Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

As Andrew Bird continues to put together songs for his new album (from the looks of it, it won’t be out till possibly later this year), he is blogging the songwriting and album-making process for the New York Times.  In his first post, he discusses how he drafts up melodies first, and then comes up with the vocals.  It was surprising to hear that a lot of the time his vocals aren’t meant to reflect himself per se, but rather it is a coincidence that they happen to do so.  So go ahead and check it out.

Listen to “How You Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm” (4.7/5)

More coverage of Andrew Bird on CSV.

While not a part of the Fingerlings series that Bird has released in order to showcase his live talents and satiate his fans’ desire for more material, His Birdness has released another collection of live, unreleased, and works-in-progress EP entitled Soldier On. Some of these tracks I was able to hear when Bird came to Northwestern last May (”Sectionate Cities”) while others are completely new to me (”The Trees Were Mistaken”). The EP points toward a more extroverted Bird, as the listener finds him playing intricate melodies with his trademark loops.

Overall, it just impresses me the way that Bird has no preoccupations with releasing rough drafts of his music. But what impresses me even more is that he will go back and refine these songs for an album–he’s not afraid to reveal his imperfections. He illustrates to the listener (or at least to me) that the artistic process is a humbling one. And despite all the success he has had over the past few years, he has no qualms in acknowledging that he still has work to do, a mission to fulfill.

Pitchfork has a review here on Soldier On.

Listen to “Sic of Elephants” (4.8/5)

Listen to “How You Gonna Keep ‘Em Down On the Farm” (4.7/5)

2. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

You may recall me referring to my man-crush on Jens Lekman, and nothing has really changed since then. Lekman’s sage-like wisdom about life and relationships always comes across with the utmost earnestness (and comedy). Lyrically, NFOK is certainly interesting, with the situational “Postcard to Nina” or the comically romantic “Your Arms Around Me”. Discopop tracks (”Sipping on the Sweet Nectar”) combined with funky fresh tunes (”Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig”) make for an album that has only one rival from the entire year. Cheers, Jens. More on Jens Lekman here.

Listen to “Your Arms Around Me” (5/5)

3. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

What an amazing year it has been for His Birdness! While not touring around the country for his incredible Armchair Apocrypha, Bird has been busy taking with his violin. Complete with lush stringed instrumentation, Bird’s lilting vocals, and the addition of Martin Dosh’s stylings, Armchair Apocrypha lends for music that (as some have described) may cure some forms of cancer. Bird also finally tackles the various analogs between himself and the namesake of his last name–he seems to have embraced his birdness in the end. Click here for a really great post on the album.

Listen to “Dark Matter” (5/5) [via Sound of Marching Feet]

4. The National - Boxer

I know everybody and their mother has put this album pretty high on their albums of the year, but the bottom line is that it is justified. Matt Berninger’s vocals conjure up images of an earnest poet who has plenty of worthy things to be said. Berninger throws around such vivid, subtle imagery ( ‘Standing in an empty tuxedo with grapes in my mouth’), that it often takes a keen listener to pick them out over the symphonic, horn-glazed tracks. Boxer is a collection of emotive and dynamic songs that uniquely find a way of coming together as a document of the everyman’s conscience. More on The National here.

Listen to “Ada” (5/5)

5. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd’s Dog

The Shepherd’s Dog seems to take influences from everywhere, from the dusty trails of ghost towns to the asphalt paths of boisterous cities. It’s an album that celebrates the extroverted and the reserved, one that appeals to the ears but sings to the soul. Each track has a sparseness to it, but yet the multi-layered richness of Beam’s voice and his plethora of instruments add an incredible voluminousness each song. This album simply doesn’t miss. More on Iron & Wine here.

Listen to “The Devil Never Sleeps” (5/5)

I came across this video from La Blogotheque a while ago, and I can’t figure out why I never shared with you. For more of His Birdness, click on the label below this post that says “Andew Bird”.

First, listen to him live on your computer as he twangs it up with a Charley Patton song, “I’m goin’ home” (4.37/5)
Tonight, watch (and listen) to him live on your t.v. as he performs on Conan O’brien
Also, check out the CSV archives on Andrew Bird:
- Listen to the mp3 of his Dr. Stringz performance
- Read the album review of Armchair Apocrypha
- Read about and see pictures from his performance at Northwestern University (plus hear “11:11″ live)

Andrew Bird came to his alma mater Northwestern University to play an exclusive show for students, where he dabbled in pizzicato and conversation for a couple of fascinating hours. I was fortunate to have been able to sit front row with my buddy Jed, as we witnessed the fancy footwork and idiosyncrasies of Mr. Bird.

For someone who proclaims himself to be so damn “easy going” in his song “Why?”, it might come as a surprise as to how stubbornly good Andrew Bird really is. He isn’t necessarily the greatest of showmen, but I suppose that’s part of his act. His perfectionism and his impeccable concentration allow him to elevate himself (note: he nearly played half the show on his tippy toes) to a level that transcends that petty artist-audience banter. It also seemed as though Bird had some special connection to the Pick-Staiger auditorium in which he also played as a student at NU. It was clear that it was nostalgic for him to be back at Northwestern, in the acoustically phenomenal auditorium where his songwriting travails began. At the very end of the show, he decided to play “Weather Systems” with the justification that he thought it would sound right in the venue. But really, that was him wanting to hear his own songs in a space that could truly appreciate them, musically and lyrically.

Indeed, it was a rather fantastic show, as he furiously tapped his feet on the handful of loop pedals at his disposal. Not to mention his sudden kicks and jumps, the rotating speakers, or even his simple “Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left”. Each song was carefully chaotic, as he went from guitar to violin at an almost frantic pace. Anyone else would have looked awkward or hurried, but Bird made it seem effortless, surreal. Even more, he drenched he audience in a slew of delightful sonic matter. I felt enveloped, suspended in his violin, his lyrics in my mouth, as if I had something to do with the creation of his sound.

Among the various highlights of the show were his latest “Imitosis” and the now classic “Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left”. “Why?” came across more involved and intricate than I remember–the looping was done perfectly. Bird even tried out a new song, “Sectionate Cities”, which could have easily been another track on Armchair Apocrypha. “I figured I would try a new song on you all,” he remarked to eager fans with the disclaimer, “there’s no better to place to choke, I guess”. Bird also shared some of his own stories about his songs; perhaps the most interesting was that “Why?” was about his college roommate failing to get a rise out of Andrew. Or, as he explained, that much of his songwriting starts with questions (he’s much more interested in the questions) and a couple of words whose tonal quality interest him. From there, it’s that quirky Birdness that takes over and makes his songs what they are.

Listen to Andrew Bird- “Why?“
Listen to Andrew Bird-”11:11 (Live)“

I’m veering a little off course with this post, as I get ready for two awesome shows coming to Northwestern. We’ve got Wilco coming Friday (about to release Sky Blue Sky…more on that soon) and then we’ve got His Birdness (Andrew Bird) coming on Monday night.

But I’m in a Chicago kind of mood tonight, and so I figured I’d give a little taste of some cool Chicago blues from Jimmy Rogers’ “Chicago Bound” and the harmonica stylings of Charlie Musselwhite on “Chicago Sunset”.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy these goodies, but just in case you’re not totally satisfied, I’m gonna give you a little Wilco love as well.

Check out Jimmy Rogers–Chicago Bound
Check out Charlie Musselwhite–Chicago Sunset
Wilco-I’m Trying to Break Your Heart (Live Version)

Andrew Bird is a hero. He doesn’t don a cape or fly around in pants that are too tight for his build–he’s a different kind of hero. He’s the kind of hero that is able to make his greatest weaknesses work for him. He’s the kind of hero that went to Northwestern University. He’s the kind of person that just said “to hell” with all the preconceived notions he had about himself and his image. The result is simply golden.

It used to be that His Birdness did not want to identify with his birdness. His last name is so strikingly accurate in describing his affect, that it seems odd that he didn’t embrace it. Until now. Try to put aside the haunting whistling of his, or the way his voice flutters over each song, or how his violin seems to flap its wings from string to string. You can’t. But try. Then have a look at his album cover: the back of a the head of a Budgerigar (often confused with a parakeet…there’s a difference I guess). It’s the prevailing theme that His Birdness makes on the whole album–that his identity was so close this whole time but he never had time or never wanted to embrace it.

But I’m sure glad he has now. Armchair Apocrypha is full of the unique Birdisms that I find simply irresistible. On “Imitosis”, he sings “We were all basically alone / Despite what all the studies have shown / What was mistaken for closeness was just a case for mitosis”. And with the added stylings of Martin Dosh (drummer), Armchair has a certain full-band quality to it. In fact, the album as a whole plays out more like a full band, which suits Bird’s style of music much better than his strictly solo approach prior to this effort.

On Armchair, His Birdness rarely misses; it’s tough to find a song I don’t think is strong. But enough of the negative side. Have a listen to “Simple X” (written by Dosh actually), and try not to sing along to the infectiously delicious track. With a great drum rhythm section and an electronic piano laying down a delectable beat, “Simple X” is a favorite. Or take “Scythian Empire” which actually appeared on Fingerlings 3, but now has some studio production to really make this song a classic. At about the 2 minutes mark, his whistling chimes in with the chorus that features what I can only describe as pop cans singing. Yes, soda (for you easterners) cans are singing. I could go on forever, but this review is already too long. So with that…

Buy Armchair Apocrypha. Go on. Get it.
Listen to “Imitosis” (5/5)
Listen to “Simple X” (5/5)
Missed Dr. Stringz? Check out the Andrew Bird as Dr. Stringz.

I’ve got some great bands to tell you about, but there have been a couple of things that have gotten past me over the past couple of weeks that I really want to cover.
Here I go:

1) Feist!!! As you may know, we are huge friends of Feist (note: Monarch and Let It Die…seriously, buy these if you don’t have them), and we were delighted to hear that her upcoming album The Reminder will be released May 30th. And in honor of the announcement, her record company has released one track to signal her coming. The song “My Moon, My Man” is a glitzy, piano-fluttering rock disco ditty (have I gotten your attention yet?) that features Feist ever loving jhai voice. I don’t know what it is about Feist, but she has got one of the most incredible aesthetics I’ve ever experienced. Enough.
Get the track: My Moon, My Man.

2) Much ado has been made over the Andrew Bird appearance as Dr. Stringz. And for good reason. What a great guy! Even better in concert, I might add. Well, the video on youtube was short lived, but I managed to scrape off a pretty darn good quality video for those that haven’t seen it yet (That’s all you guys from elbo.ws). And for those of you who have still seen it but just need to bask in the Bird-ness a little bit more…
Andrew Bird as Dr. Stringz.mp4
Yea for us!

3) Okay, let me get it out of the way. We were on VH1 Best Week Ever’s website again for covering The Softlightes. Check it out here: We are Rockstars.

4) Good Weather for Air Strikes had a great post the other week about a song called “Thou Shalt Always Kill”. It’s great. Check it out.

In keeping with CSV’s Chicago artists posts, I couldn’t help but share this one will all of you. As you may know, Andrew Bird (one of CSV’s favorite artists) happens to be from a certain city that starts with a C, ends with an O, and in the middle has “hicag”. That’s Chicago for those who are spelling impaired.
Andrew’s new album Armchair Apocrypha is due out March 20th. I’m sure the album has leaked by you wouldn’t want to screw over Andrew, now, would you? How about pre-ordering? Also, the cover art is phenomenal.

Well, Andrew Bird recently appeared on Jack’s Big Music Show on the Noggins children’s TV network. I’ve never heard of it, but I think they’re on to something. Andrew Bird appears as a magical Mr Stringz–he can repair any broken stringed instrument. And boy has he got a song for you. Actually, the song he wrote for it is quite excellent. What you won’t find anywhere else but at CSVMAD (an exclusive) is the ability to actually download the .mp3 file of the song (that is, if you like it).

Head on over to Youtube to check out the video: Andrew Bird as Dr. Stringz.
And if you want the .mp3 file of it: Dr. Stringz