William Elliot Whitmore - Who Stole the Soul

First of all. What a great name. Probably a little to long to become a movie star, but for music and especially blues it is just perfect.

If you guys haven't heard of Paste Magazine, go get it. It's my favorite music publication by far, leagues ahead of other stuff. Maybe it's just my taste, but they have been giving me new music for years now.

The VIP section of PasteMagazine.com gave me access to Whitmore's - Who stole the soul. At first his album reminded me of Broussard, but I think in this song he takes it to another level. True blues. It's like if Bon Iver and Marc Broussard got together in a log cabin by the river. That actually would be awesome, and I would pay mucho dollars to be there.

I know i've been absent, it's been hard with work, school, and a charity three on three tournament. But stay faithful, I will keep listening to music.

James Morrison - One Last Chance

Hey everybody,

Sorry it's been a minute since I've blogged yet again. I'm actually on the search for anyone with similar music tastes to help contribute to the blog, that way in case I get bogged down (like recently) I can still keep this thing up to date. So send me an email at GKutnick@gmail.com if you're interested.

Back to the music. So I found this really great site entitled yourmusic.com. Not only do they have some great CDs for $6.99, you can create a queue. So since I can't always buy albums (even for 6.99) I get one sent to me once a month. And it's nice because it's like a present every month, of music that I pick. Check it out.

So yesterday I opened my package from yourmusic.com and it was James Morrison's Undiscovered album. I think I was introduced to his music, like a lot of people, because he made it to the mainstream radio. And while I like to feature 'indie' artists, there is a reason he was worldwide success, and why John Mayer goes to see him live.

Morrison is like other guys I've blogged about before, in the sense that you can hear his old school roots. Like Broussard or Lidell, you can feel the music as much as you can hear it. To be honest I can't even give you a decent critique of his entire album because this track has been on repeat for the last couple days.

Why I feel like this track is old school is because it's not hurried. You can imagine the back up dancers doing some simple two-steps and snapping, or something, while Morrison is doing his thing. The UK does bring a lot of quality music I must say.

Morrison is most known for his singles, You Give Me Something and Wonderful World. While they are good, they are also the most radio friendly. But it was the voice from those singles that really attracted me to put him on my queue. After looking on my iTunes music list, I also have Morrison featured on a Jason Mraz track entitled, "Details in the Fabric." You can't really hear him, but the chorus is nice. It's a simple song, a song to chill you out. It's nice as I write at the end of a day.

To be honest, Morrison kind of looks like the lead singer from Coldplay. And Coldplay just won the Grammy for best rock album. uh. Good Record. Not Rock.

Hope you like the track.

Army Navy - Get Right Back (Where We Started From)

Hey you guys,

Sorry its been awhile. I started a new job and the holidays took over. But I have still been listening to music to get the best of what's out there.

This is a catchy tune from Army Navy, a band from the LA indie scene. I think most of us know the original track from Maxine Nightingale. And if you don't click here.

I'm not a huge fan of the singer from Army Navy, but in this song his voice fits very nicely. You might recognize another song from Army Navy from the Nick and Norah's Playlist Soundtrack entitled, Slight of Hand.

Those crisp guitars and snare hits just the the blood flowing to start the track. And the echo by the other band members in the verses bring back that old school that combines with the new school indie feel. Especially in the second verse, with the oooh la la la la echo.

Check out their myspace for the Slight of Hand track and two additional tracks.

Paul Michel - Always Right

Hey Everybody,



So when I listen to Pandora at work, I always take note of the awesome tracks Pandora recommends for my listening tastes. Pandora doesn't always get it right, but it definitely did this time.

I've this piece of paper with this song in it for probably months now, but I don't always get to my work list as soon as I would like to. But Pandora, played it again, and I said to myself, time to blog. And it's the first posting for the third public mix, Wiki Mix Volume V (There were two mixes before the blog was made).

I actually just went on a Paul Michel fest, and bought three albums from amazon for a total less than 20 bucks. Amazon.com is awesome. I will have a further posting on bbqchickenrobot.com in the near future outlining the best of the three albums.

Paul Michel is a singer songwriter from D.C. Make sure not to go to paulmichel.com, unless you want a short story writer from Seattle. Paul's website is pmichel.com

If you like this song, check out another track called Higher Than.

Hope you dig.

-G

The second mix has arrived, the third has begun

Alright everybody, the second mix has officially been completed. And if you look at the last 17 posts you will know which songs have been chosen, but now there is also an order to the eclectic samples. I knew that the song order would be important because good music should affect your mood, and I don't think your mood should change back and forth 17 times within a single CD.

But I am trying something new with this mix, because mix CDs in the past usually consisted of the same vibe and same feel. But because I have been reading music blogs, mags, and listening to anything I can get a hold of, the variety of great music is out there and I would be doing anyone injustice by sticking to an exclusive genre. But before I go on, here is the mix list.

#) Artist - "Track" - Album
1) The Lodger -"Good Old Days" - Life Is Sweet
2) Jacks Mannequin - "Spinning" - The Glass Passenger
3) The Rocket Summer - "Break It Out" - Do You Feel
4) Chester French - "The Jimmy Choos" - She Loves Everybody EP
5) Little Jackie - "The World Should Revolve Around Me" - The Stoop
6) Pop Levi - "Dita Dimone" - Never Never Love
7) Jamie Lidell - "Little Bit of Feel Good" - Jim
8) Marc Broussard feat. Sara Bareilles - "Why Should She Wait" - Keep Coming Back
9) Band of Horses - "The First Song" - Everything All The Time
10)The Very Most - "Good Fight Fighting" - The Very Most
11)Kevine Devine - "Not Over You Yet" - Make The Clocks Move
12)Raining Jane - "Incline" - Paper Nest
13)Miou Miou - "Avant le Voyage" - La La Grande Finale
14)Ingrid Michaelson - "The Chain (Live" - Be OK
15)Anberlin - "The Unwinding Cable Car" - Cities
16)Sigur Ros - "Gobbledigook" - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
17)Bon Iver - "Skinny Love" - For Emma, Forever Ago

In a few words, this is how I would describe this record. Find an upbeat beginning to wake you up transitioning into music that will keep you company as you walk, study or work and then finally transitioning song by song into a place of rest and contemplation.

The first four tracks are meant to bring an upbeat tempo and some catchy hooks and choruses to start your listening. Little Jackie brings the sole R&B song, to the record, and you shouldn’t be surprised if you start hearing more and more of this artist soon. In track 6, the kimono wearing Pop Levi, gives us the most eclectic track on the record with a style I had never heard before.

Lidell and Broussard bring a little taste of blues, soul and funk. Band of Horses with Track 9, is really a transitional song, and the album from that point changes and goes into a mellow direction. Track 10-14, all build up to the grand finale of track 15, 16, and 17. Don’t get me wrong I am not truly giving all these tracks the justice they deserve. To find more elaborate descriptions of why I chose each artist and song look at previous entries.
That being said, the last three songs could be a record in itself. Imagine a road-trip with nothing in front of you or behind you, just your headlights on the open road and the music and conversation that accompanies you. That, is the last three tracks. Enjoy.

Find this iMix on iTunes, called Wiki Mix Volume IV, or listen to the tracks on the blog mixtape17.blospot.com. Looking for more indie? Indie Hip-Hop? More good stuff? Don’t go to AM/PM, go to bbqchickenrobot.com

Jack's Mannequin - Spnning

Sorry for the little break guys, but this is the 18th post on the blog meaning I have finished another 17 song mix. And I wanted to make this last song perfect.

I now have to determine the order, and will be working on that for the holiday season. If you want a mix, leave a comment with an address, I'll do my best to get it to you. Also, if you want to be AWESOME, and support the artists, I will also have an iMix available on iTunes.

Jack's Mannequin has released another album entitle the Glass Pssenger. His song writing and catchy melodies are still intact, but the Lost in Transit Album was so good, I think it was hard to follow. Much of the album does not fall far from the last album, the song American Love sounds eerily similar to MFEO II: You Can Breathe.

But man this song is catchy, and I felt I needed that for the album. The Resolution, another song off the Glass Passenger Record, is the single being pushed, and is signature Andrew McMahon.

I'll be working on the album order in the coming days.

Thanks!

Ingrid Michaelson - The Chain (Live)

Ingrid Michaelson has released a new record this past October entitled, Be OK, following up her last successful record, Girls and Boys.

This is my favorite song on the record, and even though I featured Michaelson with 'Die Alone' on the first mix, I needed this song to appear on the next mix. This song was made a 'round' with multiple voices echoing the exact same lyrics at different intervals. Kind of hard to explain, but you will understand as soon as you listen to the track.

When I first listened to the track, I thought Michaelson used a recording device to record herself and then, did the round on her own, over and over. But then I thought of how hard that would be. But if you listen more closely, you can hear the distinct and separate voices that meld together so well. Thank you Priscilla Ahn and Allie Moss for the contribution.

The lyrics are quite poetic.

'So glide away on soapy heels...'
Describing what seems to be a lost love...just barely. Like both parties didn't want to leave each other, but slowly and eventually it just happened.

'Promise not to promise anymore'
Like the promise to stay with her was broken, so if her significant other made any more promises, it was to never promise anymore because of the loss felt.

'But if you come around again, I will take, I will take, the chain from off the door'
If her significant other came back, she would open the door of her life and heart. Almost as if her love did not come back her heart and life would be forever locked.

Sappy? Sure, but to say so little and have so much meaning = good lyrics. You can't just hear, I had to listen to the track more than once to find meaning for myself, and you might analyze the track quite differently.

If you want to listen to more track from the Be OK record, check out the other blog I write for: bbqchickenrobot.com. That blog covers all genres and has multiple writers, so it is constantly being updated.

I have added the track to the mix tape player above, but if you want to listen to the quality recorded version, you can listen to it here.

I also added a video of the track to the left.