Sign up for our mailing list Real artists creating records on their own terms

News

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Tim Fite Announces New Album 'Ain't Ain't Ain't'

Tim Fite is an artist and true original. His music defies easy categorization. Esquire Magazine called him, "one of rock 'n' roll's most subversive renaissance men." The Brooklyn based Fite is about to release Ain't Ain't Ain't the best record of his career on March 6th 2012 via ANTI- Records.

value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YDHr5gvLSZg?version=3&hl=en_US"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true">src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YDHr5gvLSZg?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="248" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">

This is the final installment of Fite's acclaimed "Ain't" trilogy. The first two albums, Fair Ain't Fair and Gone Ain't Gone, were powerful sound collages that artfully combined disparate musical traditions without pretense or prejudice. Yet underneath all that exquisite sound was an artist ardently addressing the issues of his time and the circumstances of his life. Both records received phenomenal response from both music fans and esteemed publications such as The Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, San Francisco Bay Guardian, NPR and more.

But while Fite's previous works addressed adult issues with a youthful exuberance, Ain't Ain't Ain't is, in many ways, their thematic opposite. The central focus of the record is the pain, hope and unbridled passion of one's teenage years. "This record is shamelessly clad in the high hopes of high-school hot pants, just as much as it is ashamed of its insecurities and aging self-awareness," Fite explains. "Like cafeteria lunch tables, Ain't Ain't AIn't is as vulnerable as it is invincible. I hope that anyone who knows what it is to be a teenager might see their reflection in these songs, and feel more alive."

Unlike Fite's previous works which were created using a collage of samples, on Ain't Ain't Ain't the artist played and recorded instruments in the studio. The leaner sound reveals Fite to be a classic songwriter of startling ability. The song "Joyriding" boasts a timeless car radio hook and a buoyant mood which perfectly captures the exhilaration and freedom of cruising with friends. And then there is the absolutely epic and heart wrenching "We Are All Teenagers," which serves as the thematic centerpiece of the album. The track builds from an intimate lament on the awkwardness of the teen years to a magnificently cathartic Phil Spector-like crescendo about human frailty and the lost promise of youth.

"First loves, fist fights, cliques, slow-dances, broken hearts, joyrides, bullies and the big game," Fite says. "These adolescent rites all act as mirrors for the future. Teenage loves are the loves to which all subsequent loves must be compared. Teenage fuck-ups are the fuck-ups by which all other fuck-ups are measured. There is no better mirror than a teenage mirror - because it reflects the best and worst of us simultaneously - pimples and all. The songs on this record are reminders of who we were, who we are, and who we may come to be."

Previous Acclaim For Tim Fite:

"Inspiring and incredible" - Daytrotter

"Fair Ain't Fair (Anti), one of those albums that defies anyone to categorize or ignore it." - Chicago Tribune

"Last year, Fite released a free Web-only album that established him as one of the most creative singer-songwriters around. This spiffy follow-up, recorded in his Brooklyn bedroom, is a savory blend of country, hip hop, blues, pop, and electronic music. What's that? It sounds like we're describing Beck? Don't worry, Fite's songs are earnest and funny enough to hold their own." - WIRED

"At once moody and hilarious, satirically biting and spiritually uplifting. Lyrically, Fite doesn't pull any punches. Musically, the album sounds like TV on the Radio's Tunde Adibimpe jamming with Tom Waits at a hip-hop open mic night." - San Francisco Bay Guardian

"He's about as close to essential as it gets." - Dusted Magazine

"His new album, Fair Ain't Fair, confirms that this enigmatic, genre-bending songwriter is one of rock 'n' roll's most subversive renaissance men." - Esquire

"it's one of those records that just makes you smile" - NPR

"Fair Ain't Fair is an honest, at times funny record that further explains how Fite sees the world , for better or worse. And in doing so, he assures his place alongside musicians such as protest-era Bob Dylan, "Born In The USA" Bruce Springsteen and comedians such as George Carlin and Lewis Black." - Kansas City Star

"The sounds of wheezing accordions, loopy strings and pit orchestra flourishes emulate old movie soundtracks and position Fite as a kind of narrator. It's an approach that's a signature for guys like Randy Newman and it's exactly what wins you over to Fite's kaleidoscopic imagination. He's not just a quirky lyricist, he's a real composer." - Playboy

"this is not a hip-hop record; it's the kind of eccentric pop record that Beck, Sufjan Stevens,Robyn Hitchcock and Camper Van Beethoven have made, the type of project that marries whimsical surrealism with singalong melodies, witty satire with bouncy beats. Fair Ain't Fair is one of this genre's more successful albums, for Fite's circus-like sound collages yield pleasure as well as surprise. Reinforcing the pleasure are the catchy tunes; reinforcing the surprise are strange, puzzle-piece lyrics that gradually fit together into a larger picture." - Washington Post

"Its sprawling tracks range from what sound like drunken nursery rhymes to chamber folk played by Appalachian hip-hoppers, along with massed vocal harmonies that sound like the Beach Boys at a hootenany in the Bronx. With his clever wordplay loosely dealing with consequence and remorse, catchy melodies strewn through quirky textures and contexts, and cut-and-paste approach, Fite comes across like a kindergarten savant with visions of the apocalypse." - Minneapolis City Pages

Track Listing For Tim Fite's Ain't Ain't Ain't: 1. Hold Me All Night - 3:10 2. Girard - 3:38 3. Bunnies - 3:32 4. Joyriding - 3:17 5. Telephone Booth - 4:19 6. We Are All Teenagers - 3:34 7. Because I Was Scared - 3:46 8. Tiger Shopping - 2:54 9. My Brother Sings - 1:47 10. Bully - 3:17 11. Talking To The Air - 2:51 12. Goodbye - 6:35 13. Ain't Ain't Ain't - 2:22

Facebook | Twitter
 

Browse by Artist

2151All Artists 100Tom Waits 77Mavis Staples 61Neko Case 51Lost In The Trees 50Sean Rowe 48Dr. Dog 45The Milk Carton Kids
41Jolie Holland 40Bettye LaVette 39Son Little 37Man Man 35Tinariwen 33DeVotchKa 33Tim Fite 31Grinderman 31Islands 29Glen Hansard 28Saintseneca 27Galactic 27Wilco 27Delicate Steve 26Andy Shauf 25The Drums 24Xenia Rubinos 24Michael Franti and Spe... 22Bob Mould 22Doe Paoro 22William Elliott Whitmo... 21The Frames 21Nick Cave & The Bad Se... 20Joe Henry 20Christopher Paul Stell... 19Yves Jarvis 19Sage Francis 19Cass McCombs 19Booker T. Jones 18Deafheaven 18Gary V 18Calexico 18Madi Diaz 17John K. Samson 17Yann Tiersen 16Ramblin Jack Elliott 16The Antlers 16Danny Elfman 16Jason Lytle 14Jeremy Ivey 14Daniel Lanois 14Half Waif 13Curtis Harding 13The Dream Syndicate 13Billy Bragg 12Xavier Rudd 12Peter Silberman 12Leyla McCalla 12Lido Pimienta 12Girlpool 12Combo Chimbita 11The Weakerthans 11Jade Jackson 11Purr 11Japandroids 11Mose Allison 11Lyrics Born 11Rain Machine 11Rafiq Bhatia 11Glitterer 11Ryan Pollie 11Christian Lee Hutson 11Roky Erickson 10The Melodic 10So Much Light 10Moor Mother 10High Pulp 10Darrin Bradbury 10Alfa Mist 10The Swell Season 9Wynonna 9Marianne Faithfull 9N.A.S.A. 9Cameron Avery 9Josiah Johnson 9Hey, King! 9M. Ward 8Solillaquists of Sound 8Kate Davis 8James Brandon Lewis 8Slow Pulp 8The Coup 8Foxwarren 8Greg Graffin 8Cadence Weapon 8Katy Kirby 7Beth Orton 7Kelly Hogan 7Title Fight 7sunking 7Eddie Izzard 7Ben Harper 7Dead Man's Bones 7Alec Ounsworth 7Ben Harper and Charlie... 7Richard Reed Parry 7Elliott Smith 6Deradoorian 6A Girl Called Eddy 6Bonny Doon 6Kate Bush 6MJ Lenderman 6Waxahatchee 6Sam Akpro 6Os Mutantes 6Busdriver 6Broken Twin 5Kristine Leschper 5Beat Connection 5Scott McMicken and THE... 5Ezra Furman 5The Tallest Man On Ear... 5The Field 5One Day As A Lion 5Art Moore 5Jasmyn 5Keaton Henson 4Pops Staples 4Ersi Arvizu 4Sparklehorse 4Jackson+Sellers 4The Good Ones 4Marketa Irglova 3Sean Solomon 3Walter Wolfman Washing... 3Petra Haden 3Sierra Leones Refugee... 3Marc Ribot 3Mothers 3Danny Cohen 3Mavis Staples & Levon... 3Plains 2Various Artists: RANGO 2Fleet Foxes 2Death Cab for Cutie 2ANTI- Records 2The Beths 2Jeff Tweedy 1Solomon Burke 1The Locust 1case/lang/veirs 1Merle Haggard 1Youth Group 1Blackalicious 1Taylor Vick 1Lightman Jarvis Ecstat... 1Porter Wagoner 1Simian Mobile Disco 1Snocaps 1Brennan Wedl 1Rogue's Gallery 1Antibalas 1Various Artists: ROGUE... 1Kronos Quartet with Br... 1Joe Strummer And The M... 1Tricky
See Full List+