MONTHLY MIXTAPE: APRIL

So I think we're gonna start putting together a mixtape at the end of each month. It'll be made up of some of the stuff that's been rocking our cubicle. Here's the first one.

mp3: Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - Meet Me In The Garden
mp3: The Henry Clay People - You Can Be Timeless
mp3: The Boy Least Likely To - Every Goliath Has Its David
mp3: Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game
mp3: M. Ward - To Save Me (with Jason Lytle)
mp3: Andrew Bird - Heretics (early version)
mp3: Matt & Kim - Lessons Learned
mp3: The National & St. Vincent - Sleep All Summer (Crooked Fingers cover)
mp3: Neko Case - I'm An Animal
mp3: Noisettes - When You Were Young (Killers cover) Live

CONCERT: Andrew Bird + Loney Dear

Andrew Bird played Wednesday night at In The Venue in Salt Lake City, along with Sweden's Loney Dear (formerly "Loney, Dear" - they've recently dropped the punctuation), and now I'm sitting here wondering what in the world I could write to do it justice. I already expressed my feelings for Bird's new record, and I think a lot of those same feelings of awe are very apt for his live show. Between the tape-looped whistling and violining, Martin Dosh's genius percussion, and Bird's own amazing ability to just put on a fantastic show, I just can't express how great it was. Unfortunately, I'm a loser and forgot to charge my camera battery, so I have no pics for you. Lame, I know.

The setlist is below, along with a video of Mr. Bird playing on Letterman a few weeks back. But now I'd like to take a second and just say "Holy crap!" about the opening act, Loney Dear's performance. Fronted by Emil Svanängen, these guys completely floored me. I know how hard it is to make beautiful and intimate music on a stage in a room full of strangers, and the fact that these guys did it so well makes it clear that they've got something special going. I promise I'll be writing more about them later. In the meantime, check out a track from their 2007 release, Loney, Noir (below).

Here's Andrew Bird's setlist:

Instrumental intro / Masterswarm / Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left / Tenuousness / Natural Disaster / Effigy / Oh No / Plasticities / Nomenclature / Not A Robot, But A Ghost / Armchairs / Anonanimal / Fake Palindromes / Imitosis / Headsoak / Tables and Chairs

Encore: Why? / Fitz and Dizzyspells

Loney Dear - I Am John
from the album Loney, Noir (Amazon/iTunes)

ALBUM: Noble Beast

To say that I've been enjoying Andrew Bird's latest album, Noble Beast, would be something of an understatement. My poor wife has had to put up with my exclamations every time we have it on in the house - things like "how did he do that?" or "how did he even think of that?!" I think the most accurate way to describe my response to this record is "awe".

It doesn't hurt that I've been anticipating this album for over a year now, fueled by Mr. Bird's insightful and entertaining looks into his own writing and recording process via The New York Times Opinion column Measure for Measure (read all of Andrew Bird's posts here). This window into the singer/songwriter's mind has been a fascinating ride for me, especially after now hearing the finished product. Take for example this excerpt from his post last April:

"The record I want to make here and now — the one I wish I could find in my local record store — is a gentle, lulling, polyrhythmic, minimalist yet warm tapestry of acoustic instruments. No solos, just interlocking parts. A little Steve Reich, but groovier. A little Ghanaian street music, but more arranged. Thick and creamy vocals like the Zombies’s Colin Blunstone. The bass warm and tubby like Studio One dub."

After spending a few weeks with this record, I'd say he did it. In another post he describes making a record that you want to listen to over and over in your bedroom or car as a "carefully carved piece of sound", something different than the "adrenaline-fueled and spontaneous" live show experience (if you've seen him perform live you know how true that really is).

The reason I share these two excerpts is because I don't think I can improve on Mr. Bird's own descriptions for this album; specifically, a "carefully carved piece of sound" and a "warm tapestry". The album is soft, especially when compared to 2007's Armchair Apocrypha, but it's never mushy or meandering. Nothing is out of place. Every whistle, every tap of the strings, every bit of atmospherics, they're all in perfect order. Right from the opening whistles of 'Oh No' to the swaying final minutes of 'Souverian', there is no stitch in the tapestry that's missing or feels forced. Sprawling compositions like the 6 1/2 minute 'Master Swarm' lie next to some of the most concise and poppy songs that Bird's ever composed (i.e. 'Fitz and Dizzyspells'). Still awash with obscure lyricism and otherworldly melodic moments (you know, the ones that make me blurt out things like "how do you write that?!"), this album continues to push forward into new sonic terrain for Bird. Songs like 'Nomenclature', 'Not A Robot, But A Ghost', and 'Natural Disaster' are all perfect examples of the stylistic shifts and forays that he so seamlessly explores and ties together on this album. To be frank, this is a near perfect record.

In conclusion, I want to post another excerpt from Measure for Measure. I think that it sums up exactly my feelings on my first several listens to Noble Beast.

"I listened to my record recently and I'm concerned about how much I like it.

"This has never happened to me at this stage of making a record. Right about now is usually when I want to scrap the whole thing and start over.

"...But if I like my record too much does it mean I'm getting complacent? Or am I just gettting better at making records sound the way I want them to? It worries me because what I love about songwriting is that there is no guaranteed formula for success. I'm hoping that getting better at making records means, for one thing, that I am learning how to leave room for serendipitous moments. I always want to hear how things didn't go according to plan."

Noble Beast is indeed full of those serendipitous moments - and when it's taken in context of his other work, I think it's apparent that Andrew Bird is anything but complacent. Buy the record and see for yourself, and it you're in the Salt Lake area next Wednesday, don't miss him live at the Murray Theater.

UPDATE: So Blogger has, for the second time in a week, deemed the mp3s I posted as inappropriate, and completely erased my post. Lame. I know. Good thing I keep a back-up. But I won't be re-posting the mp3s - you can get your own at the The Hype Machine and elbo.ws.

NEWS: Noble beast

Just one more week until we can finally get our hands on Andrew Bird's latest release Noble Beast.
Seeing as we derived the title of our blog from one of his songs, we evidently take everything about Mr. Bird very seriously.

My hands are shaking. January 20th can not come soon enough.

And as a very special treat, you can stream the album in its entirity on NPR's website here.

NEWS: Yeah, you're making all the right moves

Once again I find myself apologizing for such lack-luster blogging! Only one post for all of July thus far?! Who do we think we are?! Well, please know that we still have plenty to blog about, and we'll start again shortly. My life will get significantly easier come Saturday - so look for much more musical mayhem after that.

Tomorrow, as part of Salt Lake's Twilight Concert Series, Andrew Bird and Josh Ritter will be playing a free show at the Gallivan Center, and we will of course be there. Since finding out about this a few months ago, I've mused about how much I would actually pay to see this show if I had to. Considering that last October we drove nearly 12 hours (round trip) to see Josh at the Egyptian Theatre in Boise, and that I would quite readily do the same to see Mr. Bird - I think that the effective worth of this show is ranking in the hundreds of dollars for me at this point.

Josh Ritter's performance in Boise is still one of my very favorite concert experiences to date. Not only is he one of my favorite song-writers, but when he's on stage he's all smiles and just puts on one good rock 'n roll show. In fact, every review I've ever read of his live show has said the same thing - so as much as I'd like to believe he was on fire that night at the Egyptian, the truth is that he's just a great performer. Do whatever you can to see this man live. I promise you won't be sorry.

Tomorrow will be my first time seeing Andrew Bird - but I'm fairly certain I won't be disappointed. A friend who saw him in LA last year said he was one of the greatest shows she'd ever seen. So yeah, I'm a little excited. If you're not familiar with Andrew Bird, take a listen below - he's really one of the most intriguing song-writers around right now, somehow combining violin, whistling, imaginative lyricism, and otherworldly production to create something that's actually kind of un-classifiable. We'll just call it "really really good music".

So as I go to bed tonight feeling like it's Christmas tomorrow, I hope you might find something like a stocking-stuffer in these couple songs. If they don't make you merry, heaven help you.

Josh Ritter - Right Moves

from the album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Amazon/iTunes)

Andrew Bird - Heretics

from the album Armchair Apocrypha (Amazon/iTunes)

NOTE: If you can't catch the show tomorrow, at least try to catch one of the Thursday Twilight shows this summer - the lineup is so good it's almost absurd. And don't forget, they're all FREE. Check out the lineup here.

Our namesake

Creativity (Serves 8 - 10, depending on portions)

Ingredients:

One cheap pizza
2 liters of root beer (be careful not to shake)
1 library of CDs

Consume all and create a blog.

Andrew Bird - Plasticities