Books on Tape is a one-man electronic and rock act from Los Angeles, California. With Matt Dennebaum, he formed the duo Subverse, whose sole, self-released cassette Nobody Likes You (1998). The band split shortly afterwards as their members moved to opposite coasts: Matt went to New York City, and Todd to Los Angeles.
Drootin started Books on Tape in 1999, dubbing its punk rock-influenced electronica "beatpunk", and released home recordings and demos for the first few years of the project's existence.[1] The full-length Throw Down Your Laptops, issued on the label Deathbomb Arc in 2002, was the first release of Drootin's to have substantial distribution, and it was the first of a series of albums that followed in quick succession. These include Books on Tape Sings the Blues, released on Greyday Productions in 2003;[2] The Business End, an EP issued in 2004, also on Greyday;[3] and Dinosaur Dinosaur, which appeared on Alien8 Recordings in 2005.[4] After the 2006 compilation Who Shot Ya?, Books on Tape went on hiatus until 2011, when the Still Ride EP followed; another full-length, Retired Numbers, arrived in 2012.[1]