Carousels twirl all around excited youth
'I will lead the way, oh lead the way when I know / and I'll sleep away, oh sweep away what I don't / well, seize the way, oh seize the way, no I won't / I will lead the way, oh lead the day when I know.'
Cherbourg by Beirut, from The Flying Club Cup
*Song here
I miss this so much. I remember the days when I used to listen to them all the time. I would walk to school and listen to them, singing along off the top of my lungs. I used to stroll through downtown San Francisco, doing nothing but listening to Beirut, occasionally stopping by Union Square to smoke a cigarette. I would sit on the swings outside my apartment, looking off into the horizon, alone with my music and my thoughts. I remember taking the BART up to my aunt's house in up in east bay, sitting by myself with my laundry. Beirut was my escape. Something about the lyrics, the words that just made me float away into another world. Carousels twirls all around excited youth / I do not mind / We're, tonight, in a world full of thrills / come and carry me up / far above it all. I found their songs so incredibly beautiful. I still do. I don't know what it is about this group that makes me love them so, but it's there. It's magical and I adore them.
I remember when I saw them live. It was honestly one of the most surreal nights I have ever experienced. I mean, this group, this guy, Zach - they seem so far above the rest. He's only 24 and he's already this good. His stuff just seems to keep getting better and better. The covers they perform during their concerts - when I saw them, they did a cover of Caetano Veloso's O Leãozinho. I saw videos of them doing it at previous concerts during that tour & I thought it was amazing. But when I saw them perform it that night? It was so much better live; it was just so beautiful. And during their last tour, they did a cover of Serge Gainsbourg's La Javanaise. I love French music, I really do. But jesus, this was just amazing.
The musician in me goes crazy when I see the different instrumentation in the group. Look at the photo above, check out how awesome that is - and that's not even all the members of the group! You got violin, accordion, a rotary valve flugelhorn, guitar, baritone, trumpet, & a drum kit. There's also some ukes and a french horn on the ground. I mean, just thinking about the different instruments they utilize makes me go crazy with love for their music. Along with the instruments I already mentioned, there's also the bass (electric & upright), mandolin, glockenspiel(!), and melodica(!!). They also use whistling too! Check out this video of them performing O Leãozinho, you can see Kelly Pratt in the background whistling & then playing the french horn. I adore it so. And I just have so much love for Zach Condon himself. I love his voice. It's so pretty - there are times when he's singing and I wouldn't call him a crooner, but he just has this voice. I can't describe it. I love his voice, whether he's singing, talking, or laughing. And there are times where he's just so incredibly beautiful. Like in the 'A Sunday Smile' performance on Jools Holland. There's just something about that video that makes me fall in love with him and the group over & over again.
'If I was young, I'd flee this town, I'd bury my dreams underground. As did I, we drink to die, we drink tonight. Far from home, elephant gun, let's take them down, one by one. We'll lay it down, it's not been found, it's not around.'
*Both photos from flickr, I forgot the users because I don't think I got a chance to save them, eep.
Cherbourg by Beirut, from The Flying Club Cup
*Song here
I miss this so much. I remember the days when I used to listen to them all the time. I would walk to school and listen to them, singing along off the top of my lungs. I used to stroll through downtown San Francisco, doing nothing but listening to Beirut, occasionally stopping by Union Square to smoke a cigarette. I would sit on the swings outside my apartment, looking off into the horizon, alone with my music and my thoughts. I remember taking the BART up to my aunt's house in up in east bay, sitting by myself with my laundry. Beirut was my escape. Something about the lyrics, the words that just made me float away into another world. Carousels twirls all around excited youth / I do not mind / We're, tonight, in a world full of thrills / come and carry me up / far above it all. I found their songs so incredibly beautiful. I still do. I don't know what it is about this group that makes me love them so, but it's there. It's magical and I adore them.
I remember when I saw them live. It was honestly one of the most surreal nights I have ever experienced. I mean, this group, this guy, Zach - they seem so far above the rest. He's only 24 and he's already this good. His stuff just seems to keep getting better and better. The covers they perform during their concerts - when I saw them, they did a cover of Caetano Veloso's O Leãozinho. I saw videos of them doing it at previous concerts during that tour & I thought it was amazing. But when I saw them perform it that night? It was so much better live; it was just so beautiful. And during their last tour, they did a cover of Serge Gainsbourg's La Javanaise. I love French music, I really do. But jesus, this was just amazing.
The musician in me goes crazy when I see the different instrumentation in the group. Look at the photo above, check out how awesome that is - and that's not even all the members of the group! You got violin, accordion, a rotary valve flugelhorn, guitar, baritone, trumpet, & a drum kit. There's also some ukes and a french horn on the ground. I mean, just thinking about the different instruments they utilize makes me go crazy with love for their music. Along with the instruments I already mentioned, there's also the bass (electric & upright), mandolin, glockenspiel(!), and melodica(!!). They also use whistling too! Check out this video of them performing O Leãozinho, you can see Kelly Pratt in the background whistling & then playing the french horn. I adore it so. And I just have so much love for Zach Condon himself. I love his voice. It's so pretty - there are times when he's singing and I wouldn't call him a crooner, but he just has this voice. I can't describe it. I love his voice, whether he's singing, talking, or laughing. And there are times where he's just so incredibly beautiful. Like in the 'A Sunday Smile' performance on Jools Holland. There's just something about that video that makes me fall in love with him and the group over & over again.
'If I was young, I'd flee this town, I'd bury my dreams underground. As did I, we drink to die, we drink tonight. Far from home, elephant gun, let's take them down, one by one. We'll lay it down, it's not been found, it's not around.'
*Both photos from flickr, I forgot the users because I don't think I got a chance to save them, eep.