Cut Of The Day: "The Hippie Girl," Mike Coykendall (with video!)

As I said this week in my review of the new Mike Coykendall record, it is a bit of a shame that the initial focus  people have been directing towards Chasing Away The Dots is the big names associated with it. Take this track, for example, which features backing vocals from the queen of adorkability herself, Zooey Deschanel, and her now ex-husband Ben Gibbard, as well as some instrumental help from Blitzen Trapper's Eric Earley. All well and good, but let's not forget how damn great this tune is. 

"The Hippie Girl" spins off Coykendall's mutual loves for loping country and plush glam rock. And it manages to stake a middle ground between those two disparate worlds. Push hard in any one direction and the song would be either a cornpone joke or some swaggering T. Rex ripoff. Coykendall is too skilled a musician to let either of those ideas take precedent. 

The video for the track captures its essence perfectly. Director Jeff Schulze focuses almost entirely on the titular young lady who does what I imagine most of us think about flower children doing: wades in a river, does cartwheels in a field, speaks to strange stuffed clown toys. The clip is a fantastic vehicle to let listeners/viewers focus solely on the song without wondering when Zooey and Ben are going to make an appearance. 

Mike Coykendall - The Hippie Girl (ft. Zooey Deschanel, Eric Earley & Ben Gibbard) from Mr. Fly on Vimeo.

SEE IT: Mike Coykendall plays Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St., on Saturday, Sept. 15. 9 pm. $8 advance, $10 day of show. 21+.

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