Below the Radio

Below the Radio
Mixtape by
Grandaddy
Released2004
GenreIndie rock
LabelUltra
Grandaddy chronology
Sumday
(2003) 		Below the Radio
(2004) 		Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla
(2005)

Below the Radio is a mixtape put together by Jason Lytle of American indie rock band Grandaddy, released in 2004 by record label Ultra. The album also included a new Grandaddy track, "Nature Anthem".

Background

Ultra Records had approached Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle via his management some time earlier with the idea for him to compile a mixtape, and he decided to include tracks that he considered "sleeper hits", identifying a common theme: "They all seem to have pretty conventional and familiar chord progressions. They all have vivid imagery for me with their words. There also seems to be a bit of sadness, but not necessarily despair."[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Pitchfork7.3/10[3]

AllMusic's Matt Collar stated the album "plays like a K-Tel commercial for Gen X sad-sackism", calling it "pretty cool".[2] Brian Howe of Pitchfork wrote "for the most part, the songs [Lytle] selected sound quite a bit like his own band. Lush yet sleek and slightly sterile is the dominant style of Below the Radio".[3]

Track listing

  1. Beck – "We Live Again"
  2. Beulah – "Burned by the Sun"
  3. Earlimart – "Color Bars"
  4. Snow Patrol – "Run"
  5. Goldenboy – "Wild Was The Night"
  6. Giant Sand – "Bottom Line Man"
  7. Fruit Bats – "The Little Acorn"
  8. Home – "Comin' Up Empty Again"
  9. Jackpot – "If We Could Go Backwards"
  10. The Handsome Family – "I Fell"
  11. Little Wings – "Sand Canyon"
  12. Pavement – "Motion Suggests"
  13. Blonde Redhead – "For the Damaged"
  14. Virgil Shaw – "Twisted Layer"
  15. Grandaddy – "Nature Anthem"

References

  1. ^ "Jason Lytle Made You a Mixtape: Grandaddy | Prefix". Prefix. January 1, 2002. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "Artist's Choice: Below the Radio – Grandaddy | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Howe, Brian (November 1, 2004). "Grandaddy: Below the Radio | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 12, 2014.