''The Last Mixed Tape'' is an Irish-based daily

music blog An MP3 blog is a type of blog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for download. They are also known as musicblogs, audioblogs or soundblogs (the latter two can also mean podcasts). MP3 blogs have become ...

founded in February 2014 by critic and journalist Stephen White. The site is composed of reviews, interviews, and news features all written by White, specifically about the Dublin music scene. Although the site is listed as a blog, White has on several occasions distanced himself from the term, preferring to be called a "critic". The website promotes and critiques the artists coming out of Ireland's independent scene, spanning several genres including

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

noise pop Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock that developed in the mid-1980s in the United Kingdom and United States. It is defined by its mixture of dissonant noise or feedback with the songcraft more often found in pop music. Shoegazi ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

Writing style and criticism

Although White champions Irish indie music, he has been known to be harder on pop acts coming out of the country resulting in a controversial rant about Irish act

Kodaline Kodaline () are an Irish rock band. Originally known as 21 Demands, the band adopted their current name in 2012 to coincide with the changing of their music. The group comprises Steve Garrigan, Mark Prendergast, Vincent May and Jason Boland. Ga ...

in which he likened them to "vanilla ice-cream". This has continued to earn the Last Mixed Tape a controversial reputation within the Irish music scene with White's reviews of

The Coronas The Coronas are an Irish rock band that originated in Dublin. They release their music by their own independent record label, 3ú Records, and are based between Dublin and London. They have released seven studio albums, '' Heroes or Ghosts'' ...

album 'Trust The Wire' and

The Strypes The Strypes were a four-piece rock band from Cavan, Ireland, formed in 2010 consisting of Ross Farrelly (lead vocals/harmonica), Josh McClorey (lead guitar/vocals), Peter O'Hanlon (bass guitar/harmonica) and Evan Walsh (drums). The band played ...

album 'Spitting Image' being seen as unfair. The Last Mixed Tape continued to earn a negative reputation following a review of the Script's

Freedom Child ''Freedom Child'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band The Script. It was released via Columbia Records and Sony Music on 1 September 2017. Background Speaking about how pop music has turned out since The Script went on a hiatus after ...

album, which was described as "toxic" and left "a bad taste".

Awards and nominations

Since its first year ''the Last Mixed Tape'' was nominated for six music blogging awards, the Blog Awards Ireland in 2014, 2015, 2016 & 2018 and at the Web Awards Ireland in 2014, 2015 & 2016, losing out on all occasions.

Appearances and events

''The Last Mixed Tape'' has also taken part in several events and charity shows around Dublin. Stephen White has appeared on several panel discussions representing the blog, including multiple appearances at ''Vinyl & Wine'' and an appearance at the ''State.ie of the Nation Address''. In May 2015 Stephen appeared as part of a discussion panel at Life Festival, speaking about

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

and his debut album ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Re ...

''. White also guested as a host on weekly radio show ''the Co-Present'' alongside Fight Like Apes singer MayKay. In September 2014 White along with several promoters from the Dublin area ran a charity night for the Irish Red Cross to raise funds for their appeal to help victims of the

2014 Israel-Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that h ...

. The night was headlined by local rock 'n' roll band

the Minutes ''The Minutes'' are a three-piece rock band from Dublin, Ireland consisting of Mark Austin, Tom Cosgrave & Shane Kinsella. Début album '' Marcata'' was released on 20 May 2011 in Ireland. History (2006 - present) The Minutes were formed in 2 ...

. In May 2015, the Last Mixed Tape took part in an event at

Whelan's (music venue) Whelan's is a pub and music venue in Dublin, Ireland. Profile Numerous international artists have played at the venue, including Jeff Buckley, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Kate Nash, Townes Van Zandt, Damien Rice and Allen Toussaint. The pub was ...

to raise funds for the Yes Equality campaign during the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015. This was followed by another charity gig in September 2015 in aid of Irish Red Cross Migration appeal during the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...

. In 2019 Stephen was announced as one of the judges for the

Choice Music Prize The Choice Music Prize (), known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to the best album from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish pa ...

Album of the Year 2018.

Podcast

In 2015 ''the Last Mixed Tape'' began a weekly music review

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

. The show is uploaded every Friday morning and features White reviewing Irish indie albums and singles and is hosted by local Irish DJ Kate Brennan-Harding who is a producer for the Irish national and independent radio station, Today FM. Sara Lovic took over as co-host from January 2018 to present.

References

External links

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