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 25, 2015 - The Silence is Deafening

You can make a song about anything.  Music can capture the spirit of whatever topic you want.  But can you make music about silence?  Today's mix is all about that seeming contradiction.

1. The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel (1964) A common theme of these songs is that silence actually does carry a sound.  It just that it's the sounds we commonly ignore.  I began with this classic, because, thanks to The Graduate, it just fills me with existential dread, as silence is wont to do.

2. No Surprises - Radiohead (1997) Other artists interpret "silence" as meaning calm peace.  Here, the singer longs for a quiet life, and end to the madness.

3. Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode (1990) Similarly, Depeche Mode promotes the idea that in speaking, we create more problems than we solve.  So, it's best to just stop talking.

4. Silence - Delerium ft. Sarah McLaughlin (1999) Apparently, everyone who went clubbing in 2000 fell in love with this song.  I just find it funny that the original song, which was slow and peaceful (fitting for a song about silence) became heavily remixed multiple times into poppy upbeat dance numbers.

5. Silence is Easy - Starsailor (2003) Sometimes, you just don't want to talk.  It's that easy.

6. Silence is Golden - The Tremeoles (1967) Here is a time when silence can do more harm than good.  The singer watches as his love gets treated badly by her current partner, and he decides to remain silent since she'd never listen to him.  And they both suffer.

7. Our Lips Are Sealed - The Go-Go's (1981) Of course, the only way to fight hurtful gossip is with silence.

8. Hush - Deep Purple (1988) Sometimes, you just want other people to be silent so that you can hear what matters to you.  Na na na na na na na na na na.

9. Silent Lucidity - Queensrÿche (1990) Only through silence, can you discover a zen-like state of lucidity and imagination.

10. The Silence - Alexandra Burke (2009) Or you can use silence as a weapon.

11. When I Go Deaf - Low (2005) Here, the singer looks forward to going deaf, because then there will be peace and will no longer have to fight and argue.  It starts as a quiet acoustic piece before descending into deafening hard rock to really seal the deal.  And after this, you'll think you've gone deaf.

12. 4'33'' - John Cage (1952) Did it really take so long in human history for someone to record the purest song about silence in existence?  Really listen to this one the whole way through to get the full effect.

13. Paint the Silence - South (2001) After all that silence, it's time to make some noise.  Thanks to The O.C., I would put this song on many personal mixes.  It may be a bit depressing, as it's trying to get somebody out of a dark place by "painting the silence."  This is actively trying to avoid silence, which is sometimes just what you need.