Can I get that band to go?

Pre-recorded music videos are for your grandpa. Unless your grandpa knows how to use the internet, in which case maybe he noticed that music-on-the-go videos are the new web trend. It all started when one hipster Parisien with a camera and a pseudonym  teamed up with another hipster Parisien with an indie music weblog…et voilà! You have Vincent Moon posting Take Away Shows on La Blogothèque. Moon seems to ascribe to a no-bells-or-whistles philosophy of filmmaking. Actually, scratch that, bells and whistles are a go. Just no lighting, editing, or tripod. The novelty is the simplicity.

Moon filmed the first Take Away Show (Concert  À  Emporter in French) with The Spinto Band in 2006. Since then there have been over 90 shows which include the biggest indie rock stars of the last couple years. Chill, indie rockosphere, you know you have “stars.” And you know they all hang out in Paris.

If not Paris, then London. London is the home to a second successful music-on-the-go budget video innovation called Black Cab Sessions.  BCS was started as a partnership project between brother/sister duo Gen and Jono Stevens to create some buzz for their other (sweet) jobs: director of a music promo company and co-director of a film production company, respectively. It worked. They started with Johnny Flynn over 50 sessions ago and now all the cool kids are doing it. Literally—The Cool Kids have a Black Cab Session. (They also have an interview about cereal. Amazing dudes.)

Call me misanthropic, but part of what I like about these videos is seeing how much some of them suck. And when they don’t suck it really blows you away because it’s one take, no electricity, shitty sound quality and they’re in a friggin’ taxi…or elevator… or subway train…or boat…

Some highlights…

Sunset Rubdown Black Cab Session

Black Cab Sessions:

Daniel Johnston – Grievances

The New Pornographers – All the Old Showstoppers

The Walkmen – The Red Moon

Take Away Shows:

Grizzly Bear – The Knife (a capella)

Tapes and Tapes – Insistor

The National – Gospel

Beirut – Nantes (they did the entire The Flying Cub Cup album “à emporter”)

Milk

Haven’t seen nearly as many of the raved about 2008 flicks as I would like to, but I did catch Milk. See it. It’s a great story. Sean Penn is phenomenal. James Franco is his super sexy younger boyfriend. To get you in the mood, here is James Franco upping the ante on his looks by also being really funny. He paints, too.