“This right here would sound real good, I think, personally / real nice for a car commercial or something / maybe something for maxi pads, you know, ’cause a lot of people use ‘em.”
– “Sing Along”
On the follow-up to 2005’s Gone Ain’t Gone and 2007’s web-only Over the Counter Culture, Tim Fite splices samples and front-porch staples like banjo and pedal steel into his own proprietary formula. The blend engages and irritates–mostly the former–but better that a musician risk failure than not, and this Woody Guthrie and Public Enemy fan is one risky fellow.
That said, the Brooklyn artist’s drone can get old after a while. Fite deserves credit for his creativity–Fair Ain’t Fair (Anti-, 2008) also includes mandolin and yodeling–but more vibrant vocals would really help his anti-consumerist message come alive. Instead, his singing sounds strangely submerged, like Beck circa Mellow Gold or One Foot in the Grave.
On the plus side, the harmonies from Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) on “The Names of All the Animals” and the whistling on “More Clothes” alleviates this problem, coming across like lo-fi, post-modern Pet Sounds outtakes. The bouncy, aptly titled “Sing Along”, with its Beatle-esque “la-la-la’s,” represents another tuneful twist on Fite’s eclectic recipe.
Then there are the lyrics. Fair Ain’t Fair features lines like, “There’s folly in the pork fat,” “there’s mustard on your titty,” and “a horse is a horse, of course.” Did he make this stuff up on the spot or spend long hours thinking it up? Either way: they’re sometimes silly, but always distinctive, and that may be his intent. The line between woefully inept and intentionally goofy can be difficult to discern. Fortunately, Tim Fite usually stays on the right side of that equation.
Download Over the Counter Culture for free here.
Tim Fite show date:
June 11 Huckleberry’s Pizza Parlor - Rock Island, IL
Don’t have time to search out this week’s essential MP3s, streams and viral videos? That’s why we’re here.
The Long Blondes “Here Comes The Serious Bit”
Kate Jackson is the best Debbie Harry throwback we’ve heard in a long time. So it’s kind of a good thing her stylish Sheffield, England band has Blondie’s primitive new wave sound down pat on this standout track from its second album, Couples.
MP3: “Here Comes The Serious Bit”
(via Insound)
N.E.R.D. “Everybody Nose”
The leadoff single from N.E.R.D.’s forthcoming Seeing Sounds is exactly as crazy you want it to be, complete with clunky Space Invaders beats, a new jack swing breakdown and ape-shit lyrics shouted at top volume.
The Submarines “You, Me & The Bourgeoisie”
Blake Hazard of Los Angeles’ The Submarines has the kind of pure pop voice that won’t make you cringe when she sings things like, “Everyday we wake up, we choose love/ We choose life, it’s too easy just to fall apart.” On this track from the group’s sophomore album, Honeysuckle Weeks, her husband and musical partner John Dragonetti provides the requisite gloss.
MP3: “You, Me & The Bourgeoisie”
(via Insound)
Martina Topley-Bird “Valentine”
Tricky’s former smoky-voiced muse returns with her second album, The Blue God–produced by Danger Mouse–and this beautiful late-night meditation of a single. Watch for the fleeting slide guitar solo in the middle. It will melt your heart.
MP3: 07Valentine.mp3
Tim Fite “Yesterday’s Garden”
Brooklyn’s Tim Fite is on the same label as Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Lyrics Born, which makes a lot of sense. His third album, Fair Ain’t Fair, is a thoroughly eclectic affair, as this crackpot ballad confirms. Fans of Randy Newman, any of the above, or, really, music in general will not be disappointed.
MP3: “Yesterday’s Garden”
(via Insound)