Original post author: Ryan
I'm a big fan of NPR Music's Tiny Desk concert series. These concerts started in 2008 - almost 10 years ago - supposedly when Bob Boilen (host of the All Songs Considered podcast) became frustrated with noisy and distracting concert venues. The Tiny Desk concerts are recorded right at Bob's office desk - and they are great because they strip away all of the cruft that gets between the music and your ears.
The music is front and center, and artists seem to have great respect for that. They treat their Tiny Desk performances as something special.
I feel like the quality of music has been especially high over the past few months, so I decided to share a list of my favorite Tiny Desk concerts. I haven’t come anywhere close to watching all of the concerts, so I might have to update this list again sometime in the future.
Gotta love this. The vocalist's (Bilal's) performance is powerful yet it often seems effortless. This sort of thing only happens when there is passion behind the music - and I sense there's a lot here - particularly in the last 3 minutes or so when he seems legitimately pissed off about equality issues. Definately one of the best Tiny Desk concerts right here.
This guy is a bit of a contradiction. He has a really soulful voice that sounds like it comes from New Orleans - yet he's from Sweden. Nonetheless, he's got the goods!
He sounds a bit like Ray LaMontagne. Solid concert here – it’s so easy to watch that it will be over before you even know it – and then you’ll say, ‘is there more?’ Yes there is - and it was recorded at Newport Folk Festival.
This is three sisters in a folk band. The vocals are the main focus here. Lots of good harmonies, and just the right amount of yelling.
With Tiny Desk, I find that a band completely outside of my typical preferences can grab my attention - and impress me! This is a good example. Honestly – I dare you to play the first 10 seconds of this, and then not listen to at least 5 minutes. It’s got a guy playing an electric guitar with a violin bow. It’s got an Obama lookalike playing drums. I’m pretty sure the lead singer starts handing out snacks near the end. Everyone is having so much fun here. I’d join their band if they asked me. Mom do you still have my clarinet from elementary school?
I didn’t know who The Arcs were before I watched this concert. This is a great band, perhaps underappreciated. Also, this was recorded two years ago and it was the 500th Tiny Desk concert. So, estimating that there has been about 150 additional concerts since then, and that each concert is about 15 minutes long, that means there is about 9,500 minutes or 158 hours of music – and more getting added every week. Now you know why I haven’t listened to all of the concerts.
This is a hip-hop artist, and his Tiny Desk performance is great. Writing about music is hard - but the person who writes the YouTube descriptions for NPR music is on point - they said this: "His deceptively intricate rhythm tracks interlock with complementary harmonies and brilliantly constructed bars in ways that appeal to both diehard hip-hop heads — those who decipher and analyze lyrics as a hobby — and those who just want a clutch beat." Woah, now those are the words of someone who actually knows what their doing.
When these guys finish their set, the host - Bob - was so excited that he gave the band high fives, and then catches them off guard by asking for another song. They didn't seem prepared, but they grabbed random office supplies to use as instruments - and then proceded to jam.
Standing on the desk of Tiny Desk is a move you see from time to time – but Paul Janeway, the lead singer, pulls it off better than most. Soulful.
(Honorable Mention) OK Go
In traditional OK Go fashion, their Tiny Desk concert is an intricate video recorded during NPR Music’s move from one office to another. They recorded little segments of the song in the first office, then in the hallway, then in the moving truck, then in the new office elevator, all the way to the new Tiny Desk location. This isn’t really a “stripped down” intimate performance that is typical of Tiny Desk – so I would feel disingenuous putting it in the list with the others.
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