Thanks, Youtube

Over the weekend I was able to go to Coachella. Okay, I wasn't there in person, unfortunately, but thanks to the advent of the Internet I was able to experience it live from the comfort of my own home.

Youtube was streaming concerts live all weekend long, and I was able to catch two great ones - Best Coast and, at 2AM Saturday, Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire also streamed one of their shows at Madison Square Garden live last year and I watched that one, too. They are truly an amazing band live and oh, how I wish I was there in person to experience that! They really put on quite a show. I watched them until 3:30, I didn't want to stop, it was just beautiful.

Best Coast was great, too, although their set was much shorter. Just like Arcade Fire, though, they're really good live; I think I'd say that they are even better live than on recording, even! Bethany's banter was awesome and she just had a ton of personality and energy, even more than she does on the album. Also, the band played a new song I'd never heard before and a cover, and both of those were worth the watch!

I don't know to feel about these streams, despite my enjoyable experiences with them. On the one hand, I got to watch Arcade Fire in concert for free! Twice! A lot of people got to see how great these bands were for the first time and are now going to check them out. And I am a thousand times more likely to try to go to an Arcade Fire/Best Coast/etc. concert in the future. On the other hand, as an artist, wouldn't you rather people pay money to see you live? Obviously watching at home isn't quite the same but it was still pretty darn good. I actually got to see them up close; at a concert there'd be a ton of other people around and I might be stuck in the back.

I don't know that people would ever stop wanting to go to concerts but streaming them is definitely making people like me less likely to try to attend something like Coachella because I know I can just watch it at home.

We'll see what happens.

"The...Suburbs."

Last night I watched the Grammys for the first time in years. The Grammys are the lest important out of all of the major awards, maybe because they're light on awards and heavy on performance by people I don't care much about. Seriously, they gave out maybe 10 awards last night. It's like a big, three hour concert. However, for some reason we found ourselves watching.

And you know? It wasn't terrible. Justin Bieber was good, and I'm not saying that just because I'm biased because we're best friends or anything; Rihanna was good, and so was Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae. Other than that, the show was kind of dull. I was anticipating Arcade Fire's performance, but then they did "Month of May," which is a great, fun song but I was looking forward to "Ready to Start," or maybe "The Sprawl II."

But then? Right after they performed, it was time for Album of the Year. The awards, in my opinion, don't really matter much. It's all a big popularity contest. "Need You Now" is NOT better than ANY of those other songs (or "records" depending on the category) nominated, but it still won. It's politics. But Album of the Year doesn't usually go with the popular choice, so it's always a nice surprise. This year was no different, as you can see in that video.

Yep, Arcade Fire's The Suburbs WON, and I was just as shocked as you and everyone else watching. I was also ecstatic, because for once it's 1. a band that I like and 2. something that's actually good! (that I've heard, anyway, haha). The fact that these guys even got nominated surprised me, but that they won as well was a really amazing way to end the show. Of course, not everyone felt the same way; I heard people at school today whining about not knowing who the band is, and people took to their Twitters to complain about some "unknown" band winning over Eminem and Lady Gaga. (They also complained about actually unknown singer Esperanza Spalding winning Best New Artist over the Biebs. Whatever, I ain't even mad.)

Arcade Fire might not have been the popular choice, but in my opinion, they were the right choice. Music is a very subjective thing but they just made a very classic-sounding rock and roll album. It's not really heavy stuff, although the lyrics definitely have substance (MAN, I love the opening lines to "Ready to Start": "Businessmen drinking my blood/like the kids in art school said they would." I also love the lyrics to "We Used to Wait"), not that Eminem's raps don't or anything, but this album, in my opinion, was very accessibly, just objectively good music. It's very Americana, and the Grammys eat that crud up, I think.

So congrats to Arcade Fire. Let's hail this as a win for the good and not just the popular.

Is This Post Early Or Late?

Either way, I should go to bed! And so should you! No, I don't care if you just woke up and it's now 11 AM. Go back to bed.  It's the summer and you have no business being awake. EVIL STARE.

Here's some random stuff:



This one's an oldie, but a goodie. It is seriously hilarious. KIDS THESE DAYS. With their being werewolves and everything.



As detailed in my last post, sort of, I'm obsessed with all things Auto-Tune the News right now, including this adorable song. It's so catchy and adorable and you just have to love it! OR ELSE.



You may or may not have heard that Arcade Fire's concert last night was streamed LIVE on YouTube. Well, it was. It was really cool! I guess flashing lights and good camera angles can make anything seem epic, but these guys are the preeminent makers of epic-sounding music today, maybe. What do I know? Anyone who saw Where the Wild Things Are knows this song, "Wake Up," from that amazing trailer that was almost better than the movie itself (and I mean, it was a good movie, so), and while the quality of this isn't so good, it's something. This was the last song they played yesterday. You can download it here if you want to. If you don't, that's a'ight, that's a'ight. But I love this song.



Pull a lever or whatevah, right now, right now! (I rule at this level. SOULJA BOY TELL 'EM. ...what was that I don't even know~)

Collected random links:

• Again, "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire. In case you didn't feel like reading that part before.
• An article I read awhile ago about Joaquin Phoenix's documentary about his pathetic descent into insanity
• Jerry Saltz's recap for Wednesday's Work of Art. Seriously, WHY PEREGRINE OVER NICOLE?!? My sister and I were screaming. You would have been scared.

I'm taking the weekend off again. You know. PARTYIN'. (Or, um, sleeping in or something.) See you Monday.

We'll just stay in our homes, in our homes, in our homes!

The Take-Away Show is one of the greatest concepts to ever come out of the Internet, I think.

The Take-Away Show (or "le Concert a Emporter") was created by La Blogotheque, a popular French music blog. Here is how they define it:

Every week, we invite an artist or a band to play in the streets, in a bar, a park, or even in a flat or in an elevator, and we film the whole session. Of course, what makes the beauty of it is all the little incidents, hesitations, and crazy stuff happening unexpectingly. Besides, we do not edit the videos so they look perfectly flawless, instead we keep the raw sound of the surroundings. Our goal is to try and capture instants, film the music just like it happens, without preparation, without tricks. Spontaneity is the keyword.

Does that not sound amazing? Because it is.

Call me a hipster (although I will deck you something awful if you do), but one of my favorite bands is The Dodos. They're not really that hipster-y, though, at least, I don't think they are. Anyway, they make "freak folk," which is basically just really high-energy folk music. It involves yelling, but the yelling is cool. The drumming is also insaaaaane, as is the guitar playing.

I thought I had seen the majority of the worthwhile Dodos videos until I checked again last night and found that Current.tv, one of my most favorite TV channels that I don't have, had partnered with La Blogotheque last August (!!!) to create an AMAZING 20 minute Take-Away Show with the Dodos in San Francisco!

Set list:

1. Beards

2. Joe's Waltz (Download)

3. Fools

4. Horny Hippies

Nice mix of Visiter stuff and Beware of the Maniacs stuff, yay. "Horny Hippies" and "Joe's Waltz" are the stand-out performances, so if you don't want to watch the whole thing (and shame on you if you don't) then at least watch those two. Although Joe's Waltz is seven minutes long. But still!

Here are some other cool Take-Away Shows:

Guillemots - "Made-Up Lovesong #43" (Download)

The dressing like a hobo theme continues from the Dodos video into this one! Tee-hee. That was a joke. I really like the location. It's so perfect for this video. And I like how the camera guy runs away at the end. Or do I? It's actually pretty weird. But, like, "ha-ha" weird. Not like "I think that man is a mass murderer in the making" weird. Anyway.

Ra Ra Riot - "Dying is Fine"

Ra Ra Riot is a band that you'd think would suck live, mainly because lead singer Wes' voice is kind of...it has its quirky charms, let's put it that way. But this actually sounds really excellent, a lot like the album version. And you gotta love the violins.

Bloc Party - "This Modern Love" (Download)

Once again, Kele from La Fiesta de Bloc is someone who you would think wouldn't sound so great live, but he does, and it's acoustic, too! I luuuurve this song. Especially the "Jump left/right" parts. And he makes those parts sound so meaningful! Not that they weren't originally, but you know what I mean. He does a heartfelt rendition.

Arcade Fire

Set list:

1. Neon Bible

2. Wake Up

Yeah, this one's pretty long, but it's probably the single most popular Take-Away Show, after the Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver ones. The Dodos one is still better, though! But, ahem, I like what was written about this on the site:

We knew that the Take Away Show with Arcade Fire wouldn’t be like the others. The project was made for them because they’re of a different kind, a different essence. We had spent the afternoon with them when suddenly we realized, in a flash: “yes, this group is different.”
We had been playing the role of “outsider” the entire day, like a foreign body that latches onto the daily grind of these magnificent musicians. We had to adapt, through astonishment and wonder, as the band took up their instruments and started to play. But Arcade Fire didn’t take us as outsiders. It all seemed to unfold naturally: we entered into their logic as they awaited us and eventually swallowed us up. It was now Win Butler’s Take Away Show, and we followed.

Win Butler is, of course, Arcade Fire's leading man. I really like the part where they walk into the stadium into the GIGANTIC crowd, and then they just swing "Wake Up" like it's nothing into a megaphone. Wouldn't it be just so cool to be in that crowd, to witness that? ("REACHES AND TOUCHES MY HAND!" yaaay that part)

I would love to see any Take-Away Show. For people not in the know, it could just seem like particularly bold street performers doing their thing, but to see a band you really like just walking around and singing without a care in the world, I just think that's the coolest.

So let's dance!

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