Beirut
“Postcards From Italy”
Background Info
*band formed from a solo music project by Zach Condon
from Santa Fe, NM (he was raised in Virginia)
*influenced by Mariachi band music
*traveled to Europe in late teens and became interested
in Balkan music (“gypsy” sound)
*played the trumpet in jazz band in high school; also cites
jazz as a major influence
*has collaborated with and been compared to Neutral
Milk Hotel and A Hawk and a Hackshaw (very early on)
*Beirut’s first performance: May 2006 in NYC
Albums
*Gulag Orkestar (May 2006) “Postcards From
Italy”
*The Flying Club Cup (October 2007)
*The March of the Zapotec (January 2009)
*Beirutando
-“Beirutando na praça”--“Beiruting in the
Square” (August 30, 2009)
*The Rip Tide (August 2011)
Musical Features
“Postcards From Italy”
• Instrumentation: ukulele, drums, tambourine,
two trumpets
• Solo vocals (Zach Condon)
• Dynamics: starts and ends softly (piano) with
ukulele
• Vocal ornamentation, vibrato, mid to high range
• Steady rhythm, duple meter heard clearly by
ukulele throughout
• Syncopation heard in vocals and trumpets
Musical Functions & Semiotics
• Telling a story (entertainment)
– Turns from “we” to an exclamatory “I” after the
instrumental section
• Ukulele symbolizes light-hearted hope and
bittersweet nostalgia
• Rising pitch is usually an icon of happy feelings
and falling pitch is an icon of distressing feelings
– Both trumpets and vocals have this effect
• Ukulele strumming on the tonic for a few seconds
+ fading out of other instruments = index that
hints toward the buildup to the final verse
0:00-0:08
0:08-0:35
0:26
ukulele
verse 1
enter drums, tambourine
0:35-1:09
verse 2
1:09-2:19
1:18
1:53-2:02
2:02-2:19
2:19-2:54
instrumental (add trumpet)
enter 2nd trumpet
trumpets drop out
trumpets enter, tambourine
drops out
uke, drums, vocals
2:47
2:54-3:40
3:40-3:55
enter trumpet
all instruments
uke, drums (3:55-4:17 uke)
The times we had, oh when the wind would blow
with rain and snow
Were not all bad
We put our feet just where they had, had to go,
never to go
The shattered soul, following close but nearly twice
as slow
In my good times, there were always golden rocks to
throw
At those who
Those who admit defeat too late
Those were our times, those were our times
And I will love to see that day, that day is mine
When she will marry me outside, with the willow
trees
And play the songs we made, they made me so
And I would love to see that day, her day was mine
Final Thoughts
• The “Americanness” of Beirut
– Not a “traditional” sound
• What makes music “American?”
• Early influences versus later influences
– Mexico, US, France, Balkan Peninsula, Brazil
• Melting Pot effect