August 29, 2008
Rock 'n' Stroll
A good music video doesn’t require a zillion-dollar budget; sometimes simplicity does the trick. Just set up a cute indie band on the leafy streets of Paris, follow them with a video camera and a mic, and let their organic talents and melodic spontaneity unravel. That’s pretty much what happens on "The Take Away Shows” on the French music site, La Blogothèque (think a Gallic Stereogum or Pitchfork).
The videos (“Les Concerts a Emporter”) find your favorite indie musicians — Grizzly Bear, Cold War Kids, Okkervil River, among them — strolling through Paris playing their tunes as pedestrians, kids, cars and all of the City of Light amble by. Sometimes it’s just one musician on a bed (St. Vincent); or maybe it’s an ensemble of 10 or 12 (Beirut, The Hidden Cameras) taking over a sidewalk café, or even a freight elevator (Arcade Fire).
Over the last two years, La Blogothèque has archived more than 70 different performances, each clip directed by the blog’s maestro, Vincent Moon, who shoots every segment in one elegant, uninterrupted take. The result is the coolest musical postcard of Paris you’d ever hope to receive.
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