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23 posts tagged Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird – Eyeoneye
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Andrew Bird: “Eyeoneye”
The lead single off Andrew Bird’s 7th solo studio record, Break It Yourself, is here with a few nods to “Wall of Sound” production (via his Mississippi River-side barn), a trademark avian whistle solo, and rousing arrangement that builds on the promise of live previews we’ve heard from the March 6 set. Give “Eyeoneye” a spin above, while copies can be pre-ordered or picked up in exchange for concert tickets over on his site.
Andrew Bird: “Tables and Chairs” (Live)
Earlier this week, Andrew Bird announced the March 2012 release of his next album, Break It Yourself, along with a spring U.S. tour and an interesting way to pick up a copy of the LP: Tickets to shows purchased on Bird’s website will include a digital copy of the forthcoming record delivered at midnight on release day, as well as two live EPs — one that was recorded this fall and another arriving in the spring. Bird shared a preview of the former 5-track set, Fake Conversations, today in the form of “Tables and Chairs,” a wonderful live take on his The Mysterious Production of Eggs track. You can stream it above and grab a free download (or all of the aforementioned goods) over on his site.
P.S. A tune we posted over the summer, “Give It Away,” made the cut for the new record.
Trailer: Andrew Bird Documentary, Fever Year
We just heard Andrew Bird’s Norman score, but now comes a film project focused entirely on the singer-songwriter himself: Fever Year, director Xan Aranda’s 80-minute documentary on the latter half of Bird’s 2009, featuring studio footage, 10 live performances filmed at a pair of concerts in Milwaukee that October, and a guest appearance from St. Vincent. As of now, there are no plans to distribute the film to theaters (aside from screenings this fall/winter), but here’s hoping the trailer, which arrived today via indieWIRE, will give this project the boost it needs to reach fans’ screens worldwide. Catch a glimpse of Fever Year — described by Aranda as “a snapshot of a time during which [Bird] became perfectly adapted to the music hall” — above.
Andrew Bird - Night Sky
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“Night Sky,” Andrew Bird’s post-Noble Beast live favorite (formerly known on Fingerlings 4 as “The Sifters”), finally got the studio treatment via Norman, a coming-of-age film hitting theaters this month that boasts an original score by Bird along with contributions from Wolf Parade, Chad VanGaalen, and Richard Swift. As of today, the entire OST is streaming here — complete with beautifully arranged instrumentals and a few vocal tunes, such as “Arcs and Coulombs” and the aforementioned standout cut featured above.
Andrew Bird’s recent cover of Kermit the Frog’s “Bein’ Green” isn’t the only new recording he has on the way. In fact, an original film score by Bird — that was first reported back in ‘09 — will finally see the light of day this fall, as well as his follow-up to Noble Beast soon after.
As for the film project, Bird has composed his first-ever instrumental score along with a soundtrack of new and previously released songs for the film Norman, a coming-of-age story starring Dan Byrd, Adam Goldberg, and Richard Jenkins. The OST will arrive on October 11 (just before the film hits theaters on 10/21) with contributions from Wolf Parade, Chad VanGaalen, and The Blow featuring Richard Swift. Bird once said that he penned the score while watching the movie on a monitor in the studio. “It’s a lot of work,” he added. “I don’t know if I ever want to do it again.”
Meanwhile, we had a feeling a new LP was in the works, given new material he’s been previewing live over the past year, but now comes news that the album is nearly complete: “It’s almost in the can and ready to go,” he told Denver’s Backbeat. “It’ll be out early next year.” You can hear some of the film’s music in the trailer and get a taste of one potential cut via his June live take on new song “Give It Away” below:
Last month, we heard an early live preview of Andrew Bird’s contribution to a new Muppets covers record titled The Green Album, in which Bird revisits Kermit the Frog’s “Bein’ Green” as a fragile, jazzy lament on self-identity. Now the official studio version has arrived via NPR, complete with trademark violin/whistle solos, softly brushed drums, and some thoughtful analysis of the tune penned by Bird:
This song epitomizes Kermit’s role as the sensitive hero, the not-so-fearless leader of the Muppets. He goes from “gosh, it’s rough being green” to “well, green’s not so bad” before discovering that green is the best thing ever. But it’s Kermit, so he reins it in back to feeling pretty good about being green. The song shows us how to celebrate what makes us different, even indulge some delusions of grandeur, but in the end temper them with humility.
Stream the cover below.
Hear Andrew Bird Cover Kermit – “Bein’ Green”
Back in 2009, we reported that Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket, and others had recorded covers of classic Muppets songs for an album called Muppets Revisited. Now — in conjunction with the release of Disney’s new Muppets film — the project has finally come to fruition with a different title and a few more big names attached. Muppets: The Green Album arrives on August 23, complete with Bird’s take on Kermit favorite “Bein’ Green,” My Morning Jacket’s rendition of “Our World,” Sondre Lerche covering “Mr. Bassman,” a cut by Rachel Yamagata and more. Check out the tracklist here and preview Bird channeling Kermit the Frog via the live clip above. (He also sings the song in French!)
Previously: Andrew Bird Debuts New Song Live
Andrew Bird – “Give It Away” (New Song, Live)
As Andrew Bird plots the follow-up to 2009’s Noble Beast, previews of new studio tunes have hit live venues of late, including “Give It Away,” performed recently in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in all its simple, violin-strummed glory above.
Andrew Bird quietly released the latest installment of his Fingerlings series earlier this month as an 11-track collection of live songs he performed last year at Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church — where he is currently wrapping up another run of dates — for his Gezelligheid solo concert series. Included on the LP is his stunning rendition of Cass McCombs’ “Meet Me Here At Dawn,” a cover Bird played as a duet with Priscilla Ahn for the Voices Project earlier this year (a must-watch).
Check out the tracklist (via JP’s Blog) alongside a non-album live take from one of the shows below:
Andrew Bird Plays New Song, Talks Feedback at TED (Video)
Back in February, Andrew Bird joined the prestigious lineup at this year’s TED conference for a 20-minute talk and 3-song performance, in which he demonstrated the use of recorded loops to build a live arrangement before connecting the subject of audio feedback to broader ecological issues. Unveiling a new, “half-finished” tune, Bird described how he used the concept of feedback (“the sound of self-destruction”) to “imagine a person who’s been so successful at defending themselves from heartbreak that they’re left to do the deed themselves, if that’s possible.”
Watch Bird’s performance, which also includes older songs “The Happy Birthday Song” and “Weather Systems,” above.