stoned 16-year olds.
 

Getting Schooled

[1.Jul.08] :. More than the usual ABCs, this school clearly believes in arts education, regularly spotlighting student performers at its assemblies -- and these kids are acquiring real musical skills.
 

I’m With the Band

[27.May.08] :. When I started writing about music, I didn't realize that it would mean I'd become "the enemy". So though writing brought me closer to music and the people who make it, it also took me further away.
 

When They’re 65…

[5.May.08] :. What will some of today's most well-known hip-hop artists be doing in 2035? Maybe they won't be running the music world, but they'll probably be doing something beyond applying Fixodent to their grills.
 

TV Commercials: the New, Nonstop Playlist

[25.Mar.08] :. TV commercials have become a legitimate source for discovering new music -- from Wilco on the Volkswagen ads, to Cat Power hawking DeBeers diamonds, to any number of artists pimping Apple.
 

The Best of the Basket Cases: Round 1

[26.Feb.08] :. Deep down, in spite of all the bad music I have to plow through, I'm still that 17-year-old kid that can't believe he's getting sent free CDs. I know, I know; it's a rough gig.
 

Love from the ‘90s, Mix-Tape Style

[28.Jan.08] :. Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape interprets a recent decade in the ever-shifting sound of the universal language.
 

DJing the Weather Report

[8.Jan.08] :. What is the sound of flowers blooming? How does one match an oncoming storm with sonic accuracy?
 

Mic’d Up

[4.Dec.07] :. Karaoke: Those who can't, do anyway; those who wish they could, only watch in mute rapture.
 

Don’t Know Much About History

[6.Nov.07] :. As Lupe Fiasco learned in a recent faux pas, what you don't know won't scare you – until somebody calls you out.
 

Scene, Should Be Heard

[24.Oct.07] :. The Second City has some first-rate music scenes. So listen up, New York.
 

Nine to Five

[30.Aug.07] :. Eager to re-enter the 9-5 work world, before you could even say 401(k), I was halfway to J.Crew and Banana Republic to stock up on office-friendly wear. But adapting to my colleagues' taste in music? Ah, now that's much more difficult.
 

Out in the Cold

[31.Jul.07] :. HotHouse, a non-profit arts center in Chicago, embodied how beneficial a commitment to the arts could be, and surely this would override any business issues, I thought. I thought wrong.
 

Family Matters

[12.Jul.07] :. A well-rounded musical background is crucial -- otherwise, you could end up like a friend of mine, who had never heard Jimmy Soul's "If You Wanna Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life", and so felt lost during some hand-clapping good times at the bar last weekend.
 

Mixed Messages

[1.Jun.07] :. I want the music I love to speak for me, but I can't control what it's going to say.
 

Celebrity Deathmatch

[2.May.07] :. Every decision already consists of two wrong choices -- it's only a matter of which is the path of least regret.
 

Behind the Music

[27.Mar.07] :. It's impossible to listen to music in a vacuum, to take the sound of a band on its own merits. There are so many outside factors at play – reviews, friends opinions, larger cultural influences . . .
 

Moping Around

[12.Feb.07] :. Whether it comes through teenage rebellion, alienation, or heavy drug use, chronic music appreciation is not typically a choice made due to a desire for group participation; it's more often about wanting or needing to separate oneself.
 

Tapping the ‘Wire’

[17.Jan.07] :. The Wire's season-ending musical montage was a culmination, in many ways, of a season filled with musical meaning.
 

Jock Jams

[29.Nov.06] :. I'm getting giddy imagining Chuck Klosterman and Cam'ron having a two-minute bull session on the Who's return to relevance, or, better yet, figuring out a logical way to deal with Lil' Kim.
 

It Shall Be Released

[27.Sep.06] :. Rubenstein looks back at the release of a number of highly anticipated albums to contrast his opinions then and now. How much does personal expectation factor into our ultimate enjoyment of music?