NPR Tiny Desk Concerts make me damn happy

If you're not familiar with NPR Tiny Desk concerts, you should get familiar! 

The premise is simple. NPR invites musicians to play in a cramped corner of their office. Fair enough, lots of places are doing that kind of thing these days. "Generating Content" as we call it in the biz. 

But whoever's in charge of selecting the musicians for the Tiny Desk Concerts is like a genius. I assume it's Bob Boilen who hosts "All Songs Considered," especially since the bands are playing at his desk, he's introducing the bands, he's shooting the video, and he's doing the edit. But the real star is whoever's running sound because, despite the setting and regardless of the nature of the band, the sound is consistently stellar.

I've discovered a lot of new bands here. And I've fallen in love with a few older bands all over again. I've you're looking for a musical rabbit hole to fall into, seriously kid, you gotta check out the Tiny Desk Concerts.

I included a few favorites below to getcha started.

They just released a session with Anderson Paak last week. I love me my Anderson Paak and this one is stellar, although NSFW. Good thing today is Sunday and you're not working today right? Right?

August 15, 2016 by BOBBY CARTER * Good luck trying to classify Anderson .Paak and his band The Free Nationals. Much of their sound is layered atop a soulful hip-hop foundation; from there, your safest bet is to call it a hodgepodge of genres in the best way possible.

And here's an old favorite with Phoenix.  Thomas Mars looks like a shy 11-year-old who's been asked to sing for his grandparents after Thanksgiving dinner. Adorable! I want to adopt him. Since he's 39, I figure there won't be much paperwork required.

The sounds of the group's best-selling 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix are so ubiquitous to viewers of TV commercials that they produce a Pavlovian impulse to purchase portable music players and luxury automobiles. But at this Tiny Desk Concert, instantly recognizable hits such as "1901" and "Lisztomania" were stripped down and reassembled as sweetly shambling acoustic numbers.

And finally... Madison's own Phox! Alright, technically Baraboo's own Phox! At a lake party late one night last summer, a friend and I stole some french vanilla custard from the freezer. We snuck down to the lake and poured a mason jar's worth of homemade black-plum-infused brandy right on top of the custard and shared a spoon slurping it down. The way that tasted? And the way that night felt? That's what Phox sounds like to me.

I first saw Phox in an impromptu concert at a restaurant in Philadelphia. I thought the band was talented and charming, and I still do. Phox is six friends from Baraboo, Wis., who make pretty, catchy music. The group's not-so-secret weapon is Monica Martin, who sings with a smoky lilt in front of spare, tasteful instrumentation.