Beirut Music Videos
February 2, 2008 6:15 PM   Subscribe

The band Beirut released the Flying Club Cup on October 9th, and La Blogothèque has filmed unique, one take, on the spot, mostly public 'music videos' of each track.

1- Nantes
2- Sunday Smile
3- Guyamas Sonora
4- La Banlieue
5- Cliquot
6- The Penalty
7- La Fete
8- In the Mausoleum
9- Un Dernier Verre
10- Cherbourg
11- St. Apollonia
12- The Flying Club Cup

(Some of the writing below the belows the videos is pretty effusive, but the music and videos are still impressive.)

Here are a couple more traditional Beirut music videos. And here is one I like of Josè González by the same people.
posted by Corduroy (28 comments total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
I could listen to Beirut all day.
posted by billypilgrim at 6:42 PM on February 2, 2008


Nice post, Corduroy. I like Beirut's stuff, but around my house dude tends to be known as Morriseynikov.

We went to see them play last year, but became too annoyed and left because it was too crowded and the people around us were too stupid to live. We did catch A Hawk and a Hacksaw, who were amazing.
posted by sleepy pete at 6:56 PM on February 2, 2008


You neglected to mention the two songs Beirut played live in Paris also for the excellent La Blogotheque.

Great post. I love these videos.
posted by deafmute at 6:58 PM on February 2, 2008


Great stuff -- the videos and music are both wonderful. Thanks for the post!
posted by treepour at 7:03 PM on February 2, 2008


+1 Takeaway Show
-1 I CAN'T STAND HIS VOICE SOUNDS LIKE A SMARMY ASSHOLE AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY AHH.

Anybody else feel similarly?
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:09 PM on February 2, 2008


I say to this, yay. Yay!
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 7:17 PM on February 2, 2008


No, wemayfreeze. Yay!
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 7:21 PM on February 2, 2008


This is great.
posted by Mid at 7:53 PM on February 2, 2008


Sorry, wemayfreeze, another yay! from the hinterlands of Japan....
posted by squasha at 7:57 PM on February 2, 2008


This is great timing - I just bought the album a few days ago, and have been listening to it incessantly. Now I have music videos to go along with it! Yay!
posted by andeles at 8:02 PM on February 2, 2008


Wow, the concert à emporter series is insanely good thank you!
posted by dnial at 8:31 PM on February 2, 2008


Take Away Shows is the core website to look at, here. It's been linked on Mefi before, and should be again, until the end of time. Dozens of bands, great shows. Go look.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:33 PM on February 2, 2008


Love these guys. Thank you so much.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:23 PM on February 2, 2008


- Too tired to find the link, but there was a schtick where Zach had the first two videos done in Paris, wanted the French director to film the album videos, and then basically passed out from exhaustion and cancelled a ton of shows. Luckily he got better.
posted by tmcw at 9:28 PM on February 2, 2008


And suddenly all the Beirut fans come out of the woodwork... myself included.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 11:34 PM on February 2, 2008


These videos are great, I had no idea Beirut had a new album out; just grabbed it off Amazon, thanks!
posted by anifinder at 11:47 PM on February 2, 2008


i can see what wemayfreeze means about the voice but i love them and the music so much that i like the voice. but i could see, finding it smarmy if i wasn't into them. That's how i feel about Decemberists' guy voice, it's like so snmug and self-satisfied that i can't listen to the music.

also ok, is that McCarren park/tennis courts where they are playing in The Penalty? I used to play tennis there, it woulda been neat if beirut had been playing at the time! aw
posted by rollerball at 4:57 AM on February 3, 2008


I'm with you, wemayfreeze.
posted by statolith at 7:32 AM on February 3, 2008


Thanks for the other links deafmute and LobsterMitten!

I'm with rollerball on this. I've always really liked his voice, though I can definitely see why someone might not like it. But I think his voice is complimented very well by the style of music he plays, and the sort of drunk or dizzy persona he seems to put on in a lot of these videos (which is often accented by the spinning camera).
posted by Corduroy at 8:42 AM on February 3, 2008


Love Beirut. They were in LA a few months ago and the opening act act was one of the members of his band. I think they are all in a few bands and each of the band members plays backup in the others' bands.
posted by HotPatatta at 10:51 AM on February 3, 2008


I never have time to find good music. Beirut was recommended to me by a friend.

If I like Beirut and Jose Gonzalez, what else might I enjoy?
posted by HotPatatta at 10:54 AM on February 3, 2008


HotPatatta: You would probably really dig Devotchka.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:11 PM on February 3, 2008


What's the deal with this guy, anyway? He sounds like a Parisian poet fantasizing about gypsy folk groups in the Balkan, and he's from... Albuquerque.

Disclaimer: I'm a fan.

Also: some background on the advance release drama, from this thread.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:06 PM on February 3, 2008


Also, La Blogothèque's Take Away Shows are consistently good, IMO. See this stellar Arcade Fire one.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:08 PM on February 3, 2008 [1 favorite]


Just about all the Takeaway Shows are winners, but the Beirut stuff is a stand out.

My favorite track both here and on the album is Cliquot, and I think I kinda prefer this version more. Mostly because I <3 Ed from Grizzly Bear.
posted by sparkletone at 5:11 PM on February 3, 2008


Ooh, I LOVE Beirut. I get why some people don't like the guy's voice, but it doesn't bug me - listening to enough Neutral Milk Hotel probably makes you immune (and in general NMH seems like the most obvious influence for these guys, if you ask me).
posted by naoko at 8:57 AM on February 4, 2008


(Love the "Morrisseynikov " comment though - I like Morrissey and I still find that totally hilarious.)
posted by naoko at 8:59 AM on February 4, 2008


I like their sound a lot, but got bored of them pretty fast. They lack soul.
posted by rottytooth at 1:39 PM on February 4, 2008


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