20 Nights of Wine and Song [album]
 

“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter — there's a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do.” –High Fidelity

Mixtapes have been described as the oldest American artform. Dating back to the mid 60s, mixtapes have dominated American culture as not only the cheesiest way to let a girl know how you feel about her, but the most popular way to share music. This is pre-peer to peer. With the advent of the internet and file sharing, the art of the mixtape seems to be dying. We have instead exchanged them for haphazard collections of mediocre singles on CD. This is not always true, as I have been known to make a pretty killer mixcd, but I would say for the most part, they are rare.

What’s even more rare is a label compilation being released that captures the old school mixtape feel. What makes a good mixtape? Well that can be debated, but one thing can be agreed upon across the board- you don’t know what’s next, but you can’t wait to hear it. It must flow well, avoid being boring, and include the unexpected. The strength of a mixtape is greater than its songs.

Greyday Productions has recently released the compilation 20 Nights of Wine and Song, arguably the best mass produced mixtape of 2005. I almost wish they had only released this on cassette with a crappy homemade cover, if for no other reason then to send me reeling back to the early days of my music appreciation when everything still impressed me. The concept for the mixtape (which is what I will call it for the remainder of this review) is a celebration of more than 3 years of music coming out of Portland, OR. It’s full of exclusive tracks from 14 of the artists represented by Greyday. It’s hard to think of these artists as ‘local bands’ because they have each been successful in their own right on a much larger scale. While some are most likely better known in the Northwest region, there are names on this mixtape which will be familiar to any fan of their respective genres.

Greyday gracefully treks through the Portland area by way of indie electronic, indie pop, Americana, alt-country and rock tapping into the talents of their finest. 20 Nights elevates the subconscious link that binds these artists together, giving their order a natural flow and comfortable feel and making the mixtape utterly brilliant. Although mixtapes should be viewed as one cohesive piece of work, rather than individual tracks, I couldn’t help but scribble down notes for the tracks from Piney Gir, The Empty, Leaving Rogue, Mayday, Gone Done Wrong and Books on Tape, since they will most likely make it to MY next mixtape. Actually, I can see each of these songs making it to a mix of mine in the future; they are each very good. I was very pleasantly surprised by this release and strongly recommend it to anyone who can appreciate the excitement and insight an unknown mixtape provides.

Track Listing:
1. Minmae- Box of Cassettes
2. John Larsen- Drift
3. LKN- Winter’s Web
4. Books on Tape- Slinky Slur
5. Piney Gir- Hello Chanel
6. Consafos- Take Me Home
7. Leaving Rogue- Any Color You Want
8. The Old Ground- Somewhere Between Here and There
9. The Empty- Drawing A Blank and Framing It (Dance Mix)
10. Mayday- Kinky Rag
11. Bronwyn- Two Hearts In The Night
12. DeLorax- No Questions
13. Gone Done Wrong- 1974
14. Pablo’s Triangle- God Lets Us Know



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