Beirut. The City. The Game. The Band.

Beirut (Arabic: بيروت, transliteration: Bayrūt) is the capital, largest city, and chief seaport of Lebanon.

Beirut (aka Beer Pong) is a highly competitive drinking game in which players throw a ping pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in one of several cups of beer on the other end. Much time and effort is of course dedicated to understanding the nuances and variations in rules of this beloved frat boy past-time, as seen in the Beirut-Guide, or on the Beer Pong Map (Beer Pong vs. Beirut – What is the game called?) Not to mention classic dramatic films like Beer Fest…

Beirut, it turns out, is also a pretty sweet new band. Check out their MySpace and have a listen. Recommended by a friend whose musical opinion I dare not take lightly, Beirut quickly secured special place in my heart after I heard the first few notes.

This review hits the nail on the head:

“While it may sound like an entire Balkan gypsy orchestra playing modern songs as mournful ballads and upbeat marches, Beirut’s first album, Gulag Orkestar, is largely the work of one 19-year old Albuquerque native, Zach Condon…like a drunken 12-member ensemble that has fallen in love with The Magnetic Fields, Talking Heads and Neutral Milk Hotel”.

At times very cobblestone-streets-of-Paris-à-la-Amélie with hauntingly beautiful melodies and sad accordian, Zach’s wistful vocals bring tears to your eyes. And yet, you can’t help but tap your foot to that dirty gypsy beat.

For more on the rise of this unassuming star, check out Rachel Syme’s review: “How a 20-year-old blogosphere star is dealing with massive hype, brutal flops, and a suddenly awkward name“

Take Me Away

One of the most satisfying (or least, depending on who and when you ask) aspect of listening to an artist is discovering how that artist sounds live in concert. The instrumentation, the lighting, the changes in the songs all brought out for live performances can usually significantly change the experience. But concert tickets are expensive, bands tour, but usually in limited locations and venues (or for folks living in places like Idaho, maybe never and nowhere), and even in an amphitheater, there’s a certain feeling of disconnect from the band. In conjunction with this is the fact that it usually takes some sort of “unplugged” event to get an artist who would normally not be, to go acoustic. Mathieu Saura, a 27 year old from Paris who goes by the name Vincent Moon, has found the solution.

Fueled by passion for music and cinema, Saura launched Take-Away shows in 2006. A collection of now over 80 music videos, created by musicians, featuring them playing a song in a stripped down, improvised version as they walk through public places and streets, the Takeaway shows are now experiencing a wealth of attention from the media, including CNN. Saura has managed to mix the music video form with the internationalist appeal of music to bring artists from all over the world and all different musical styles together. These impromptu videos, taken usually around the band’s hometown or in the streets of Paris, offer a very real and low-tech look at a variety of artists, and provide a very different backdrop for the songs usually associated with CDs and radio airplay.

Furthermore, Saura doesn’t feel the need to upgrade to a high-tech feel because of the equipment initially available on the launch of the venture, and his desire to keep the product consistent and authentic. The variety of artists is astounding, featuring Arcade Fire, my long time favorite Elysian Fields, and previous Evolving Music blog subjects Beirut (“Beirut. The City. The Game. The Band.” 10/8/07), Vampire Weekend (“When Vampire Strikes,” 2/8/08) and, so we’re told through the grapevine, soon to be included is Crystal Springs Uplands alum Scott Reitherman and Throw Me the Statue (“Throw Me That Home Coming,” 11/8/07) in honor of their re-released Moonbeams album from Secretly Canadian

Whether you’re looking for some new music, or just a new way to look at music you know, the Take-away shows offer you a chance to see both artists you love and artists you’ve never heard of in new acoustic and public ways. The personal and intimate feeling these videos elicit, combined with the diversity and travelogue aspect of the settings creates a musical experience with the power to transport the listener to places further than the radio singles ever could. And all of it, from the blogs, to the emerging artists, to the new interpretations and portrayals of music, falls perfectly into the growing universe that is MixMatchMusic.

5 Gift Ideas for Music and Tech Lovers

Having officially commenced my holiday gift shopping today (including one of the below recommendations), I began to wonder if our shopping habits might reveal interesting (or disturbing?) facts about our true selves. Here is my breakdown of shopper types. Which one are you?

Types of shoppers:

– Those who spend 6 months brainstorming, obsessively searching for the perfect thing…not to mention the time and money spent wrapping gifts with meticulous care, despite the wrapping’s imminent fate of being torn apart and discarded.

– Those who nonchalantly wait till 8pm on December 24th, then panic and do all their shopping in two hours at Walmart.

– The home-made gift givers who slave away knitting scarves, framing photos, making mixed CDs, editing video …

– And of course the eh-I’ll-just-buy-em-a-gift-certificate types.

Whatever their shopping style, most people have someone in their life who is an aficionado of music or technology. Or both. Here are some gift ideas for that person:

1. The Gamerator – Arcade game/Beer tap. “Not only does this supreme frat-gadget give home to a flatscreen monitor, full MAME game system, and vintage arcade controls, it also hosts a kegerator that situates its tap right beneath the joystick ledge, allowing mid-game refills without any pause in competitive action.” So, when you get sick of playing Beirut you can move on to this more high-tech drinking game set-up.

2. Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band – Someone I know recently got a visit from the cops at home because he and his friends were playing Rock Band too loudly…Whether your giftee is a musician, a gamer, both, or neither, these games are a good bet. Be forewarned, however, that both can be highly addictive (or so I hear).

3. Pro Tools – One of the best DAWs available for recording musicians (professional or not-so-professional). There are a plethora of other software alternatives including Logic Pro, Cubase, Digital Performer, Sonar and Garage Band. Some of these software programs practically require a degree in nuclear physics to master, others could be learned while simultaneously watching the Simpsons, eating a taco, and updating your Facebook profile, so it’s advisable to ascertain the recipient’s level of musical ability and familiarity with software before making your purchase.

4. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain – bestselling book by author/neurologist Oliver Sacks, in which he examines the power of music on the human brain and recounts stories ranging from “people with ‘amusia,’ to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds–for everything but music.” I once read an article about a girl who has a terrible stutter, except for when she sings – wonder if he included her in the book…

5. Solar Messenger Bag – Charge your cell phone, ipod, camera, etc (can carry but not charge a laptop) as you bike to the office in your suit with your latte in one hand and your newspaper under your arm…Good for hippies, green-friendly business types, or anyone who habitually forgets to charge their devices at home.