beirut

Beirut | "The Rip Tide" Video

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Most of my readers would know my love for the band Beirut. It's current, yet aged. It's creative, yet often stunningly simple. It's beautiful, often powerful, and always wonderful. One of the best bands working, in my opinion. Match that with what is probably their most stunning video to date for "The Rip Tide." The simplicity of the first 2 1/2 minutes turns into a rush of colors. Love the concept. Very impressed with this video. I hope you will enjoy it and pick up their great albums: The Rip Tide | Gulag Orkestar ($5.49 right now) | Lon Gisland EP | The Flying Club Cup | March of the Zapotec.

Music Monday | Stretch Yourself

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Blind music I love to find new, unique, or renewed sounds in new music: Bon Iver's bearded outdoorsman falsetto, Beirut's use of traditional instruments and foreign sounds, Antony & The Johnsons's trembling vocals, Animal Collective's layers and layers of electronic music, and Andrew Bird's lyrical torsion. Sometimes there are new sounds that just don't work for me, and other times they draw me in and stretch me in a new direction. Even when they don't work, I think it's good for us to be stretched. It keeps us from mere consumption and towards understanding it as art.

Let's be honest, some of you just love everything from U2 but don't realize you are stuck in a moment and can't get out of it. Time for something new. Here are two places to stretch.

1. Daniel Knox. The haunting vocals will stay with you in "Ghostsong." If you like it, grab his free Daytrotter session and buy his album, Evryman for Himself.

2. tUnE-yArDs. I don't really know what to say about this, but the critics are crazy about it. The new album from tUnE-yArDs: W H O K I L L is only $5 right now. If listening to this doesn't stretch you a bit, you may have deeper issues.

Beirut: Gulag Orkestar is $5

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Beirut

My first listen through Beirut's May 2006 album Gulag Orkestar was in June of 2006. Joe Thorn and I were driving our way toward Greensboro, North Carolina for the Southern Baptist Convention and I HAD to make a stop by ear X-tacy in Louisville, Kentucky for some CDs. I found Gulag and 7 others from my list. I think we listened to all of them on the way, but Beirut stuck out for both of us. It was such a different sound, international flavor, unexpected instrumentation. Both of us were blown away by it. We want to recommend it to you. So go get it for $5 and tell us what you think. When you love it, go pick up Lon Gisland EP, The Flying Club Cup, and March of the Zapotec. All are outstanding, and the flavors beautifully change a bit along the way. New album, The Rip Tide, due out August 30.

Beirut: "O Leãozinho"

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There are few bands that my ears want more than Beirut. Truly, in my opinion, one of the best bands in the world. Here's a new song from them that will be on the Red Hot + Rio 2 album releasing in June. Check out their amazing albums: Gulag Orkestar | Lon Gisland EP | The Flying Club Cup | March of the Zapotec & RealPeople: Holland | they also had a song on Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)