andrew bird
This is a delightful recording of Andrew Bird & St. Vincent (Annie Clark) singing Bird's song, "Lusitania." You can find the song on Bird's newest album, Break It Yourself. It starts in a bedroom & ends on a stage. Gorgeous.
I've been reading about Holidays Rule for several weeks. It includes tracks by Fun., The Civil Wars, Punch Brothers, The Head & The Heart, The Shins, Andrew Bird & others. One of my favorites is by Rufus Wainwright & Sharon Van Etten, "Baby It's Cold Outside." It's mostly a cultural Christmas album, or a "holidays" album (exceptions like Punch Brothers with "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"). But it's fun and includes some really solid stuff. And it's only $3.99.
Andrew Bird's new album is out, Hands of Glory. It's only $5.99. He appeared on Letterman last night (sans audience) to play "If I Needed You"...
Nice list of $5 albums for October. My recommended albums are below. Check out the list of all 100.
Here are some albums released today that I think are worth checking out. If you aren't familiar with Andrew Bird, start there. Dude.
STREAMING FREE
$5 ALBUMS
STREAMING FREE
New Josh Ritter video for "Love Is Making It's Way Back Home," created with 12,000 pieces of construction paper. Pretty awesome. Find it on Josh's new EP, Bringing In The Darlings.
I love to find new, unique, or renewed sounds in new music: Bon Iver's bearded outdoorsman falsetto, Beirut's use of traditional instruments and foreign sounds, Antony & The Johnsons's trembling vocals, Animal Collective's layers and layers of electronic music, and Andrew Bird's lyrical torsion. Sometimes there are new sounds that just don't work for me, and other times they draw me in and stretch me in a new direction. Even when they don't work, I think it's good for us to be stretched. It keeps us from mere consumption and towards understanding it as art.
Let's be honest, some of you just love everything from U2 but don't realize you are stuck in a moment and can't get out of it. Time for something new. Here are two places to stretch.
1. Daniel Knox. The haunting vocals will stay with you in "Ghostsong." If you like it, grab his free Daytrotter session and buy his album, Evryman for Himself.
2. tUnE-yArDs. I don't really know what to say about this, but the critics are crazy about it. The new album from tUnE-yArDs: W H O K I L L is only $5 right now. If listening to this doesn't stretch you a bit, you may have deeper issues.
