Miou Miou - Avant Le Voyage

Hey you guys,

Here is a track I had a little trouble finding after I initially heard it. I knew the band name, but couldn't locate the right song title. But after some research I finally got it for you guys. It's a little harder than normal since I don't speak a more than two words of French. Mostly consists of an ignorant French laugh and Pepe Le Pu (sp?). I don't even know how to spell that name. Sad. But yet still good times, because that skunk gave me quite a few laughs back in the day.

There's an electronic feel to this song in the beginning, but that quickly changes with what I believe to be some sort of flute instrument. I could be wrong, but it seems to be some sort of wind instrument. It is paired nicely with guitar, and guitar can be heard more clearly when the verse starts.

The words are so crisp and light. It's like tip-toeing while singing. I picture walking on water almost, so light. And don't forget the nice little bicycle ring that comes every once in awhile. It's a nice touch.

I couldn't find the track online anywhere so click here. This track won't be on the mix tape player but you can find it by clicking the link. To read the post, just right click and open it a new window or tab.

If you guys are looking for an awesome magazine, try Paste. They send a mix cd (hey! like me!) with EVERY issue. Every once in awhile they let you name your own price, I got my subscription for only $1. Pretty sweet. Check it out.

Miou Miou has another single with a video. Although Avant Le Voyage is my favorite, this is still another quality track. The single is called A l'ete de la Saint Martin '68. The video is up there to the left if you want to check it out. I will also add it to the mix tape player above.

That's all for now!

Rocket Summer -Break It Out

I've been a Rocket Summer fan for a good while now, but I was blown away when I finally got my hands on a copy of his latest album. I say his, and not their because he recorded every instrument on the entire record. Well at least guitars, bass, percussion, synth, organ, wurutzer and harmonica.

I'm not sure if you read that correctly. Bryce Avary or the guy from Rocket Summer, recorded himself on practically every instrument you hear on the entire record. That's seriously so intense. I try to play one or two instruments on a mediocre level, and he can play play 7 with recording quality. I listened to The Rocket Summer's newest album Do You Feel for the past 4-5 days straight. No NPR (National Public Radio, I know I'm a dweeb), No other cds, radio or MP3s. Just this record.

This song, is the first song on the album. And it starts off with a bang. This is the obvious first single of the record because of its radio friendly-ness and the amount of energy associated with this song. If you don't tap your foot or jump a little bit on the inside, then....LOOSEN UP. I know this isn't super indie, but its quality.

If you listen to the Rocket Summer's previous albums you will find not only a very young and small boy, but a very delicate voice. He's always had catchy songs, but if anything the voice was kind of iffy. Well the years of singing have solved that problem and his highs and lows are stronger than before.

I've added a couple of songs to the mixtape player above, so feel free to check out these three songs off his new album.

1) Break It Out
2) Do you Feel
3) All I have

Also check out the Do You Feel Video to the left. Later Gator!

Pop Levi - Dita Dimone

Hey Everybody,

So after Janelle Monae and Jamie Lidell, I decided that I needed to post with a different vibe. Ad much as I dig that music, I can't leave other listeners hanging. So here is an eclectic track from Pop Levi.

He hails from Britain, and his sound is definitely unique yet still friendly enough to become a jam. He is a filmmaker and a kimono wearer. Kind of awkward, but I guess it comes with the territory.




Looking pretty sweet there eh?

He brings enough funk through his electonica sound, that it works. The bass/synth line and guitar riff is just enough to give it a nice funk element. The electronic sounding drums fit the song, even though I'm usually a strong advocate for the real set.

Pop Levi repeats most of lyrics multiple times, but it's okay because he keeps driving the song with his different elements. The hand clapping is also a nice change during the middle of the song.

Well there is probably only one Dita Dimone out there, and I'm pretty sure that she knows this song is specifically about her. I mean this song didn't shout out to a common girl named Jessica. She got her first and last name over and over during the chorus and verses. If I ever meet a girl named Dita, I'm going to be about 85% sure that this song was about her.

So I just facebooked Dita, expecting to find one Dita. And the world should know there are hundreds of Ditas. Didn't expect that. And what do you know I found Dita Dimone, and added her as a friend. Take that Pop Levi.

Jamie Lidell - Little Bit of Feel Good

Hey everybody,

In an earlier post I blogged about an artist named Janelle Monae.
When I looked her up I saw that she was performing with this guy,
except he was the headliner. I thought to myself okay, she's
really good so that makes the headliner have to just as good
right?

Well to be honest I was not disappointed. Jamie Lidell has the
same feel as Monae, good pop vibes but can still relate to the
good old school sounds. The guitar on this track really reminds
me of a James Brown hook.

This song also brings a lot of different sounds. If you listen
closely you can hear the 'Oooohhh' from the back up singers.
Again, sometimes its just the simple things that help bring a
full sound to the table. I imagine three back up singers in
the studio all surrounding one microphone hanging from
overhead..."Oooohhh."During the chorus the horn section comes
first circle and adds that extra dimension that you wouldn't
notice until it's there. And once you hear that, you wouldn't
want the chorus without that horn section.



Jamie Lidell and Janelle Monae are playing together at the
Avalon in Hollywood on September 29th, and if anyone is
interested in going please email me at gkutnick@gmail.com.

Hope you like this track.

Check out his myspace page and his official website. His
video is streaming to the left of this post.

Cheers!

Bon Iver - Skinny Love

Hey you guys,

A couple posts ago, I said I hit the gold mine and bought two full albums. This happened to be the other half of the gold mine that I hit.

Perfect for any drive home from anywhere, this is what I call journey music. When the chatter in the car has faded, cruise control is being utilized, and you don't know exactly where you are but you know you don't want to stop. One of your friends is probably falling asleep in the back, but for those awake enough to realize the greatness of this track, they will.

Bon Iver has been through the band scene, but retreated back to his home in Wisconsin. He didn't go home to make a record, but I'm glad he did since he made a near perfect album. He doesn't need more than his rich voice and the right sounding guitar for me to completely envious of his talent.

Come on skinny love just last the year.
Pour a little salt we were never here.

His real name is Justin Vernon. Bon Hiver is a french phrase meaning 'good winter.' The falling of snow next to a remote mountainous tree line is a perfect visual for this song, for this album. This song won't elate you to the highest highs or pump you up before the game. But it might show you a thing or two about who you are just because it gives you that sense of thought that sense of clarity that we all need every once in awhile.

There's a feeling after the song, like a deep sigh, that was good. And then I hit the left arrow button to replay the track.

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind

This song won't go away. Because you will always have a mood or a day that feels exactly like this. And you will want this to be your soundtrack.

Geoff

Akon seeks jury trial for throwing fan off stage

So I've added a few more things to make this blog better and fully comprehensive. The priority will still be to add important tracks for my next mix, but I thought I would share some music news/trends etc also when I'm busy looking for more music. Finding music, at least the way I do it, can be a long and enduring process. But trust me, I'm scrounging over the internet, magazines, other blogs, to bring the best to light.

I've also added a music player via myflashfetish.com Almost all the tracks are available on this music player, and you're able to play/pause/move to the next track at your discretion. I will still post videos when available, but for a lot of good music there aren't any videos. So hopefully there will be audio for all the songs available. When it is, it will be added to this player.

Also notice that the titles for all my blog entries are links to either a myspace, source of news or related content.

--

AKON SEEKS JURY TRIAL

Last summer while Akon was on tour apparently a minor climbed on the stage where Akon was performing. Little did the minor know that he would be thrown off stage by the famous artist back into the crowd. Akon is pleading not guilty to the charges, but it seems this famous star just might be 'Locked Up,' ironic of one of his first hits. Another female concert goer said she suffered a concussion when the boy landed on her. Watch the video above.

Janelle Monae - Sincerely Jane

Hey you guys sorry for the delay,

I feel like I've really hit the gold mine this past week in regards to finding music. With there being so much good music out there, when I usually here a song I like I'll buy that song, but not the whole album just because I can't afford to buy every album for every single artist I like. But this past week, I bought two whole albums just because I was blown away by the quality of music and the uniqueness of sound. My feeling is that these two artists will blow up in the near future.

One of these artists you need to hear is Janelle Monae. I can't even place her in a genre without using slash marks. Her sound is like R&B/Funk/Oldies with a twist of hip hop elements. This does make sense since her album was/is being produced by Big Boi from Outkast. Outkast still has one of the more unique sounds of an artist that truly blew up. The sound of the old school does come through with shining colors. Using a full orchestra for this track, the 'little things' really stand out. For example the bass line uses a tuba instead of a bass guitar. On the final hook of the chorus, the strings of the orchestra add a little kick in the pants only to be taken away at the start of the next verse. But that's okay, the tease makes you want more.

Diddy has been quoted saying that the signing of the artist will change the industry. That's pretty intense, but I definitely agree. She's got the label, the talent, and live presence to truly make a lot of noise. Just remember you heard it here first at the mixtape17 blog. And if you heard this before reading this blog, you're lying.

If you like the music, please spread the word about the artist and the blog.

Monae's 7 track EP is definitely worth buying. Check out these others songs.

Violet Stars Happy Hunting
Mr. President
Many Moons

Comment on this posting please.