Ben Rubenstein

Windtalkers: Chicago’s own finally going for the almighty dollar.

By Ben Rubenstein

Some of the artists living the life talk about Chicago's rap scene. Plus, PopMatters names the top 10 Chicago hip-hop up-and-comers. [1 August 2006]

Wedding Players

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [30 September 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Just Eat It

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [2 September 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Vinyl Spin Cycle

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [18 August 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

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

By Ben Rubenstein

Koko Taylor imitator Ladykat drives the city bus that I occasionally ride – at least that, I hope, gives her health insurance. [14 July 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

The Best of the Basket Cases: Round 2

By Ben Rubenstein

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). [10 June 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Get Your Bootleg On: A Mashup Mystery Solved

By Ben Rubenstein

It began as a simple message board for bedroom DJs. Partnerships were formed, skills were developed, and in some cases, careers were launched. [29 April 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Waltzing with Wilco

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [7 April 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Kids Listen to the Darndest Things

By Ben Rubenstein

Like these kids, my enjoyment level has never been as high as it was for the crap I loved when I was 13. [11 March 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Concert Overload

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [3 February 2009]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Sold on the Street

By Ben Rubenstein

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? [17 December 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

I’d Like to Thank…

By Ben Rubenstein

I'm thankful for my wonderful girlfriend, the Boston Celtics taking home the NBA championship, and Wu-Tang, Nas, People Under the Stairs... [25 November 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Parents Just Don’t Understand

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [21 October 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Event Etiquette

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [2 September 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Gone Festin’

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [28 July 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Getting Schooled

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [1 July 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

I’m With the Band

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [27 May 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

When They’re 65…

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [5 May 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

TV Commercials: the New, Nonstop Playlist

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [25 March 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

The Best of the Basket Cases: Round 1

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [26 February 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Love from the ‘90s, Mix-Tape Style

By Ben Rubenstein

Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape interprets a recent decade in the ever-shifting sound of the universal language. [28 January 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

DJing the Weather Report

By Ben Rubenstein

What is the sound of flowers blooming? How does one match an oncoming storm with sonic accuracy? [8 January 2008]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Mic’d Up

By Ben Rubenstein

Karaoke: Those who can't, do anyway; those who wish they could, only watch in mute rapture. [4 December 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Don’t Know Much About History

By Ben Rubenstein

As Lupe Fiasco learned in a recent faux pas, what you don't know won't scare you – until somebody calls you out. [6 November 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Scene, Should Be Heard

By Ben Rubenstein

The Second City has some first-rate music scenes. So listen up, New York. [24 October 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Nine to Five

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [30 August 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Out in the Cold

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [31 July 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Family Matters

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [12 July 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Mixed Messages

By Ben Rubenstein

I want the music I love to speak for me, but I can't control what it's going to say. [1 June 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Celebrity Deathmatch

By Ben Rubenstein

Every decision already consists of two wrong choices -- it's only a matter of which is the path of least regret. [2 May 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Behind the Music

By Ben Rubenstein

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 . . . [27 March 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Moping Around

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [12 February 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Tapping the ‘Wire’

By Ben Rubenstein

The Wire's season-ending musical montage was a culmination, in many ways, of a season filled with musical meaning. [17 January 2007]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Jock Jams

By Ben Rubenstein

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. [29 November 2006]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

It Shall Be Released

By Ben Rubenstein

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? [27 September 2006]

(more Mixtape Confessions)

Jill Cohn: Seven Year Surrender

By Ben Rubenstein

The kind of album that can make even the most hardened cynic think twice before issuing judgment. [8 July 2005]