Tim Fite - Artist of the Day on SPIN.com
Who? This Brooklyn native has spent the last few years sharpening fork-tongued verbal skills over releases that deftly blend organic instrumentation with samples of everything from lo-fi folk and wah-wah funk to killer brass. Epitaph's ANTI- imprint issued Fite's lauded 2005 effort, Gone Ain't Gone. This year offers Fite's free download-only album, Over the Counter Culture, which shamelessly needles all things consumer-driven (hence, it costs nothing).
What's the Deal? This musical jigsaw puzzle might best be described as Beck's music, Cex's lyrics and Lemon Jelly's sample tendencies with Herbert Cornfeld spitting verses. "It's All Right Here" runs from braggadocios thump to '50s supermarket commercial rave-up, while "I've Been Shot" aims hilarious Boondocks-style satire on rappers earning cred through bullet wounds. The title track lays fine waste to the modern day "Over the Counter Culture," but the best savaging comes when Fite uses recent U.S. military history as a verbal stationary bag in the eminently groovy "Camouflage." Fite gets his counter culture on at Bonnaroo's Troo Music Lounge, Saturday (June 16) at 6:20 P.M. Gather 'round the campfire at SPIN.com as well, for the boisterous indie rocker will also be performing an intimate acoustic gig on Friday (June 15).
Fun Fact: Samples used on Gone Ain't Gone were limited to albums Fite purchased for a dollar or less. GARY L. BLACKWELL, JR.