Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Cool Music Stuff on the Internet - Elliott Smith, Bon Iver, U2, Bell X1, Mumford and Sons

A cool video of Elliott Smith performing live from 2003 (via rawkblog.net) HERE

A Bon Iver cover of Bonnie Rait. I love an unexpected musical combo, like THIS (via stereogum.com)

I was at this U2 show in Anaheim 6/18, and this was awesome. I still say No Line on the Horizon was underrated.  Example, THIS (via stereogum.com)

Bell X1 Live on Mountain Stage (via NPR Music) HERE.  Yes, I am obsessed. Shut up. They are good. 

Sneak peak of Mumford and Sons from the upcoming Storytellers (via glassnotemusic.blogspot.com) HERE




Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Beauty of Live Music



Recently I was watching "Shine A Light", the Scorcese-directed movie of a Rolling Stones concert at the Beacon Theatre, which I've seen a time or two.  A song came on I had sort of forgotten about.  And I have to share it here.

Whether or not you are a Stones fan, stop what you are doing and just watch this video and specifically listen in to Ronnie Wood playing.



The best thing about music is the live experience.  Live music happens once- that's it. A song is performed by an artist.  The performer may read or feel something from their audience, adjusting the way the song is played - ever so slightly - making it a truly one-of-a-kind experience.  That is the beauty of live music. You'll never hear and feel it that way again. It is a fleeting moment, until the next time you happen to capture it, but in a different way, with a different artist and energy.

Great live videos are a poor substitute, but they can remind us of all the past live performances we've seen where we felt the moment.  Here are some of my favorites. What are some of yours?

U2- Bad at Live Aid, 1985


Joe Cocker- With a Little Help From My Friends, Woodstock, 1969


Billy Joel- New York State of Mind, BBC, 1978


Pink Floyd, Live from the Pulse tour, Take it Back


Pink, Glitter in the Air at the Grammys, 2010 (even if you are not a Pink fan, give it a watch)


John Mayer, In Your Atmosphere, Live in LA 2008


U2, Live at the Superbowl 2002


Billy Joel, Piano Man, 1993

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Cool Music Stuff on the Internet - Bon Iver, Bonnaroo, Mumford and Sons does The National, Arcade Fire


New Bon Iver album streaming in its entirety on NPR Music (via Pretty Much Amazing) HERE

A collective of Bonnaroo performances (via Largehearted Boy) HERE

An amazing cover of one awesome band of another- read this carefully now- Mumford and Sons covers The National's England (via Stereogum) HERE

Arcade Fire rearranged a couple of their songs (Sprawl II and We Used to Wait) (also via Stereogum) HERE

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Cool Music Stuff on the Internet - Florence, Coldplay, The National, Death Cab, Bon Iver, Badly Drawn Boy, Sasquatch, TV on the Radio


Florence does Buddy Holly (via nowness.comHERE

Coldplay reveals some new songs (via Stereogum.com)  HERE

Watch The National perform an entire set (via musicinducedeuphoria.blogspot.comHERE

Watch Death Cab for Cutie perform on Vh1 Storytellers (via twentyfourbit.com) HERE

Unheard/new Bon Iver song (via prettymuchamazing.com) HERE

NPR Music (oh how I love thee) streaming (audio & video) Badly Drawn Boy performing HERE

NPR Music is sharing a boatload of performances from the Sasquatch Festival, from artists like Death Cab, Foo Fighters, Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, and waaaaaaay more HERE

NPR Music has TV on the Radio on World Cafe HERE