#17 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Andrew Bird

January 15, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Inside Problems by Andrew Bird

My love for the artist at #17 this year comes in waves. Andrew Bird, the venerable singer/songwriter with the melodic voice and vibrato-laden whistle, has been releasing music under his own name for 27 years. According to wikipedia, Inside Problems is his 18th release, with and without his backing band “Bowl of Fire” (disbanded in 2003).

Bird has been on my radar since his sixth album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs. The handful of albums immediately following that were a bit all over the place while he worked on defining where he wanted to land. (Noble Beast his eighth album, was #22 in 2009) Thankfully, over the last decade he’s been settling into the “consistently great” phase of his career. Inside Problems is Bird’s fifth appearance on the Top 31 (#5 in 2016, #17 in 2019, and #21 last year).

Bird works an easy-going humor into his lyrics, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes blatant. Equally adept at playing the violin with a bow and plucking it like a ukulele, Bird is a virtuoso sonically but also physically. He’s gotten so comfortable in front of the camera, he’s started acting. He had a recurring role as a troubled father in season 4 of Fargo back in 2020. I could watch him eat a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with rapt attention.

His music videos reflect that same ease in control. In the video for “Make a Picture,” he’s singing directly into the camera, animatedly bouncing through the lyrics while he attempts to photograph cats of all sizes in a bare studio. There’s another video for the same song, a take on a lyric video, and rather than Bird being the animated one, the lyrics from the song, broken across many different languages, move a flow around the stoic, slightly confused Bird, still walking around that bare studio. Be sure to also check out the video for “Atomized” shown above, also from the studio. Bird must have spent the full day, maybe more, in that studio. In addition to the three videos mentioned above, he also released a 20-minute meditation that illuminates the deeper meaning behind the album’s title.

In addition to releasing the excellent Inside Problems in June, Bird put out a non-album single called “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain.” He and Phoebe Bridgers (#3 in 2020) trade off throughout the song, creating a gorgeously haunting duet, singing the Emily Dickinson poem of the same name. “I came across this Emily Dickinson poem and found it to be the most vivid description of an inner world I’ve ever encountered. It became an inspiration for the songs on Inside Problems. Who better to sing it with than Phoebe Bridgers? I sent her a demo, and so here we are. Thanks to Ms. Dickinson’s publisher at Harvard University Press for allowing us to use this poem. As I understand, her poems weren’t published as she intended them until the 1950s — that is, without the heavy hand of her male editors.” If it were on the album, this song would be my favorite on it. I’m so glad he didn’t wait until the next album to release it.

If you’ve not been able to get into Andrew Bird up to now, there’s no time like the present. Inside Problems isn’t his best (see 2016’s Are You Serious for that), but it’s likely his most approachable, without a bad track on it. Enjoy.

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18. Laurel Hell by Mitski
19. Full Moon Project by Phosphorescent
20. Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C.
21. I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
22. Too Much to Ask by Cheekface
23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#21 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird

January 11, 2022 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird is well-loved by The Bacon Top 31. He’s had three albums on the Top 31 (#17 in 2019, #5 in 2016, #22 in 2009). With his song on I’ll Be Your Mirror (with Lucius) back at #24, this is his second appearance on the 2021 countdown.

Jimbo Mathus, on the other hand, is a new discovery for me. “New” isn’t quite right, though — he’s been around for decades, most notably as the cofounding multi-instrumentalist of the platinum-album selling Squirrel Nut Zippers. I can’t say I’ve been a fan – but I just listened to their 1996 hit “Hell” and joyfully sang along.

In researching their fantastic country-esque collaboration, These 13, I learned that Bird has a history with Mathus and the Zippers: he was a member of the Zippers and recorded and toured with them from 1996-1998. Since that time, the two of them have maintained a friendship, and worked together occasionally. These 13 is the longest, most sustained work the two of them have done together.

Bird’s typically fantastic violin playing and strumming, his powerful voice, and his magical whistling are all prominent here. It’s Mathus’s deep-south Mississippi roots that bring a new side to the types of songs Bird performs. This album is what country music should sound like. Bird’s whistling reminds me of one of my favorite country music legends, Dwight Yoakam and his glorious yodel.

Give these songs a whirl. There’s a lot to unpack here, but the history that these two share between them and the road that led them here is long. That history plays out beautifully across these 13 songs.

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22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

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#24 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Various Artists

January 08, 2022 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists

Here at #24 we’re crossing off a couple of unexpected scorigami-like firsts here at the Bacon Top 31. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico, the lovely full-album cover of the seminal debut album Velvet Underground & Nico, is not only the first time I‘ve featured not one but two full-remake cover albums on the Bacon Top 31 in the same year, but, somewhat unbelievably, it’s also the second time a full cover of this particular 1967 album is appearing on the countdown.

Way back in 2009 (the inaugural Bacon Top 31), Beck’s Record Club version of The Velvet Underground & Nico was #7 on the countdown that year. The 2021 cover version, put out by the band’s original 1967 label, Verve records, is aiming to cash in on the recently released Todd Haynes documentary about the band that was in theaters earlier this year.

(It’s mildly interesting that Verve has put this together, given that one of the reasons the 1967 original suffered poor sales at first — according to Wikipedia — was because of Verve, “who failed to promote or distribute the album with anything but modest attention.”)

But they’ve put together a masterpiece. The album’s roster is like the Bacon Top 31 all-stars: Andrew Bird, Kurt Vile, St. Vincent, Thurston Moore, King Princess, Fontaines D.C., and even Iggy Pop.

Like any compilations of covers, there are some highs and lows. The Matt Berninger cover of ”I’m Waiting for the Man,” shown in the video above is one of the lows. Berninger tries to channel his inner Lou Reed, but he’s too polished and controlled to pull it off. “Sunday Morning” by Michael Stipe and Bill Frissell is gorgeous from the very first note. Sharon van Ettan’s cover of “Femme Fatale” with Angel Olsen is slowwed waaay dowwwwn, a beautifully frustrating listen. And Courtney Barnett brings her usual off-beat and -key production to the title song “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” proving her music is a direct descendant of what The Velvet Underground & Nico accomplished 54 years ago.

If you like any of the artists mentioned above, definitely check out this album. They’re essentially performing the songs of their grandparents – without them, these artists would not exist. If you don’t know the artists, but like the original album, give this one a listen. You’ll find some kindred spirits you can explore to widen your tastes.

late addition: check out this live rendiition of Andrew Bird and Lucius’ cover of “Venus in Furs”. Watching Bird put the sonic landscape together all at once is a sight and sound to behold.

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25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

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#2 on the 2020 Bacon Top 31 — Fiona Apple

January 30, 2021 by Royal Stuart

Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple

Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple’s fifth studio album, took five years to create and only a day or two to become one of the best, universally acclaimed albums of 2020. It was released on April 17, about a month into the Covid–19-related lockdown in the United States. At the time, we had no idea how long this thing was going to last, and we hadn’t yet properly adjusted to the slower, insulated pace of working from home. The album’s title and theme, as stated by Apple, “Fetch the fucking bolt cutters and get yourself out of the situation you’re in.”

Knowing that the theme had been established well before the coronavirus had hit and we didn’t know what was coming, that’s one hell of a serendipitous coincidence. Screenwriter/author Bess Kalb said it best when she tweeted on the day of the release, “Fiona Apple was waiting for the entire world to descend into restless melancholic rage and then once we all started pacing in our kitchens in our underwear in the middle of the night she was like, ‘You’re ready.’”

I’ve been a devoted fan of Apple’s since her third album, Extraordinary Machine, which came out in 2005 after two years of fights with her label and the online leak of the original recordings in 2003 before Apple re-recorded everything and released it in earnest. It’s a great story about a great album, and she hooked me with all of it. Her even better fourth album, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw & Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, was my #1 album of 2012. It’s been 8 years since that album came out, and aside from a duet with Andrew Bird on his 2016 album Are You Serious (#5 that year), we’d not heard much from Apple since that last album, which made the release of Bolt Cutters all the more unexpectedly perfect.

The album takes cues from The Idler Wheel’s sparse compositions, but Apple explores more of her raw and wild side on the newer album. Lots of non-musical objects became fodder for Apple to clang, beat and hammer on while she recorded the bulk of the record from her home using GarageBand on her Mac. Other found / unexpected sounds permeate the album, such as a kennel full of barking dogs at the end of the title song.

The album felt perfect for 2020 in so many ways, as if Apple had been living in self-inflicted isolation in preparation for what was to come. Since putting it at my #2 for the year, I see that Pitchfork ranked it #1, and NPR also ranked it #2, so I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you need polish, something “clean” to wash away the insanity of 2020. But for me I like to get address the insanity head on. (As if reading my other reviews from this year didn’t already inform you of that fact.) Immersing myself in the insanity just a bit helps me process it, and I’m so glad Fiona was there to hold my hand. I’m guessing you have a lot left to process from 2020, too, so please allow me to point you to Fetch The Bolt Cutters. You won’t be disappointed.

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1. Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee
2. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
3. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
4. folklore + evermore by Taylor Swift
5. Untitled (Black Is) + Untitled (Rise) by Sault
6. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels
7. Shore by Fleet Foxes
8. Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger
9. The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens
10. Making a Door Less Open by Car Seat Headrest
11. Dreamland by Glass Animals
12. A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C.
13. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez by Gorillaz
14. Mordechai + Texas Sun EP by Khruangbin
15. Introduction, Presence by Nation of Language
16. Free Love by Sylvan Esso
17. Miss Anthropocene by Grimes
18. 3.15.20 by Childish Gambino
19. Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM
20. The Third Mind by The Third Mind
21. Superstar by Caroline Rose
22. Impossible Weight by Deep Sea Diver
23. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches
24. Ultra Mono by IDLES
25. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.
26. Thin Mind by Wolf Parade
27. The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser
28. Palo Alto (Live) by Thelonious Monk
29. color theory by Soccer Mommy
30. Fall to Pieces by Tricky
31. Quarantine Casanova by Chromeo

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#8 on the 2020 Bacon Top 31 — Matt Berninger

January 24, 2021 by Royal Stuart

Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger

Matt Berninger may very well be my favorite performer, ever. If you’ve been following The Bacon Review for the last 11+ years, then there’s a good chance you’d know this already, given how much prominence the lead singer of The National has been allotted over the years. Including his main band’s appearances on the Top 31 (four times: #6 2019, #4 in 2017, #3 in 2013, and #1 in 2010), his side project, El Vy (#10 in 2015), and Berninger’s appearances in other performers’ albums (such as Chvrches and CYHSY), the man has been mentioned nearly every year that the countdown has existed.

I mention this history because it plays a big part in how I listen to and quantify the new stuff he puts out. It’s not just “how does this music compare to everything else this year?” but also “where within all the music of his that I love does this rate?” Never an easy question, and it inevitably changes over time. For instance, while The National’s High Violet ranked #1 in 2010, I don’t consider it the best amongst the four albums the band has on the countdown. (That honor currently goes to 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me. Ask me again tomorrow and I’ll give you a different answer.)

Serpentine Prison, Berninger’s first true “solo album,” is a great effort. No, it’s not a National album, but it’s damn close. And I’m sure it will stick with me a lot longer than the El Vy album has. Sonically, the album sounds similar to what a National album might be if they left the bombast that comes with a lot of their songs on the shelf. Prison is soft-spoken, and because of that it doesn’t immediately hook you. It’s more of a slow burn.

This is the kind of album that feels like good background music at first, but by the middle of the album you find yourself leaning in, listening intently, and picking out the hints of the album’s collaborators. The album has a good, down to earth feel that sounds full and polished, thanks to producer Booker T. Jones. (He of Booker T. & the MG’s and a ton of collaborations from the 60s on (including Otis Redding, Willie Nelson, Rita Coolidge, Bill Withers, and Neil Young, just to name a few.) Jones plays on a few songs as well, and helped bring together a slew of other big names to participate in the making of the record, including Andrew Bird, Gail Ann Dorsey (who featured prominently on The National’s 2019 album I Am Easy to Find), Brent Knopf (Berninger’s partner in crime in El Vy), and The National’s Scott Devendorf. The song above, “Distant Axis,” is probably my favorite of the album. The video is quite fun as well.

Berninger has been keeping himself busy since the last National album in 2019. In addition to creating this solo album, he’s released a couple of new songs worth listening to that don’t appear on the album. His fantastic duet with Phoebe Bridgers, called “Walking on a String,” is from Zach Galifianakis’s feature length “Between Two Ferns,” in which Berninger and Bridgers appear in the movie Phoebe Bridgers and The Spiders from Bars, along with two members of The Walkmen. He also released a cover of Mercury Rev’s “Holes” as part of a benefit series called “7-inches for Planned Parenthood.”

Perhaps after reading all this, you agree that Berninger is worthy of the praise I heap upon him. I can understand if his baritone and delivery aren’t your cup of tea, but I don’t think it’s possible to deny his greatness. Serpentine Prison is a worthy solo debut, and I highly recommend that you pick it up as soon as possible.

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#17 on the 2019 Bacon Top 31 — Andrew Bird

January 15, 2020 by Royal Stuart

My Finest Work Yet by Andrew Bird

You know I like Andrew Bird. If you didn’t already know, you could have probably guessed. His music is perfectly tailored to my interests: he plays violin (which I played in my younger years) and uses hefty portions of whimsy, whistling and wit to bring all his music to life. I’m pretty sure if you summarized any musical artist as “full of whimsy, whistling and wit” I’d be there in a flash.

“I think you’re getting too predictable,” my lovely wife tells me as she sees me preparing this review. “I have surprises coming, I promise!” But this album, Andrew Bird’s perfectly listenable 12th LP, My Finest Work Yet, is certainly no surprise. And yes, the album is predictable, in both the content on the LP as well as the fact that it lives here in the Top 31. I don’t relish creating a predictable list — I push against it as much as I can, as it’s one of my fears about putting together an annual list — but some level of predictability is unavoidable.

Allow me to expand on that thought for a minute. I strive to listen to new things, to stretch myself and my tastes, but I also like what I like. This list is not “Royal’s list of new bands and albums that you’ve never heard before.” It’s the Bacon Review Top 31 albums of the year. I do take recommendations for things to listen to from people all the time, and there are always things I’ve missed that end up on the list because I heard about it from a friend (see my review of Sufjan Stevens’ Age of Adz, #3 in 2010). In the end, it’s only my personal likes and dislikes that make up the list. I hold no particular musical pedigree, no reason you should value my opinions over your own or someone else’s. But I’m full of opinions, and I like to write, so here we are.

Once again, we’re reading about another Andrew Bird album. Twice before he’s appeared on the Bacon Top 31, first with Noble Beast at #22 in 2009, and then the phenomenal Are You Serious hit #5 in 2016. Bird’s latest, titled My Finest Work Yet, is most certainly not that. And he knows it. “If you really break down what I’m saying, it’s not quite as arrogant as it sounds,” Bird told Apple Music. “I figured people will find it funny, and if they don’t get it, then it’s the power of suggestion.” I fall in the former camp, and think the title is exactly everything it should be, just like the man who said it.

If you’re like me and you like Andrew Bird, you will find nothing outlandish or difficult about this album. It’s the most typical Andrew Bird album you’ll find. It’s not Are You Serious, but it’s better than the five other albums he’s released that didn’t make the Top 31since I’ve been making it.

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18. Four of Arrows by Great Grandpa
19. Designer by Aldous Harding
20. Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey
21. Our Pathetic Age by DJ Shadow
22. Juice B Crypts by Battles
23. Pony by Orville Peck
24. Hyperspace by Beck
25. Eraserland by Strand of Oaks
26. Dogrel by Fontaines DC
27. You’re the Man by Marvin Gaye
28. Big Wows by Stealing Sheep
29. 1000 gecs by 100 gecs
30. In the Morse Code of Brake Lights by The New Pornographers
31. Radiant Dawn by Operators

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2009-2018 Top 31s

#5 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

January 08, 2017 by Royal Stuart

Are You Serious by Andrew Bird

There seems to be a bit of a recurring theme happening in the Bacon Top 31: persevere, and greatness will come back to you. DJ Shadow, Band of Horses, Yeasayer — these bands have all been around for quite a long while, but it wasn’t until their umpteenth album came out that they found the greatness they once enjoyed much earlier in their careers. The same can be found here at #5, with Andrew Bird and his 13th studio album Are You Serious.

This is Bird’s best album yet. He’s clearly matured as a songwriter, and his songs — written with the creative flourish of an accomplished poet — are damn near perfect. There are a number of high points in this album, but none so fantastic as “Left Handed Kisses,” a dueling duet sung with the captivating Fiona Apple (who is no stranger to the Top 31, her most recent album having reached #1 back in 2012). (I posted the video for “Left Handed Kisses” back in March)

If Serious is Bird’s best album, “Kisses” is his best song ever. From the sparse guitar, the powerful interplay between Bird and Apple, down to the beautifully strong lyrics such as:

For it begs the question
How did I ever find you?
Now you got me writing love songs
With a common refrain like this one here, baaa-aaa-aa-by

The “baby” at the end of that song is drawn out across many notes, the common refrain heard in many a love song across all of folkdom. The coda at the end of the song is what slays me, sung in alternating lines from Bird to Apple and back again:

Now it’s time for a handsome little bookend
Now it’s time to tie up all the loose ends
Am I still a skeptic or did you make me a believer?
If you hesitate, you'll hear the click of the receiver

No, they’re not talking on the phone. The “click of the receiver” is the metaphorical hang-up at the end of a bad relationship. And it’s those little hoops that Bird’s lyrics make you jump through that I absolutely love. This album is full of them. If you’re a fan of great lyrics, beautiful violin, and semi-quiet background songs (“don’t be thrown by “Capsized,” shown in the video above. This is one of the more rocking songs on the otherwise subdued album), this one is definitely for you.

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6. Lemonade by Beyoncé
7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
12. Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer
13. Sea of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones
14. You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
15. Painting Of A Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit
16. Why Are You OK by Band Of Horses
17. Not To Disappear by Daughter
18. Sunlit Youth by Local Natives
19. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
20. ★ by David Bowie
21. Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights
22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

Andrew Bird with Fiona Apple — Left Handed Kisses

March 23, 2016 by Royal Stuart

When an artist I’ve had a decades-long affinity for releases something that surprises me in its newness, I’m in heaven. As it was for me today with “Left Hand Kisses,” a dueling duet sung between the eccentric violinist Andrew Bird and the equally eccentric Fiona Apple.

I haven’t fallen so hard for a song in a very long time, and I’m damn near ready to declare this to be Bird’s best song ever. I do realize how foolish that sounds, having only heard it for the first time today. The song is from Bird’s ninth studio album, Are You Serious, to be released on this upcoming April Fool’s Day.

It‘s not the beautiful counterpoint that Apple brings to the song that bowled me over, but that certainly doesn’t hurt (especially considering her own own masterpiece was my #1 album of the year in 2012). It’s the structure of the song, the battle between the two, the laissez faire way in which Bird sings “now you got me writing love songs with a common refrain like this one here, baaaaaaaaaaby.” It hits me, just so.

Bird will be playing the Showbox at the Market in May, which is absolutely tiny venue for such a gigantic talent. Will I see you there?

#6 on the 2014 Bacon Top 31

December 26, 2014 by Royal Stuart

Nicky Nack by tUnE-yArDs

This is the second Top 10 appearance by the artist at #6, Oakland’s tUnE-yArDs. In 2011, the band made it all the way up to #4 with their second album, W H O K I L L. In that review, I wrote about the band:

tUnE-yArDs is an extension of one very talented person’s musical experimentation. Her name is Merrill Garbus, and she is a phenomenon. She creates music that’s definitely not for everyone. How she creates her music is not entirely original: she uses loops of her powerful voice along with other analog sounds to create electronic beats/rhythms/melodies (similar to Andrew Bird and St. Vincent), culminating in a cacophony of sounds that are vaguely African in origin. Hearing the recordings on her two albums, this seems somewhat apparent but doesn’t jump out at you like it does in her live show, where she is beating on anything in sight with her drum stick and creating complicated orchestrations on the strings of a ukulele.

Nicky Nack, the third and every-bit-as-fantastic album to spring forth from Garbus’s brain, is just as eclectic, as strange. Rooted in heavy beats, multiple layers of sound, and meaningful stories about trouble, conflict and cultural exploration, the album is an absolute joy to listen to. Garbus came through town on December 13, and I’m kicking myself for having not gone to the show to try and relive the experience I had back in 2011.

This music may not be for everyone, but I think everyone should listen to the above song before passing judgment. “Water Fountain” is the best song on the album. Give it at least until the bridge, which starts just past the 2:00 mark. From that point on, it builds and builds and comes crashing into the chorus one last time, at which point you should be bouncing along happily to the beat.

Earlier this year, tUnE-yArDs performed in the KEXP studios, and the entire performance is available for viewing. Watching how these songs are performed should give you a massive appreciation for how difficult it is for Garbus and the band to recreate these songs live. There’s also another video, for the song “Real Thing,” as seen here.

Buy this album. Then get her other two albums. They’re unlike anything else out there, and they are simply great.

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7. Not Art by Big Scary
8. The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett by Eels
9. Owl John by Owl John
10. LP1 by FKA Twigs
11. Black Hours by Hamilton Leithauser
12. Give the People What They Want by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
13. Lost in the Dream by The War On Drugs
14. Warpaint by Warpaint
15. Heal by Strand of Oaks
16. Stay Gold by First Aid Kit
17. This is All Yours by ∆
18. Brill Bruisers by The New Pornographers
19. Only Run by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
20. Augustines by Augustines
21. El Pintor by Interpol
22. I Never Learn by Lykke Li
23. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes by Thom Yorke
24. The Voyager by Jenny Lewis
25. Voices by Phantogram
26. Morning Phase by Beck
27. Hungry Ghosts by OK Go
28. Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels
29. Cosmos by Yellow Ostrich
30. Teeth Dreams by The Hold Steady
31. With Light & With Love by Woods

2009-2013 Top 31s

December 10, 2009 by Royal Stuart

#22 on the 2009 Musical Advent Calendar

Noble Beast by Andrew Bird

Whistling. Playing the violin like a ukelele. Performing without shoes on. These are the things that make Andrew Bird seem a bit more eccentric than the usual musician. But try not to let those things scare you (if they do), because Andrew Bird is somebody that everybody should be listening to. He has the appeal, the stage presence, and the songs that an artist needs to appeal to all (and to offend none).

The above video, for a live recording of the song “Anonanimal” from Noble Beast, performed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, breaks my self-imposed rules for the type of videos I’ll feature in the Calendar. But watching Andrew Bird perform live, you really start to see what makes up his mystique. Like St. Vincent (featured in the calendar 2 days ago), Andrew uses loop technology to slowly build songs. Notice there’s only 3 people on stage during the performance above. Yet as the song builds, it starts to sound like a full orchestra. Without the use of computers or off-stage musicians or any other such trickery — just a slight start and stop of a recording device at Andrew’s feet, recording measure after measure of live sound from his violin, building one on top of the other, creating a warm blanket of sound.

And then he starts playing the violin like a uke, and the whistling kicks in but it’s ok — now you get it.

And that, my friends, is Andrew Bird in a nutshell. Run out and buy everything he’s ever recorded, immediately.

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23. Hungry Bird by Clem Snide
24. Actor by St. Vincent
25. Elvis Perkins in Dearland by Elvis Perkins in Dearland
26. XX by the XX
27. Grrr… by Bishop Allen
28. Keep It Hid by Dan Auerbach
29. It’s Blitz! by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
30. Beware by Bonnie “Prince” Billie
31. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear