Other Stuff You Might Like: La Blogotheque

Many of the sites I’ve featured in the “Other Stuff You Might Like” series have a common thread: excellent, impromptu concerts by established and upcoming musicians.  We’ve looked at Luxury Wafers, Black Cab Sessions, They Shoot Music – Don’t They, and NPR Music.  (And I’m sure to get around to Daytrotter before too long…)  Now, from France, we’ve got the excellent blog La Blogotheque, and its excellent Take-Away Shows (or, if you prefer, Les Concerts à Emporter).  The site’s catalog of artists is truly amazing, as are the performances, and so I invite you to come have a look…

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News: Billy Bragg Covers Joanna Newsom for The Voice Project

We’ve mentioned The Voice Project before, and I’d really suggest you check out our previous post or visit their site.  That said, we’ve shown you videos from Peter Gabriel, Joseph Arthur, and Mike Mills.  In that Mike Mills video, we were treated to a cover of Billy Bragg’s “Sing Their Souls Back Home.”

And now, it’s Bragg’s turn to give us a cover of Joanna Newsom’s “On a Good Day.”  It’s a lovely, intimate version, and I won’t waste any more time by trying to render it in prose.  So, follow me, check it out, and then go visit the fine folks of The Voice Project:

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Au Revoir Simone: Live on “Dinner with the Band”

We mentioned Dinner with the Band when the Mountain Goats dropped by, and now it’s time to have dinner with the lovely women of Au Revoir Simone.  Last night, after some Korean food, the girls played “Stay Golden,” “Shadows,” “All or Nothing,” and “Anywhere You Looked.” Come check out the first two after the jump:

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Other Stuff You Might Like: They Shoot Music – Don’t They

In the vein of other sites we’ve mentioned – Luxury Wafers, Daytrotter, and Black Cab SessionsThey Shoot Music – Don’t They is a Viennese site dedicated to bringing high-quality, impromptu performances by new and established artists to the masses.  Their mission, as they describe it, is a pretty simple one:

Why are you doing this?

1) We all feel strongly connected to sub culture in one way or another and we enjoy being productive.
2) We all agree with the fact that Vienna is a great town but also lacks fresh representation platforms when it comes to music scenes and media projects.  So we will tag the urban space of Vienna with soundscapes from indie artists and document that on our website. The combination of act and location is also meant as a guide for people who want to know more about relevant subcultural spots in Vienna.

The site features a wide-range of artists (see some after the cut), who are all chosen through a simple mechanism: “We have no strict guidelines for that [choosing]. If we like an artist we contact him or her. If the artist likes the idea of working with us we seal the deal and schedule a session.” The site features videos in Flash.  However, if you sign-up for a free account, you can view things in higher-quality divx.  And I highly recommend you do.  You can also visit them on Twitter and Last.fm.  But for now, let’s look at some of their excellent handiwork around Vienna:

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The Mountain Goats: Live on “Dinner with the Band”

Most of the time, I’m inclined to say: “Ugh! These cooking shows are getting out hand!”  I’m also fond of saying: “Goats are the worst topic for a podcast ever!  Listen to this…”  So, imagine my chagrin when The Mountain Goats and a cooking show teamed up for something awesome!  Such is IFC’s “Dinner with the Band.” The basic conceit is this: A band arrives to play some tracks in-studio (surrounded by, I’m guessing, some of the most awkward/lucky people the producers could find), and is served food by chef/host Sam Mason.  And for something that screams vanity project, we get some pretty intimate performances from bands that seem a little bit disarmed by the whole thing.

The Mountain Goats ate a vegetarian meal of Death Metal Steaks (cauliflower steaks), Cotton Puree (cauliflower puree), Sunset Fries (chickpea fries), and Moon Over Sazerac cocktails.  They performed  The Life Of The World to Come’s “Isaiah 45:23,” We Shall All Be Healed’s “Cotton,” The Sunset Tree’s “Love Love Love,” and The Life of the World to Come’s “Psalms 40:2.” Follow the link to see video of the first three.

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