Mix Tape of the Day: March 10, 2015 - En Français!

After debating several topics, I settled on a day devoted to French songs.  Only now do I realize that this would have been a perfect day for Super Mario music.  Oh, well!  C'est la vie!

1. Je veux te voir - Yelle (2006) Yelle may be the biggest French electronica pop star of our time.  I'm not quite sure how fierce the competition is, but her first hit single is perfectly catchy and loud.  Brings me back to my European clubbing days that I never had.

2. Ça plane pour moi - Plastic Bertrand (1977) Don't worry, this song is supposed to be nonsense.  If you need a song for the soundtrack of your wacky dumb-Americans-in-Europe comedy, this is the song for you.

3. Dominique - Sœur Sourire (1963) My father grew up in Belgium and France, so I had to hear this song often for some reason.  I find it amusing that it was the song played nonstop at the mental asylum in American Horror Story.  It even reminds me of "It's a Small World."

4. Comptine d'un autre été : L'Après-Midi - Yann Tiersen (2001) Or if you just need some mood music for your quirky French indie comedy, here is a lovely piece.

5. Non, je ne regrette rien - Édith Piaf (1960) Here's one of the most famous classic French songs.  You should already be familiar with it, but I won't hold it against you if you didn't discover it until Inception.

6. La mer - Charles Trenet (1946) And I feel this is the other must-listen classic French chanson.  It's been used in multiple movies and TV shows as well (especially those associated with the ocean, like Finding Nemo or LOST).  I just find it so pleasant, especially when it underscores a day at the beach.

7. Paris - Delerium ft. Aude (2004) Those Canadians are at it again with their ambient music.  Heavily inspired by Pachelbel's Canon, this song reminds me of Paris at Christmastime.  Probably because I listen to it a lot at Christmas for some reason.

8. Ta douleur - Camille (2005) Thanks to the great SNL "Les Jeunes des Paris" sketch, I was introduced to this delightfully quirky song that involves cutesy raspberries and wretching to signify life's pain.

9. Toi + moi - Grégoire (2008) It's hard to gauge what's considered popular or not in foreign countries.  I have the feeling this one was fairly popular when it came out.  It's your typical love song set to those magic four chords.  But it's in French, which makes it dix times better.

10. Jolie Coquine - Caravan Palace (2008) This electro-swing track is so charming and fun!  I'm glad that my friends discovered it independently of me, because it deserves to be shared with as many people as possible.

11. Hello - Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette (2010) Okay, this is in English, but French DJ Martin Solveig is behind it.  Thanks to the likes of Daft Punk, it appears many French and European DJ's are making their way towards the Western Hemisphere.  And if they continue to produce work like this, I'd be a happy kid.

12. Adieu - Cœur de pirate (2011) Canadian Cœur de pirate is becoming quite the star and I've enjoyed every song of hers I've heard thus far.  I picked "Adieu" because it was fun, but "Comme des enfants" was a very close runner up!

13. Elle me dit - Mika (2011) Ah, here's the reason I wanted to have a French day.  I wanted to listen to more Mika!

Mix Tape of the Day: January 29, 2015 - Pixar's Best

After listening to "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2 yesterday, it reminded me of all the other great music Pixar has provided us.  And so, I shall look at the rest of the Pixar lineup to determine the best piece of music from each film.  Now, at the moment there are 14 films out currently, and only 13 spots on my list, so at least one of the films won't make the cut.  It'll probably be the non-Toy Story sequels, since I haven't seen those...

1. You've Got a Friend in Me - Randy Newman (1995) The first Pixar song we all know and love.  Randy Newman started his career as Pixar's resident composer with Toy Story and this ditty became the main theme of the series, if not the company as a whole.  You can't not include this song when you're talking about Pixar.

2. I Will Go Sailing No More - Randy Newman (1995) However, I much prefer this track from Toy Story.  While Pixar's films would get more and more emotionally manipulative as time went on, it is with this song where we see that Pixar wasn't just content with cool effects and technology.  Buzz's moment of self-awareness and tragic attempt to fight the truth is captured in this pessimistic song.

3. The Time of Your Life - Randy Newman (1998) Well, when you hire Randy Newman, you get Randy Newman.  This song starts pretty silly, which causes me to nearly skip it every time.  But if you hold on for 30 seconds, it becomes a great work of art.  Kind of like A Bug's Life, itself.

4. The Cleaner - Randy Newman (1999) Since I already used "When She Loved Me," I chose this orchestral piece.  The scene itself of the cleaner fixing up Woody's wear and tear is really cool and this music helps provide all the whimsy necessary to make us forget that Woody's history with Andy is being erased.

5. The Scare Floor - Randy Newman (2001) I didn't choose Mike and Sully's duet of "If I Didn't Have You" because it's a song that's funny and enjoyable every once and a while, but I can only take Billy Crystal's ad-libs so many times before I grow tired of them.  Maybe I'll include a cover of that song later.  But for now, it's the fun "Scare Floor" theme music.

6. Nemo Egg (Main Title) - Thomas Newman (2003) The first Pixar film to not use Randy Newman...used his cousin Thomas instead.  His more restrained tone fits with the more dramatic movie plot of Finding Nemo and you can hear it in the opening music that plays after Marlin's family is wiped out.

7. The Incredits - Michael Giacchino (2004) For The Incredibles, Pixar went in a whole new direction.  It's the only film in the library that seems to be it's own entity and not part of the larger universe of Pixar.  Brad Bird was brought on as the director to lend his personal flair to the film, and Michael Giacchino (who had just begun making a name for himself as the go-to Disney composer) replaces the Newman family.  He creates some of the best instrumental music I've ever heard and this is definitely one of his finest achievements.

8. Real Gone - Sheryl Crow (2006) So, I'm not the biggest fan of Cars.  It had it's moment and it's charm, but it didn't really resonate with me.  And I was afraid I'd have to use that Rascal Flatts "Life Is a Highway" cover since it's the song I most associate with the film.  But hey, the main theme was actually this Sheryl Crow song.  And it's not half bad!

9. Le Festin - Camille (2007) Brad Bird came back to direct what may be my favorite Pixar film (tied with Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, and Brave).  And that meant Giacchino was also back.  The French-inspired score was wonderful, and this main theme is probably my favorite track on this whole mix.

10. Down to Earth - Peter Gabriel (2008) After the beautiful WALL-E had finished playing, I rushed home and bought this song, like a good little consumer.

11. Married Life - Michael Giacchino (2009) Giacchino returns once more to deliver the most iconic Pixar music of the past 5 years.  If you are unfamiliar with the scene that this music accompanies, do yourself a favor and watch Up right now.

12. So Long - Randy Newman (2010) Randy Newman's back!  I wasn't too inspired by his main theme for Toy Story 3, so I went with the final track of the film.  I have a soft spot for emotional farewell music and this one doesn't disappoint.

13. Touch the Sky - Julie Fowlis (2012) Wow, it's almost been 3 years since the last Pixar film I'd seen in theaters came out!  I had skipped Cars 2 but came back for Brave.  To me, I feel it's one of Pixar's best and highly underrated.  It may not reach the heights of their best films, but it doesn't really aim that high either.  It's telling a simpler story about a mother and daughter with a beautiful Scottish backdrop.  I love me some Celtic music, so of course I love all the music in the film.