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44-473: Unlike Cryptograms , Fluorescent Grey does not contain any ambient tracks. Lead singer Bradford Cox considers the EP's four tracks to be "four singles; they're all four good. They could stand on their own." The songs were recorded while Cryptograms was being mixed ; their sound has been described as "tightly song-focused, not as drifting or dreamy" as Cryptograms . Cox had considered including these tracks on

88-412: A dynamic, organic listening experience." David Coleman of No Ripcord called the EP "a less thrilling ride than Cryptograms ," and that while "There are plenty of good ideas, not to mention a great guitar sound...the band chooses to wrap it up early rather than kick back and explore these [ideas] further." All songs written by Bradford Cox, except where noted. Cryptograms (album) Cryptograms

132-598: A list of the fifty best albums of 2007. Pitchfork staff writer Marc Hogan wrote that Cryptograms "is alternately murky...ethereal, amorphous and incisive", calling the second half of the album "vastly more accessible" than the first. Mike Diver of Drowned in Sound found the album's two halves "absolutely coherent; the sequencing allows the listener space to breathe at the most opportune moments, and its leaps from ambiance into adrenaline-soaked enthusiasm...are worthy of celebration." Tiny Mix Tapes ' s Paul Haney enjoyed

176-419: A month, each installment sees a writer collecting ten brand new tracks they want to shed light on and mix it as a continuous stream or download. The tracks are posted for stream or download in a single continuous file with a unique name. Currently, Chocolate Grinder remains a staple of Tiny Mix Tapes ' daily media content, which includes videos, music streams, Internet premieres, interactive websites, and

220-536: A section devoted to it. This section also includes features on filmmakers and other numerous subjects within the medium. The Automatic Mix Tape Generator, or AMG, was created to offer two-way communication with the website. Started in 2002, readers may submit a title or the theme for a mixtape , and a group of volunteers (called the "Mix Robots") will compile a track list. Due to the large volume of requests as well as request redundancy, not all requests are filled. The "Mix Robots" produce and submit track lists fulfilling

264-765: A track remixed for its release on Deerhunter 7" , a split album recorded for Rob's House Records . The remix was done by band member Josh Fauver. "Kousin Klash" and "So Many Bodies" served as the framework for tracks on Fluorescent Grey . Cox recorded "So Many Bodies" after experiencing a panic attack induced by a photograph he saw in The New York Times , showing an Iraqi girl hunched over her dead mother's corpse. "I started thinking about bodies and rotting and brutal violent human stuff, wars, all this terrible stuff from history…and literally hid under my sheets, sweating. I made this tape later that night." "Axis I (F.Grey)"

308-413: Is "about waking up one day after a long period of depression and finding the world somehow more bearable and kind of ‘new’ and exciting again." The fourth and final song on Fluorescent Grey , "Wash Off," describes Cox's encounters with an "uppity hippie kid" who sold him counterfeit acid as a teenager, insisting that Cox was not open-minded enough for the drug to affect him. As the song ends, Cox repeats

352-406: Is "not the punk attitude" characteristic of Turn It Up Faggot . While Cox does not consider Cryptograms a "reaction" to its predecessor, he noted in an interview with Stylus Magazine that the group's new record "developed out of different circumstances, altogether." Deerhunter's two recording sessions produced two halves of the album with distinct musical styles. The first half of the album

396-470: Is a track originally released on Atlas Sound/Mexcellent Split in 2007. "People Never No" is a sketch that later developed into the song "Fluorescent Grey"; in recording the song, Cox was inspired by the bands The Breeders and The Fall , and "obsessed with having two drum tracks on everything". Fluorescent Grey was given a score of 8.8/10 by Pitchfork Media , as well as the publication's "Best New Music" accolade. Pitchfork writer Marc Hogan considered

440-450: Is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as a podcast and its mixtape generator. Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and hosted on GeoCities , the webzine moved to its current domain in 2001. Tiny Mix Tapes is a featured reviewer on Metacritic . The writing staff

484-647: Is composed of volunteers who often use pen names (such as "Wolfman," "Mango Starr," "Chizzly St. Claw," and "Filmore Mescalito Holmes"). Some contributors, like Rebecca Armendariz and Alex Brown, go by their real names. Its cofounder and editor-in-chief is Minneapolis -resident Marvin Lin (who writes as "Mr. P"). The music reviews, features, news, film, comics, and the "DeLorean", "Cerberus", and "Automatic Mix Tapes" columns are edited by "Jay," "Gumshoe," "Dan Smart," Benjamin Pearson, "Keith Kawaii," "JSpicer," "Trillian," and "Pliny

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528-507: Is more ambient in style and includes four ambient instrumental tracks. With the song "Providence", the band aimed to create a feeling of solitude. The idea for the song came about when, while in Providence , Rhode Island during a 2005 tour, Cox had an argument with other members of the band. Having left his bandmates to cool off, Cox "walked around Providence at dusk" feeling "totally alone", while admiring his "meditative" surroundings. In

572-412: Is significant to the writer. Similarly, "Eureka" consists of reviews highlighted by the site as particularly noteworthy or exciting. There is also a features section devoted to interviews, articles, festival reviews, as well as a "Live Blog," in which writers review live music shows. In 2009, Tiny Mix Tapes added a "columns" section. As of 2008, Tiny Mix Tapes started reviewing films and now has

616-521: Is the second album from Atlanta, Georgia -based indie rock group Deerhunter , released through Kranky on January 29, 2007 on CD and vinyl . Following the 2005 release of its first full-length album Turn It Up Faggot , Deerhunter began recording material for its next record at Rare Book Room studio in New York. This initial recording session failed, due to the physical and mental state of lead singer Bradford Cox , as well as malfunctioning equipment in

660-478: The "psych-crazed pop" found in the second half of Cryptograms , citing "Spring Hall Convert", "Heatherwood", and "Strange Lights" as exemplary tracks. Nick Sylvester of The Boston Phoenix considered the first half of the album to be irregular in style and quality, but found that this gave the transition between its two halves "a black-and-white-to-Technicolor moment (or TV to HDTV, if you prefer): "Spring Hall Convert" combines Deerhunter's come-up and come-down into

704-466: The Deerhunter blog. Following the failed session Deerhunter returned to Atlanta. The group became acquainted with punk band Liars , who encouraged them to give recording a second try. For their second attempt, Deerhunter returned to the same rural Georgia studio in which they had recorded their debut album Turn It Up Faggot . This time successful, the album was recorded in two parts: the first half

748-519: The EP "clearer and less abrasive than Cryptograms musically," and "a triumphant document of a stubbornly visionary young band with the world still spread out before them." Mike Diver of Drowned In Sound called Fluorescent Grey Deerhunter "at their most relaxed". He found the EP's musical style to be a "delightful deviation" from Cryptograms , as it gives listeners an opportunity to step "back from all things fiery and furious" characterized by that album. PopMatters music critic Josh Berquist wrote of

792-420: The EP's opening track, pointing out the contrast of Cox's "lucid reflection on loss…[and] the morbid imagery of bodies in decay" sung "over an incongruously bright and chiming rhythm", which he found made "such beautiful invitations to bloody eviscerations unnervingly captivating." Jeff Klingman of Prefix Magazine considered the final track of Fluorescent Grey , "Wash Off", to be the only song which "channel[s]

836-498: The Elder," respectively. They have been cited by The Guardian , among other publications. On January 6, 2020, Tiny Mix Tapes announced it was taking a "much-needed hiatus". Tiny Mix Tapes offers news, music reviews, movie reviews, and columns. The "DeLorean" section reviews music released before Tiny Mix Tapes began that may no longer be popular, albums that the writer believes are "classic" or influential, or older music that

880-425: The aggression that peppers Cryptograms ' first half." Klingman found Cox to be preoccupied with his past within this song's lyrics, "suggesting an unhealthy disconnect above and beyond wistful remembrance." In his review for Tiny Mix Tapes , writer Chris Ruen said that Fluorescent Grey "is a bit rushed" in terms of structure, which he feels "detracts from one of Deerhunter’s particular strengths: constructing

924-443: The album's pop tracks to sound "really weird […] I always thought I would go back and redo them, but we never did." Cryptograms was followed four months later by a four-track extended play , Fluorescent Grey , which was recorded while Cryptograms was being mixed. Cox indicated that each new track was worthy of being a single; one music critic characterized the EP as being less "dreamy" than Cryptograms . When Cryptograms

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968-428: The band to make a music video for "Lake Somerset", Cox told Sumner he "wanted a video of a turtle eating a piece of pizza." Several days later, Sumner posted his video to YouTube ; it consists of a man in a turtle suit eating pizza for four straight minutes. Cox has said that the band's greatest achievement with Cryptograms was "evoking a feeling of someone who's woken up after being strung out one too many nights…It's

1012-432: The feeling of being lovesick and very spaced-out." Cryptograms received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Pitchfork awarded the album the publication's "Best New Music" accolade, and later placed it fourteenth on

1056-403: The hallway". He described himself feeling as close to them as if they were his sisters. The same day he recorded "Spring Hall Convert" on a karaoke machine ; Cox wanted the song to reflect the "acid trip" he experienced seeing his friends in this light. He calls the song's drum track characteristic of his "stonedness" at the time, adding that " Hydrocodone was [also] a factor." The lyrics of

1100-491: The instrumental track "Red Ink", Cox and drummer Moses Archuleta worked to create an atmosphere in which the listener is dreaming he or she is dead and the experience of death feels like reality. The second part of the album, which begins with "Spring Hall Convert", contains more elements of psychedelic and pop music . In an interview with L.A. Record , Archuleta remarked that the band often received letters from fans who had listened to their music while stoned . He noted

1144-551: The like. In April 2009, the site began selling a benefit compilation CD / LP to benefit the victims of the War in Darfur . It featured 11 exclusive songs. On March 30, 2007, Tiny Mix Tapes announced it was hosting a festival in Minnesota . At this festival, long-since dissolved indie band Neutral Milk Hotel were billed to be "reuniting all over your Cheerios " as the headlining act. Amidst

1188-535: The most uplifting rock song I've heard in a while, an explosion of gritty Velvet downstrums and swirling vocal harmonies." The first half of Cryptograms was called "the problem child" by Kevin Elliott of Stylus Magazine , characterizing this child as having been "medicated at a young age to subdue constant anxiety and the fear of death, overly mired in thoughts of regret and anguish, overwhelmed with ideas and insight." Mike Schiller of PopMatters found that because

1232-497: The negative connotations that come with being called a "psychedelic" band, and considered the group to be "pretty clean…[and] sober" in contrast, adding, "That’s funny that that’s people’s idea of what we’re into." "Spring Hall Convert" originates from a demo Cox first recorded in October 1998 when he was sixteen. On the Deerhunter blog, Cox wrote of two girls he knew from his school as one day being "bathed in this golden spring light in

1276-423: The next Deerhunter record instead of releasing them on their own. However, he wanted the band's next album to be "something totally different" from Cryptograms and Fluorescent Grey . As with Cryptograms , Cox did not write the lyrics to the band's music in advance, instead singing stream-of-consciousness . The lyrics of Fluorescent Grey carry themes of death and the decomposition of the human body. Cox used

1320-437: The phrase "I was sixteen". In January 2008, Cox released a collection of nine tracks entitled Fluorescent Grey Demos & Out-takes as a free download on the Deerhunter blog . The release includes early demos of tracks from Fluorescent Grey as well as other unreleased material. The first three tracks, "Fluorescent Grey," "Dr. Glass," and "Like New," were recorded over one afternoon, created in an attempt "to better refine

1364-464: The provocative and the esoteric", the band often "overreach[es] and end[s] up hitting something much more ordinary, predictably "experimental"…in a genre that's supposed to be anything but." Dom Sinacola of Cokemachineglow stated that all of Cryptograms "sounds, as a whole, too coherently cold", the tracks "Providence" and "Heatherwood" being exceptions. The album placed high on lists of the best albums of 2007 of several publications, earning spots in

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1408-516: The request as they interpret it. Mixtape track lists are then available on the website. Most of the songs on the mix tapes come from indie or underground bands/musicians. In 2008, Trillian, the AMG editor, was on Talk of the Nation talk radio program to discuss Valentine's Day mixes. At the beginning of 2009, Tiny Mix Tapes began a feature podcast called Chocolate Grinder . Published approximately twice

1452-514: The second half of Cryptograms "fixate[s] on examples of Deerhunter's songcraft, which is actually somewhat average", the use of delay effects "mask[s] whatever deficiencies in musicianship Deerhunter might choose to hide". He believes the potential seen in the first half of the album is lost in the second. AllMusic writer Marisa Brown felt the band's ambient music is used to the extent that it becomes "commonplace, despite its avant-garde leanings." The writer found that when Deerhunter "aims for

1496-462: The songs" for their eventual release. Cox wrote on the Deerhunter blog that he "especially like[s]" this early version of "Dr. Glass," as he feels the band did not adequately capture "the atmosphere and creepiness" he desired for the song's final incarnation. The fourth track is a version of "Wash Off" recorded by Cox alone in December 2003. "Greyscale," recorded February 2006, is the original version of

1540-560: The studio. The band returned to Atlanta, only giving recording a second try after encouragement from members of the band Liars . The final version of Cryptograms was recorded in two separate day-long sessions, months apart, resulting in two musically distinct parts—the first includes more ambient music while the second contains more pop music elements. Cox sang most of the record's lyrics in a stream-of-consciousness manner; they include themes of death, companionship, and Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder Marfan syndrome . Cryptograms

1584-403: The term "Fluorescent Grey"—also the title of the EP's opening track—to describe the color of decaying flesh. He has described the lyrics of the song as being "about panic attacks, lust, and existential dread." "Dr. Glass", in which Cox sings of "so many useless bodies…in the world", is characterized as "more existential dread on a global scale". Cox has said that the EP's third track, "Like New,"

1628-493: The time. The group was also working with malfunctioning equipment, including an out-of-tune piano and an uncalibrated tape recorder . Cox later described the results of these sessions as sounding like "if you listen to Loveless on mushrooms , and I mean that in not a complimentary way". In an interview with Pitchfork , Cox said that the music was "on a scratched CD-R under my bed", which "nobody will ever hear". These tracks were later made available, in mixtape form, on

1672-722: The top twenty with Tiny Mix Tapes , The Boston Phoenix and Drowned in Sound . An article by Pitchfork gave musicians the opportunity to publicize their favorite records from 2007. Cryptograms received praise from Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear , ranking the album as his third favorite of 2007. Klaxons 's James Righton and Black Lips 's Cole Alexander placed the album on their own top tens as well. Music written by Moses Archuleta, Bradford Cox , Josh Fauver, Colin Mee and Lockett Pundt , except where noted. Lyrics by Bradford Cox. Deerhunter Production Tiny Mix Tapes Tiny Mix Tapes (also TMT or tinymixtapes )

1716-406: The track reflect Cox's experiences with his genetic disorder Marfan syndrome . As a teenager he underwent "extensive" surgeries for his chest, ribs, and back. The lyrics reflect the experience of someone moving in and out of consciousness during chemotherapy , while missing their friends and memories of a normal life. The original lyrics of the song written in 1998 were not changed when the track

1760-417: Was generally well received by critics, and several publications placed the album on their lists of the top albums of 2007. Deerhunter first attempted to record their second album in 2005 with folk musician Samara Lubelski at Rare Book Room studios in New York. This recording session failed, due in part to the physical and mental state of lead singer Bradford Cox, who had influenza and walking pneumonia at

1804-573: Was re-recorded for Cryptograms . In "Octet", Cox sings "I was the corpse that spiraled out into phantom hallways". The imagery of this song was inspired by the cover art of the Grove paperback edition of the Dennis Cooper novel Closer . In the album’s closing track, "Heatherwood", Cox tells of the house he was born in, where he believes he will return to die. "Strange Lights" is a song about "companionship, and facing uncertainty with someone". The song

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1848-456: Was recorded over one day-long session, completely filling the reel of tape the band had brought with them. The last song of this recording session, "Red Ink", ends with the tape spinning off the reel. The second half, recorded months later over a single day in November, begins with the song "Spring Hall Convert". During this recording session Cox had the flu, and his congestion caused his voice on

1892-474: Was released on vinyl as a double album, the Fluorescent Grey tracks took up the fourth side. Cryptograms is more "subdued and introverted" musically, according to Cox, than Deerhunter's first release Turn It Up Faggot . Cox has shown disdain for that record in interviews, saying it "sounds like 2002—angry, post-hardcore dance punk. We were really young and angry." In contrast, Deerhunter's new album

1936-474: Was written by guitarist Lockett Pundt , and is based on a dream he had in which himself, Cox, and a third person "walked into the sun together, knowing it was going to kill us", as described by Cox. The idea for the song "Lake Somerset" came from a trip Cox took to the zoo while hung over , during which he saw a turtle eating carrots. "It was cool and adorable…It had this cute neck and was very small. It chewed slowly." When video producer James Sumner approached

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