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Happy Friday! On Wednesday evening I was out doing some errands and idly turned the radio on just in time to catch a classic version of the old British rock song "Layla." Written by Eric Clapton, the song itself was originally released in 1970 on Derek and the Dominos' only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, but became a staple for Clapton's solo career. The version I heard on Q107 was the very different acoustic incarnation that Clapton recorded in 1992 for MTV's Unplugged series.
Maybe it's the dearth of live music or my craving close interpersonal interactions, but I've been watching/listening to a lot of stripped down performances on YouTube lately. I've always been interested in the kind of live or live-adjacent videos published by groups like Postmodern Jukebox, Pomplamoose, Walk Off the Earth, and others. They're designed to showcase the bands' individual character and personality, highlighting how much the wide accessibility of quality recording equipment has brought music-making back into homes and basements -- and let bands invite their fans into those spaces with them, using digital tools to shortcut across the publishing circuit. We're able to listen to music as artists are in the process of making it. Sure, they can do multiple takes and it's still possible to cheat using those same digital tools, but it's a believable fiction.
In the 80s MTV meant not just musical fame (or notoriety) but also a thick layer of production. It wasn't just music, it was TV, a product.
Now look at them yo-yo's, that's the way you do it Play the guitar on the MTV That ain't workin', that's the way you do it Money for nothin' and your chicks for free (Dire Straits, "Money for Nothing")
MTV Unplugged set out to do something different. As the Where's Eric! fansite fondly reminisced in marking the album's 20th anniversary, "the premise of MTV Unplugged was simple: musicians associated with amplified music would 'unplug' from their amps and effects and go acoustic[,] performing stripped down and sometimes radically reworked songs." Instead of taking big performances and amping them up with the added dimension of visual production, MTV Unplugged brought the lights down and stripped away the layers. Clapton was invited to appear on the show's third season, following a number of other big names in the British blues/rock/pop scene.
"Layla" was well-known for the fast, distorted electric guitar riff that drives the song, but Clapton reworked it as a slow acoustic shuffle, singing the melody an octave lower, and bringing the whole feel of the song down. Clapton had to be convinced to release Unplugged as an album, but it was hugely successful with both critics and fans, and won 3 Grammy Awards (incl. Best Rock Song – “Layla”). This will always be the definitive version of "Layla" for me, the one I listened to over and over on my dad's Sony Discman as a kid. You can listen to the original 1970s rock version here, but I'll embed the acoustic version at the bottom of the post.
Despite what the previous 500 words might imply, I haven't actually been watching MTV Unplugged reruns, but their spiritual successor in the NPR Tiny Desk concert series. Given their view counts on YouTube, odds are you've heard of them. If not, you're in for a treat!
The first Tiny Desk Concert came about in 2008 after [Bob] Boilen and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson left a bar show frustrated that they couldn't hear the music over the crowd noise. Thompson joked that the musician, folk singer Laura Gibson, should just perform at Boilen's desk. A month later Boilen arranged for her to do just that, making an impromptu recording and posting it online. The name is taken from Boilen's 1970s psychedelic dance band called Tiny Desk Unit. (Wikipedia)
Since then hundreds of musicians from the U.S. and around the world have performed behind Boilen's now-iconic desk in a series of concerts known for their casual intimacy and impeccable audio engineering. During the pandemic the Tiny Desk has shifted to home or local studio recordings, but they've kept up the quality and pace -- Jan. 2021 saw twelve artists performing, including Miley Cyrus and Toronto's own PUP. Guests range from global megastars to up-and-comers, playing all genres from hip-hop to instrumental piano.
Imogen Heap's demonstration of her high-tech musical control Mi.Mu Gloves
Global disco megastar Dua Lipa with a very personable take on four of her hits
hip-hop drummer Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals in an oldie-but-goodie (60+M views on YouTube) - FYI content advisory
folk duo Mandolin Orange bring a totally unplugged feel to the Tiny Desk, singing and playing into a single shared mic
Coldplay with the nine-piece For Love Choir in "one of the most jubilant, uplifting and memorable performances we've ever had at the Tiny Desk"
Check out the Tiny Desk editors' playlists or their Best of 2020 for a better-organized route into their archives. I had trouble selecting just a few to recommend -- there's so much gold there!
[Since first writing, the video of Clapton's original performance that I linked was taken down by a copyright claim. An audio-only version is still available, though.]
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