Andrew Bird- Noble Beast

[KnightOfDayJC12]

I mostly lurk around these boards but I didn't see anything about Andrew Bird's new album and I know he is liked by some of you.

Pitchfork has some info about the album, including a track listing, at http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/node/146198
You can stream the first track from the album, "Oh No", here: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/146200-premiere-andrew-bird-oh-no-stream

Back to the shadows for me...

[murlough23]

Bird's song titles always amuse me, even when the songs themselves do not. "Oh No" and "On Ho!" are a particularly amusing pairing. And remember when we played that silly game where I would obfuscate the song titles and make people figure out the artist! I used "Nomenclature" as code for "The Naming of Things", and now he has a song actually called "Nomenclature". I wonder if it will be in any way related.

Looking forward to this one.

[Ian]

Always a good thing when Andrew Bird puts out some new tunes.  I don't expect him to put out anything that will be list shattering (although it is possible), but he consistantly puts out very solid work.

[Josh]

Considering the fact that one of his albums is in my all-time top five, I'm naturally very eager to hear this one.

[Ian]

Yay, pushed ahead a week and now includes a bonus disk.  I think I may be plopping down the cash for this one, if the reviews encourage me.

[Josh]

Rumor has it this album is, to coin a phrase, a little bit country. We'll see. My review copy should be here by the end of the month.

[Ian]

This is off topic, but I always wondered how people who don't work for a publication get reputable enough to have cds sent to them?

[Josh]

I freelance for a variety of publications. And my blog is pretty highly read, which helps. 

[murlough23]

This is off topic, but I always wondered how people who don't work for a publication get reputable enough to have cds sent to them?

That's funny. I was just wondering how to get a certain record label to stop sending me CDs.

[Josh]

That's funny. I was just wondering how to get a certain record label to stop sending me CDs.

I'm sure they only send you music that they deem to be completely essential.

[Josh]

Listening for the first time right now!

[Ian]

OSHI-

Make sure and post impressions pronto.

[Josh]

I haven't had a gut-level, emotional reaction to a new album since Joe Henry unveiled Civilians in 2007. This is another great album-- perhaps even another masterpiece-- from a man who has distinguished himself as one of the most sophisticated and adventurous composers and songwriters and performers making music today. In some ways, it even betters his previous masterpiece, The Mysterious Production of Eggs-- it's a more organic, graceful and effortless sound. It's his most laid back album yet, but it's got a lot more energy and variety than Armchair Apocrypha did. It's a warm, thoroughly charming affair, and his songwriting only continues to improve.

Lots of whistling, too. 

[Ian]

Yeah, this is really great.  I think it has a really good chance of becoming my favorite from him, and even though its not even 2009, possibly a top ten spot in next year's list.

My favorite song right now is Effigy, but I bet that others are gonna grow on me too.

[murlough23]

Weird. I know this is making the file-sharing rounds, but I can't find it on SoulSeek.

[Josh]

I've written a primer on Bird's catalog, as a sort of build-up to the new album.

[enemy anemone]

thanks for the primer. I need to check out his older stuff.

I've noticed more than one comment about Apocrypha not being as accessible as Eggs. I am terrible about listening to albums all the way through in order without skipping songs, but Apocrypha is one of the few that I've found myself listening all the way through and all the way through again. with Eggs I find myself just listening to Tables and Chairs. because there will be snacks at the end!
(I've read comments that Bone Machine and Mule Variations are not ideal starting places for new listeners of Tom Waits, but they were the ones that hooked me. so I think I am just weird this way.)

[murlough23]

Apocrypha is more accessible in terms of song structure. But I find that its electric guitar-based songs are quite boring, actually. So are some of the very slow and drawn-out ones. That cuts out "Fiery Crash", "Dark Matter", and "Heretics" on the first count, and "Armchairs" and "Cataracts" on the second count. Not very good odds.

I've listened to Noble Beast once, and already I'm pleased to find that Bird seems to have either put away the electric guitar or put it further into the background for the most part, which is good, because Bird's picking is a hell of a lot more interesting than his strumming.

[Josh]

Hmmm... yeah, I'm not sure if there are any electric guitars on the new album. There are a couple of places where there are stringed instruments that I can't quite identify-- possibly violin or possibly an oddly-tuned acoustic guitar-- but nothing sounds like an electric guitar to me, off the top of my head.

[murlough23]

Hmmm... yeah, I'm not sure if there are any electric guitars on the new album. There are a couple of places where there are stringed instruments that I can't quite identify-- possibly violin or possibly an oddly-tuned acoustic guitar-- but nothing sounds like an electric guitar to me, off the top of my head.

Good; then this wasn't just my lack of paying attention.

I like electric guitars in rock bands, when there are riffs and solos and stuff. I don't like them so much when they're solely a rhythm instrument. And they often feel like an intrusion when used by an artist whose music is mostly acoustic.

Though I'm sure that any of Bird's "electric guitar" songs that I mentioned above would be absolutely riveting in concert, but that's mostly because of the "wow" factor of watching him play each part himself and layering it all. That's fun even when the song being played isn't one of my personal favorites.

[enemy anemone]

That cuts out "Fiery Crash", "Dark Matter", and "Heretics" on the first count, and "Armchairs" and "Cataracts" on the second count.

Fiery Crash, Dark Matter, and Cataracts are among my favorites from the album.  Armchairs made an impression on me when I heard it live. it was at the Hollywood Bowl, and I remember the way the quiet music reached out across and filled up the wide space between our chairs. 
                                                                               




                                                       

                                                   

[murlough23]

How did Bird get a gig at the Hollywood Bowl? That would be an awesome place to see him, but he must have been opening for someone. I've never been to an actual "concert" there.

[enemy anemone]

he was opening for The Decemberists.

[Ian]

Apocrypha is more accessible in terms of song structure. But I find that its electric guitar-based songs are quite boring, actually. So are some of the very slow and drawn-out ones. That cuts out "Fiery Crash", "Dark Matter", and "Heretics" on the first count, and "Armchairs" and "Cataracts" on the second count. Not very good odds.

Man you just picked out all the best songs. :|

Hmmm... yeah, I'm not sure if there are any electric guitars on the new album. There are a couple of places where there are stringed instruments that I can't quite identify-- possibly violin or possibly an oddly-tuned acoustic guitar-- but nothing sounds like an electric guitar to me, off the top of my head.

There's some in the second half of Anonanimal, but that's all I can think of.

[murlough23]

Man you just picked out all the best songs. :|

Some days I figure I just wasn't built to be an Andrew Bird fan. I don't think I've liked anything slow and sparse that I've heard from him, other than "Yawny at the Apocalypse", which ironically enough is a very repetitive instrumental on the album that I keep complaining about.

[enemy anemone]

Yawny is the one I'm most likely to skip, especially the second time around.

[murlough23]

Yawny is the one I'm most likely to skip, especially the second time around.

If this pattern holds true, you should also be indifferent to "Imitosis" and "Simple X". Right?

[enemy anemone]

I love Imitosis and am neutral towards Simple X.

[murlough23]

Well, I was almost right. What about Eggs? On that album, I love "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" and "Skin Is, My".

[enemy anemone]

I'm listening to Imitosis now and I feel comfortable saying that it is one of my favorite Andrew Bird songs.

Eggs...let me see...my favorites are Tables and Chairs and Sovay, I think. I do like A Nervous Tic quite a bit, but I find myself doing weird things with my head while listening, so I don't listen to it very often. I also like Fake Palindromes a lot, but just looking at the title I couldn't recall what it sounded like. (can you really say you like a song if you can't recall what it sounds like?) maybe when I'm actually listening I get into it more than I do Sovay, but I know Sovay better.

Skin Is, My is probably the one song that always seems foreign and unfamiliar to me. I'm always outside of it. (good thing/too bad the song isn't called My Skin--"I'm always outside of 'My Skin'." haha.) I find myself thinking "why are you singing about your skin. and it's white and dry and...cold as toes? ew." I do like the instrumentation in the middle quite a bit. it's mainly the lyrics that I don't really like.

[murlough23]

I'm listening to Imitosis now and I feel comfortable saying that it is one of my favorite Andrew Bird songs.

Then we'll always have Imitosis.

Eggs...let me see...my favorites are Tables and Chairs and Sovay, I think. I do like A Nervous Tic quite a bit, but I find myself doing weird things with my head while listening, so I don't listen to it very often. I also like Fake Palindromes a lot, but just looking at the title I couldn't recall what it sounded like. (can you really say you like a song if you can't recall what it sounds like?) maybe when I'm actually listening I get into it more than I do Sovay, but I know Sovay better.

"Tables and Chairs" mostly just bores me (it was the one sleepy moment when he played it live). I like "Sovay". I seem to recall enjoying "Measuring Cups" and "Banking on a Myth" and a few other assorted songs on that album for their inventive instrumentation, but then some of those songs kind of abruptly change into other things that I don't like so much. I have a hard time getting through that album because I find a lot of the songs too understated to really live up to their whimsical lyrics ("The Naming of Things" and "MX Missiles" and especially "The Happy Birthday Song" come to mind.)

Skin Is, My is probably the one song that always seems foreign and unfamiliar to me. I'm always outside of it.

So your guts are showing?

(good thing/too bad the song isn't called My Skin--"I'm always outside of 'My Skin'." haha.) I find myself thinking "why are you singing about your skin. and it's white and dry and...cold as toes? ew."

Why does Bird sing about anything? When you figure that one out, you let me know.

I do like the instrumentation in the middle quite a bit. it's mainly the lyrics that I don't really like.

I've resolved never to dislike a song just because I don't understand it, but there are times when Bird's lyrics are a bit obtuse and off-putting, so I can understand that. The music kills on that song, though. Makes me wish Bird would do upbeat acoustic jams (or whatever the hell you want to call that type of music) more often.

[enemy anemone]

I rarely know what Bird's lyrics mean but somehow I like them anyway. I like the imagery and the wordplay and sometimes just the fact that he uses an obscure word that is fun to say. often I want to find out more about what the song might mean. when I wrote about my reaction "why are you singing about your skin", the "why" wasn't the point. I was trying to describe how this particular song doesn't spark a "hmm! I like this! what might it mean?" sort of reaction.  skin is nice to have around, but apparently I don't find it interesting or enjoyable to hear about, I dunno. I don't outright dislike the song though--it's just that you mentioned it in context of comparing what songs we like/dislike, and I thought about how this song has never drawn me in and I rarely choose to listen to it so I tried to figure out why. in contrast, Tables and Chairs immediately charmed me with its crumbling financial institutions, pony rides, dancing bears, and snacks. (snacks is almost a magic word.) I like the idea of friends being the people who don't pretend they're too busy or not alone when we call them on red telephones. I am not quite sure what they have to do with each other and the end of the world but I like thinking about it and seeing what other people think.

just to compare, what sort of lyrics do you find a bit off-putting? I'm curious if some of those are things I like.

[murlough23]

just to compare, what sort of lyrics do you find a bit off-putting?

"Jesus don't you know that you should have died?" and "I mean Christ, who knows?" are two examples from Eggs. I can't think of any offhand from Armchair - my issue with that album is more that I have a hard time getting into the wry humor and wordplay when the music seems too "straightforward" to really support the playfulness of it. Like your issue with "Skin", it's one of those things that's hard to put my finger on; I just get the feeling that I'm not reacting with nearly the level of amusement that Bird hopes to get from me.

Noble Beast might be shaping up to be my favorite Bird album so far, though. "Not a Robot, But a Ghost" is highly addictive with its crunchy rhythm. "Masterswarm" feels a lot like "A Nervous Tic Motion" with a teeny bit of Spanish flair. And I love "Anonanimal" for its rhythmically twisted weirdness. I haven't really had the chance to analyze the lyrics yet, but nothing's been "off-putting" thus far.

[Ian]

Anyone heard Useless Creatures yet?

[enemy anemone]

*raises hand* I listened to it once.

"Jesus don't you know that you should have died?" and "I mean Christ, who knows?" are two examples from Eggs.

ah. I hadn't even noticed those. but I can see that they might be off-putting.

[murlough23]

Anyone heard Useless Creatures yet?

I'm listening to it right now. And it is aptly named.

[NewDimension]

"Jesus don't you know that you should have died?"

That was actually a bit sickening to read.

[murlough23]

That was actually a bit sickening to read.

Yeah, I can't make that one work for me regardless of whether Jesus is actually the person being addressed, or whether he's just taking the Lord's name in vain.

(Though if we want to get theologically nitpicky, Jesus should have died, which is what He was meant to do and did do. But that is highly unlikely to be Bird's intent.)

[bloop]

I don't know if that particular lyric is directed at Jesus (should there be a comma after "Jesus"?).  

I like the song.

*edit* mur beat me to it.

Yeah, I can't make that one work for me regardless of whether Jesus is actually the person being addressed, or whether he's just taking the Lord's name in vain.

I think there may be a third possibility for interpreting the lyric, but I tend to think it's the latter.  I'm no watchdog, I guess.

[murlough23]

I think there may be a third possibility for interpretation of the lyric, but I tend to think it's the latter.  I'm no watchdog, I guess.

What's the third possibility?

Look, I'm not out to blacklist artists who say something that could potentially be construed as blasphemous. (I like Green Day's American Idiot, remember?) I'm just saying, here's why some of Bird's songs fail to connect with me. I can't help it, just as schil can't help being put off by someone singing about their cold toes.