One of the painfully obvious disadvantages of buying music digitally is the lack of liner notes. So it was only recently that I learned that Tim Fite sampled two Trunk Federation songs for his fantastic 2005 release Gone Ain’t Gone. In fact, Fite used samples only from albums he salvaged from the dollar bins.

As fate (Fite?) would have it, Trunk Federation got its start in the 1990s in Tempe, Ariz., which always seemed on the cusp of breaking out in the 90s as The Next Big City. Never quite worked out that way, but Trunk Federation gained a bit of cult following with three full-lengths: The Infamous Hamburger Tranfer (1997); The Curse of Miss Kitty (1998); and Lay the Hip (2000).
The band faded into oblivion (and, apparently, the dollar bin) after problems with their record label Alias, internal issues and substance abuse. (Phoenix New Times article here.)

Trunk Federation never quite fit the conservative pop sounds coming out of Arizona at the time (think Gin Blossoms, Refreshments); its style was a little quirkier, which seems to lend itself to Fite’s cut-and-paste experimenting. I just wonder if he heard of Trunk Federation prior to finding The Curse of Miss Kitty in the dollar bin.

Regardless, below are the two songs Fite used (quite liberally in the case of Levitations and Disappearances) and his interpretations of them for Gone Ain’t Gone. (For those in Arizona, Fite will be in Tucson on Feb. 26 at Plush.)

Trunk Federation | Apples
Tim Fite | A Little Bit

Trunk Federation | Levitations and Disappearances
Tim Fite | Forty-Five Remedies

Also …

This was Post No. 200 since starting last July. We’ve come a long way, and I truly appreciate the readers and other bloggers who have encouraged and linked me. Leave your questions, concerns, congratulations or criticisms in the comments below.

On a personal note … when I started, I couldn’t have made it without the generous linking of others, and I’m trying to return the favor and give back what I can. A few of the big guns out there (Gorilla vs. Bear and My Old Kentucky Blog, specifically) couldn’t have been nicer and more supportive. On the flip side, some of the arrogant and holier-than-thou attitudes of a few sites (which shall remain nameless) really grate my nerves. Nobody is cooler or better than the next. I’ll leave it at that, without getting into specifics.

I encourage you to visit any and all sites on my roll, and here are a few new (or new to me) blogs that have been added to the roll or will be in the near future:

• My Ex Best Friend
• Shannon’s Arty Arty
• Come Pick Me Up
• Between Thought and Expression
• Analog Giant

One more note: Thanks to my wife for allowing me to obsess over this blog, come to bed late and for giving me the knowledge to know that I’ll always have at least one reader.