Yelle - Je Veux Te Voir

Summer brings out the most poppy side of me, and this is my latest find. Julie Budet, also known as Yelle, is a Parisian princess of pop. My French is really not good enough to translate what she's saying here, but you really don't have to understand what she's saying to appreciate the catchy goodness. If you are so curious to google for a translation though, you'd find that this song is quite dirty. It's super gloomy out where I am today, but Yelle's upbeat album Pop-Up is just the pick-me-up I need, and I hope it does the same for you.

--Vivian

Meg & Dia - The Last Great Star in Hollywood

Okay the last month has been insane for me. School taking over my life would be an understatement. They just never stop trying to kill you in this program it seems. Anyway, moving on, hopefully I'll be a little bit more consistent now.

Meg & Dia recently released a new album, and it's not quite the same sound as before, it's a bit more pumped up and mainstream. I can't say I don't like it, but I'm more of a fan of their older stuff. Isn't that always the case though?

This is from Here, Here, and Here, called The Last Great Star in Hollywood. I was having a hard time picking a song so I listened through a few, and since I was having a fat day anyway, this seemed appropriate. Enjoy

--Vivian

Britney Spears - Toxic

First of all, note the correct spelling of her majesty the Pop Princess's name. Britney has had her ups and downs and I respect if you don't like her music, but she's an iconic symbol of our generation whether you like it or not.

She's sensational, because you either love her or hate her, and the whole world has an opinion about her but the whole world KNOWS her, and know the lyrics to her songs. (NOT JEFF APPARENTLY, because he has no friends and live under a rock.)

Those guys below with all those mock Brits are obviously just obsessed with the idea of banging her. Although we can all see, the original Britney is hotter than all those fake blonds combined.

--Vivian

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

Certain people go through mood swings that coincide with seasonal or weather pattern changes. I'm one of those people; my moods depend heavily on the color of the sky and the temperature outside. On top of that, my music taste also match up with the season. It's finally starting to warm up (a little) here in the great white north, and I'm starting to dig into my more upbeat pop collection. Last summer, I was all over The Veronicas, before they hit big in North America btw. This time around, it's all about The Ting Tings.

This poppy British duo is bound to hype you up for oncoming warmer days. Their sound is a little electro, a little pop, and some major attitude (as all great music should have). Enjoy!

--Vivian

Demi Lovato - Lala Land

Yeah I must admit, I've been quite in love with the Disney teen stars lately. There's something so great about good wholesome pop. Anyway, so here's Demi Lovato, best known as Mitchie Torres from Disney's Camp Rock. This little lady is only 16, but don't underestimate her voice. She's got one of the most amazing pop vocals I've heard in quite a long while, and not just for her age.

This song was the first title on her solo debut album, Don't Forget. It was my first encounter with this upcoming pop star, and let me tell ya, it blew me away. Before you come up with any biased notions about Disney's exploitation of young talent and yada yada, before you put her in the same category as Miley (and Miley is great but...) give this girl a chance. Just click play and you'll see what I'm talking about.

--Vivian

Passion Pit - Cuddle Fuddle

Passion Pit is a synth pop group originated from Cambridge, Massachusetts (did I get the genre right?) The first time I heard them, their sound blew me away. There's just so much going on, and above all, it's sooooo catchy! This song will have you singing Rapunzel for the rest of the day.

I've shown this group to a few of my friends, and some really like them, but most found the singer's voice a little too whiny and annoying. It doesn't bother me at all, I'm thoroughly impressed with this band and I can't wait to see more from them.

--Vivian

Miley Cyrus - Wake Up America

Yeah yeah yeah, everyone and their mother has an opinion about Miley Cyrus, I like her, get over it. This is number 3 of our list for Mr. President. There's so much potential in the field of environmentalism; creating new industries for green technology and power could really be the boost our economy needs, it'll create the much needed jobs that America needs. I know President Obama has talked about green technology a lot, and he appointed some very capable and green people in charge of energy, but the real change for this field is coming slowly. I understand there are more pressing matters to take care of right now. I just hope the president doesn't forget about this.

Anyway, I'm not going to do an intro about Miley Cyrus. 90% of you guys should already know who she is and you've probably all made your conclusions about this girl already. Yes The Mix Tapes is a diverse atmosphere where we will include trendy pop alongside heavy metal. We don't discriminate =).

--Vivian

Tegan and Sara - I was Married

Hmmm this seems a little overdue. So President Obama has had almost a week now to get used to being the most powerful man on earth, and so far he's doing a fantastic job. Almost every other blogger out there has already written a full list of what they want the president to accomplish over his term, I guess it's now my turn. Let's start this one off with something controversial, something to jump start the atmosphere.

This is Tegan and Sara: a pair of Canadian twins, and extremely talented musicians. Tegan Sara wrote this song "I was Married" not long after one of them got married engaged to a long-time girlfriend. (I'm full of inconsistencies I know!)

There are a lot of extremist views when it comes to gay rights, but please, before you make up your mind or get defensive, listen to this song. Let it bring you to that sunlit wedding, and tell me this isn't about love.

So here's our first challenge for the freshman President, he's been reportedly associated with religious anti-gay rights pastors, but I want to here what HE has to say himself. I want to see him do something about this.

--Vivian

Tilly and the Wall - Alligator Skin

It was a good day that I discovered Tilly and the Wall. They're an upbeat pop band from Nebraska, I mean, what can be more upbeat than having a tap dancer? That's right, one of the "instrumentalists" is a tap dancer, in replacement for a drummer. They're almost the same thing right?

I've been listening to this album on repeat the last few days, sure to drive my roommates mad soon. This is my favourite song off the album, hope you enjoy it!

--Vivian

Boyce Avenue - Change Your Mind

Yes, today's feature band is a pop driven boyband from the state of Florida. Boyce Avenue is the three Manzano brothers and an odd ball, Stephen Hatker. The brothers began playing music at the age of ~14. The band was split temporarily as the brothers left for university (Architecture at U of Florida, and Harvard Law school... just for the sake of dropping names).

Their music is simple, with catchy lyrics and tunes that will get stuck in your head the whole day.

Oh and stop complaining about the boybands, at least I didn't post the Jonas Brothers... yet.

--Vivian

Love is All - Movie Romance

Love is All is yet another indie band that emerged from Sweden, although they are currently signed on with an American record label. Their music is upbeat and umm... I'm not good at describing music past "Awesome".

I know one of my roommates find the lead singer's voice really abrasive, and I can see what she means, although it's weirdly addictive to me. I guess it's one of those, love it or hate it sounds.

Once again, video and sound quality not very good since I couldn't find a single one of their songs on youtube and had to make my own. I think you'll get the general gist though, and there's always Myspace!

--Vivian

Gregory and the Hawk - Grey Weather

Gregory and the Hawk is actually rather well known, but this is because of a one hit wonder they had a while back (Boats and Birds anyone?), which is rather depressing since their other songs are really really good as well. They definitely deserve more than the one hit stardom. So this is one of their more recent songs, Grey Weather.

Gregory & the Hawk is actually just a name that Meredith Godreau adopted for her musician alter-ego. Yes, that is her angelic voice that you're hearing. Meredith is one of those musicians that can just pick up an instrument and go. As a result, she learned how to play piano, clarinet, oboe, violin, and viola, before finally deciding to make guitar her weapon of choice.

--Vivian

Snow Patrol vs. The Police

Usually mash-ups are just a mess of two mediocre songs turned into one big pile of wtf. However, I found this one quite refreshing. To be honest, I have a personal grudge against Snow Patrol, and the only person who really understands this grudge is Eithne, but that's a story for another time. This mash-up made me realize how pretty the song really is.

--Vivian

Creepy Doll - Jonathan Coulton

Jonathan Coulton graduated from Yale and was a computer progammer. He likes to write songs about science fiction and technology...In other words, he's really a giant nerd who writes awesome songs! I'd recomend RE your brains

--Chris

Meg & Dia - Rebecca

Okay, here comes another one of my favourites. I hope I don't run out! Meg & Dia are a sister duo that got famous via Myspace. So here's the ingenious thing about them: they write their music based on stories and literature. I guess this is what happens when you give nerdy girls a guitar. Brilliant, ain't it? This one in particular is called Rebecca, based on the book by Daphne du Maurier. Enjoy!

--Vivian

Of Montreal - Suffer for Fashion

Well this is in tribute to the tragedy that is Prop 8. Really America? I guess you could only make ONE smart decision per decade. Anyways, Of Montreal is pretty much the shiznit. I originally wanted to post their other song For Our Elegant Caste, but I couldn't find a good quality video for it.

--Vivian

The Narrative - Libra

This band is my current obsession and if I could only find more videos you'd be seeing more of them, although my roommates must be pretty sick of hearing them from my room by now. They're the Narrative, and they're pretty amazing if you ask me. Lyrical in their words, melodies, and harmonies, it's hard not to love them.

--Vivian