Damn the Music Man!!!

No, not Tommy Tune. The music industry. They took an amazing tool and killed it.
Yes, I am not surprised, but saddened still.

Last week, after what seemed like weeks of stalling, their demands killed Muxtape. A place where one could go to hear music. Not download music. Not steal Music. But listen to digital mix tapes from all around the world.

It was free advertising for bands (and if you read the whole story you will see that that is exactly how it will be formulated now. Only it will be missing a major key component, user input. Yes, user generated content, the key to any web 2.0 service is now dead. So while I am fairly sure i will be able to listen to 10 songs from Arcade Fire (or any other lame, derivative, "hip", band) when the service is reinstated, the main draw of the service is gone: who ever got mixtapes where there was only one band. The whole point was to hear people's favorite songs, to discover new music from an unknown artist that you would want to go out and find more of, devour.

I made at least 10 different mixes and people that I have never met, nor even knew, found my mixes and favorited them (sadly never more than 12 at a time) and I got to see their mixes, and discover new artists and re-find others that I had long thought I outgrew or dismissed in a fit of rambling, ill conceived hostility. I also just got to listen to or just see mixes from the thousands of other users and either laugh or admire their tastes.

But no.... Discovery is bad. Control is good.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

So for a little over a month I have been left with my favorite music platform on the web, Last.fm. And really, there is nearly nothing wrong with it. It provides for a damn near perfect individual radio station. My main complaint is that it has such a massive user database and has some serious wonky algorithms to match me up with people with similar tastes in music and that people use tags so inappropriately (French pop should not ever generate Elton John. Never ever.), that its social aspect is a tad worthless. Though I do always enjoy seeing what my friends are listening to.

But when I was finally resigned to the idea that Last.fm was going to be all I ever had, I was introduced to Blip.fm. And though I have only been playing around with it for a few days, well it is awesome! Awesomer than awesome even. It takes a twitter type interface and lets you add music to your posts. Rather than focusing on what you are doing right now, you can say something about the song, let the song state your feelings/state of mind, wtfever. And granted you really should read the terms of service and FAQ (re: the issue of uploading music), but this is a service for fans of music to share songs like postcards.

And while I miss the precision of making a mixtape (true mixtape creation is art blended with science), the single song focus is not one to scoff at.

And a big bonus for me, is that it seems to have a fairly large international bent. And as I am generally sick of the current American music scene, this is a plus to get hints on what I need to be on the lookout for that I can not easily find here.

Not every song you want will be in the library, but should be to make it worth your while. And it syncs up with Last.fm if you use that service (and really if you listen to music on your computer, why wouldn't you???).

So while I am sad to see Muxtape lose its charming lifeblood, I am happy to have found something that might be able to replace it. Well till the music man decides to take this one down too.

And for any musical heathens out there, feel free to make fun of any of my musical tastes. I just hope one day you will be as musically enlightened as me........

Music I am realy digging right now

This is my absolute favorite song of Brisa Roché's new album Takes

#24 - Brisa Roché - Egyptian
Uploaded by lecargo

She is clearly one of the best new artists of recent vintage, though would it kill her to sing in French again? I have no idea why this album has not been released in the states yet. It easily could drive one insane to try and figure out the music industry...

Sometime in late 06 I 1st heard Yelle and was instantly smitten. Who was this amazingly fabulous Frenchie?

YELLE "Je Veux Te Voir"
Uploaded by YELLE-TV

Her first album, Pop Up was released last year and while this song has been in constant rotation for me ever since. I just found out she played a few show in NYC last week, and I am so amazingly bummed I had no idea and missed them. She = teh awesome for sure.

This is sort of like when I feel way to in love with that Baby Spice cover. I mean I know I should not fall so madly in love with such cavity inducing pop, but I just can not help it. This song, and much of her new album is fantastic.

Kylie Minogue In My Arms (HD)
Uploaded by wonderful-life1989

Lizzy Ling has no real website, so here is her myspace page. She is tops, as she weaves a touch of Ye-Ye with a more electronica sound. Not enough people know about her.

Free the Music

I love Last.fm. I have been a user for years. In a time that I felt so many musical options were being closed off to me, it has opened me up to some of my favorite artists. I sort of fell back in love with music through Last.fm, after slipping into a rut of not noticing new artists or pretty much caring.

So to say that today's announcement made me ecstatic would be a slight misnomer. I am pleased in ways I am having a hard time even conveying. No more 30 second clips to figure out if I want to invest in an artist. This pleases me soooooo much.

The music industry might not die as quick a death if they continue down this path and let the people hear the music they want. Now if only more artists would upload their tracks to Last.fm.

Here are some artists that I discovered though Last.fm:

Nouvelle Vague
France Gall
Keren Ann
Emilie Simon
Lee Hazlewood
Mareva Galanter
Brisa Roche
Sibylle Baier
Lady & Bird
The
Televangelist & The Architect
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Carla Bruni

And those are only the ones in my top 50 artists list. So go over there and check them out if you have not used the site before. Be careful, the use of that site will cause you to buy more albums/songs than you planned, but it will so be worth it, I promise.

And some people say i am never happy........

some songs that are really getting me going right now

I have been lax in showcasing any music. That needs to change. So here are 5 songs that really burrowed under my skin and decided to stay. I like each one very, very much.



Brisa Roche - Mystery Man

She has a new album coming out soon. I eagerly await it.



Laura Veirs - Cast a Hook in Me

From the new album Saltbreakers. I really like the way this album sparkles with references of nature. And the video is quite fun as well.




Vincent Delerm - Sous les Avalanches

I know next to nothing about this french signer, but this is my song of the summer for me. The viedo is quite a bit much though, just listen.



Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle - Sing Sing

Is this a cover? I really like this one. It puts me in the mood to walk through the city, no destination in mind, just enjoying.



Charlotte Gainsbourg - The Songs that we Sing

From one of my favorite albums from last year, that only just hit stateside.