Passion Pit, Tiny Desk Concert Performance

I'm sharing a video of a great series from NPR Music called Tiny Desk Concerts. I've been following NPR Music for only about six months, but I've been impressed with the constant amount of relevant and amazing content the organization continues to push. One of the few podcasts I listen to is All Songs Considered, and hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton prove to be quite rehearsed in discovering great music. That's what this blog is about. It's called Discovery Tactic. The reasoning behind that is simple: how do you discover music? What are the tactics you use? NPR is one of my ways, and Passion Pit is one of the bands I've discovered through NPR.



Passion Pit began through an original CD that lead singer Michael Angelakos had written for his girlfriend at the time. He made all the music (and performed it) through his laptop. The other members of the band then met through mutual friends and became Passion Pit, releasing the original EP Chunk of Change in 2008. The official debut full-length, Manners, came out in 2009, and the band recently released their second album, Gossamer. Musically, the band has a very electronic pop sound, and the lyrics tend to be relationship-based, coming from Angelakos' writing. Early on, the solo music from Angelakos was very simple and electronic, but since joining with the other members, the group has given his writing a much more dynamic feel, showcasing the entire band's talent.

While their live show is very synth and electronic focused, I chose to share this Tiny Desk Concert video because of the simplicity of the acoustic set. Just a keyboard and guitar and it turns out to be such a captivating experience. The video strips away all the regular live show experiences, and takes it down to its bare essentials.

Personally, I prefer this type of music and performance. I was involved with an organization here in Memphis called Folk Alliance, and they would put on an international festival every year here in town. The festival provided an avenue for artists from around the world to come and perform in hotel rooms. There is nothing more satisfying as a music fan than sitting in a small room with close friends and enjoying the music that you all know and love. Being 10 feet away from an artist you've enjoyed for years. That's what this video brings for me, and I hope I can be part of something like this one day. Hope you all enjoy.