Showing posts with label beirut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beirut. Show all posts

Saturday, December 31, 2011

My favourite albums of 2011

For me, this year was both good and bad for music.

Good because some of my favourite bands released new music, and I got to see loads of great concerts this year (The Strokes a couple of times, Arctic Monkeys, Delta Spirit, Arcade Fire, The National a couple of times, Beirut, Telekinesis, etc).

Bad because I didn't really get into any new bands this year. Partly because new music tended to bore me and partly because I've been swamped with life, law school and everything which falls in between.

So, without futher ado, here's my list of my favourite albums of 2011.


10. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

9. Radiohead - The King of Limbs

7. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

6. The Black Keys - El Camino

5. Andrew Bird - Norman Soundtrack

4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

3. Beirut - The Rip Tide

2. Arctic Monkeys - Suck it and See

1. The Strokes - Angles

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Saturday, October 15, 2011

video: Beirut - East Harlem on Letterman



could this song be any more perfect? I think not. a lovely performance of a gem from The Rip Tide.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

watch: Beirut - The Akara in Chicago

On Monday night, I saw Beirut perform at Congress theatre. It was beyond spectacular. Zach Condon is literally perfect. I took some videos on my phone, and I'll upload them as soon as I figure out how. In the meanwhile, watch this:


set list:

Friday, September 9, 2011

video: Beirut - Santa Fe

this is depressing but gorgeous:

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Beirut - Untitled


I was listening to Beirut on shuffle today and a song came on from Zach Condon's early project, The Joys of Losing Weight. Mega fans are well aware that all of the songs on the album are untitled, this one happened to strike me as Elliott Smith-esque but also quite like Explosions in the Sky. A quieter Explosions in the Sky. I thought I'd share it.

Friday, August 12, 2011

record review: Beirut - The Rip Tide


When Sufjan Stevens started making music, he proposed that he would devote an album to each of our great country’s fifty states. And while Michigan and Come on Feel the Illinoise are stunning and gorgeous albums, there wasn’t much of a chance (from a time-constriction point of view) for Mr. Stevens to complete his task—unless he grouped states together.

On the other hand, Zach Condon—the heartthrob prodigy behind Santa Fe-based Beirut presented an equally compelling yet much more doable task. Since his breathtaking debut, Gulag Orkestar, Condon’s musical vision has been to fuse world music with indie sensibility and plenty of lush, layered sounds—horns, percussion, strings—one country or world region at a time. Gulag was inspired by the music of the Balkans; The Flying Club Cup nodded toward France; the double EP March of the Zapotec/Holland simultaneously tackled Mexican music and the Netherlands.

On his third full length album, the one thing that ties each of Condon's songs together is that they all give you the unshakable feeling that you are at a beach. It all starts with the lyrics in opener “A Candle’s Fire” that mention the allure of campfires. Indeed, the lyrics found on The Rip Tide are the strongest and clearest that Condon’s ever written. This is especially striking in light of the fact that Condon has insisted time and time again that his lyrics are more a mode of vocal delivery than anything else—he used to mumble because he wanted his voice to be heard as an instrument rather than a way to deliver poetry.

Perhaps the most striking thing about this record is Condon’s vocals. They’re clearer and more precise, and they really set the mood for the entire album. As always, Condon’s songwriting is simply superb; “East Harlem” and “Port of Call” are two of the strongest things he’s ever released (although “East Harlem” has been kicking around for a while, creeping to the surface for air every so often at concerts). All in all, The Rip Tide is an unquestionably wonderful album, and irritatingly listenable. It’s also much more accessible than his previous albums, because he leaves the baroque-elements to the music and adopts a more normative approach to singing. Yet, it still sounds like Beirut.

That being said, Condon’s musical evolution on The Rip Tide is both swift and natural; he sounds as he always has—at ease and in control, yet the musical progression that he’s made here is vast. Condon is no longer only experimenting with what makes a country’s folk music interesting—he’s actually emulating nature. The Rip Tide is the perfect way to encompass the ocean. The Rip Tide—therefore, isn’t simply the reflection of a certain ethnic group’s music: it harmoniously blends together all of the wonderful elements which contribute to the unparalleled happiness we gain on those weekends at the coast. And for a person who misses the Pacific Ocean like a junkie misses their needle, it’s a much needed source of comfort and joy.

4.7/5

The Rip Tide is now available for purchase digitally on itunes. You can stream the entire thing HERE. It hits your local record store on August 30th.

Friday, July 22, 2011

must watch video: Zach Condon of Beirut joins The National for "Fake Empire" at Paleo

when I first watched this video via the live stream a few days ago, I literally screamed out loud when Zach Condon came out. his addition to the song is beyond breathtaking, and very much worth a view (or ten)


I've uploaded the entire concert on youtube, and it's a spectacular set. they even played "Secret Meeting" and a couple of really old tracks from their second album, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers
set list:

set list:

Start A War
Anyone's Ghost
Secret Meeting
Conversation 16
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Afraid Of Everyone
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Sorrow
Available
Lucky You
England
Abel
Fake Empire
Mr. November
Terrible Love

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Beirut - Port of Call


I am obsessed with this song.


that is all.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Beirut announce Chicago show (+tour dates)


Beirut will play Congress Theatre on Monday September 26. Tickets on sale Wednesday at 10AM. Get them HERE

Tour Dates:

07/05 – Ferrara, Italy @ Costello PIazza
07/07 – Republic of Serbia @ Exit Festival
07/09 – Slovakia @ Pohoda
07/12 – Arles, France @ Arles Fest
07/14 – Meco, Portugal @ Super Bock Super Rock
07/16 – Valencia, Spain @ Benicassim Festival
07/18 – Lyon, France @ Les Nuits de Fourviere
07/20 – Nyon, Switzerland @ Paleo Festival
07/29 – Portland, ME @ State Theater
07/31 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga
08/02 – Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix
08/04 – Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix w/ Owen Pallett
08/05 – Sun. Aug. 7 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/10 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
08/12 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
08/14 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
09/02 – Dorset, UK @ End of Road Festival
09/04 – Stradbally, Ireland @ Electric Picnic
09/06 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
09/08 – Amsterdamn, Netherlands @ Paradiso
09/12 – Paris, France @ Olympia
09/14 – Brussels, Belgium @ AB
09/16 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
09/21 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/22 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/28 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
10/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/09 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/11 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall
10/25 – Richmond, VA @ The National
10/27 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
10/29 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek
11/11 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
11/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory

The new album, The Rip Tide will be released on August 30 but snag a taste below:

Beirut - A Candle's Fire [mp3]
review forthcoming.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Beirut - Goshen


I love this track because it reminds me of The Walkmen's Lisbon.

Beirut - Goshen by ListenBeforeYouBuy

Beirut's fourth album is called The Rip Tide and will be released at the end of the summer.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Beirut - East Harlem


the previously unreleased track has finally been recorded in studio. download it below and preorder the seven inch HERE (out on June 14). you won't be able to buy the single at a record store...Beirut are selling it exclusively on tour.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

new Beirut: Santa Fe + Port of Call + Vagabond + Goshen

beautiful beautiful BEAUTIFUL. "Port of Call" is my favourite.



"oh you, you have hope for me now"







Sunday, December 27, 2009

must watch video: Beirut's "Guyamas Sonora" on La Blogotheque

somehow this video had previously eluded me and my frenzied Beirut binges, but, better late than never:



"Guyamas Sonora" is my favourite Beirut track ever. what I really love about this video is that it properly showcases how the music of Zach Condon cannot be contained within 4 walls. it's so sonically expansive, so far beyond the realm of reality.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Beirut interview with RS

just came across this.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

new video: Beirut - The Concubine



ah, I adore this song, it was a quick favourite off Zach Condon's latest musical offering--double EP March of the Zapotec/Holland

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Beirut- Elephant Gun

current favourite Beirut song (read: current listening obsession):

Beirut - Elephant Gun [mp3]



stunning, simply stunning.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

I am ever so infatuated with Zach Condon

this. is. brilliant.



his voice is absolutely perfect, and it's helping me getting through a research paper which is absolutely killing me. I am fluctuating between Kings of Leon, Miles Davis, Black Lips and Beirut. my eclectic taste baffles most.

anyhow, seriously, watch the above video, it's ace. if you aren't grinning from the first few seconds, you are dead inside. I wish he would sing into my hollow crevices...

Monday, April 6, 2009

Beirut's first album: rare, unreleased, untitled.


according to last.fm,

Condon has recorded before: when he was fifteen and under the name of Realpeople, he made an electronic record, fashioned after his love for The Magnetic Fields. Condon was a straight-A student until he dropped out at the age of 16 to travel Europe in a drunken haze, cavorting and partying with the locals wherever he ended up.

Realpeople/Beirut's very first album is called The Joys of Losing Weight

here's a description from the site I downloaded the album from:

"This album has never been released, is not available for sale, and has never been seen or heard by anyone other than a handful of people who have personally received a copy of this record. It pre-dates all of his work with Beirut and does not bear any influence of the Balkan/Eastern Gypsy sound that he has become reknowned and critically acclaimed for; however, it's a highly precocious album that's steeped in amazing melodies draped against a backdrop of synthesized electronica: imagine an entire electronic/experimental album in the style of Scenic World with Zach's distinctive vocals and the occasional appearance of his famous brass instrumentation."


now, I've gone and made this very easy for you guys, I have an mp3 of a very good piano driven song that you can sample, and a zip file with all 21 songs on it. it took me forever to download it, but it was well worth it. it's gorgeous and unrefined, not in a grungy way but in a oh-he's-definitely-experimenting-and-learning-in-the-process way. it sounds very much like the new EP, Realpeople Holland, and I love it.

warning: if you aren't already a big fan of Condon's work, or if you absolutely hated Realpeople Holland, I would get super well acquainted with Gulag Orkestar before trying to tackle this. and, just for the record, the recently released double EP sounds a LOT better on vinyl. I dunno what it is, something about the compressed mp3 file doesn't do Beirut justice.

Beirut - Untitled 12 [mp3]

Beirut - The Joys of Losing Weight [zip]

Sunday, April 5, 2009

an AMAZING version of "Postcards from Italy"


"Postcards from Italy" by Beirut was THE song that initiated my shameless love affair with Zach Condon. by love affair, yes I mean obsessive listening rampage.

I've been listening to a lot of his live performances, and I just realized, in the following mp3, starting at 2:15, Zach begins to sing in Italian! or at least I think it's Italian, that's what it sounds like, and it would make sense, given the title of the song

anyhow, give it a listen for yourself, it's beautiful! and, if anyone knows Italian and would like to share what Zach's singing, that would be much appreciated

Beirut - Postcards from Italy (KLRU studios 2007) [mp3, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]