rusted river towns
twisted metal lines
The Take-Away Shows #45: Andrew Bird
For us, Andrew Bird put Paris on pause.
Amongst the fragile calm behind the hill in Montmartre, a paunchy guy in his fifties, in the process of showing his friends a view of Paris from on high, turns his head, drops his arms, and ceases to move. Andrew Bird comes along singing ‘Spare-Ohs’ and the three guys stand still and calmly attentive about ten feet behind the pleasing surprise. They’ll continue to stand cold still until he turns his back to them, allowing them step out of the frame. A couple minutes later, after Andrew Bird quiets down, leaving just the sound of twittering sparrows, they begin to applaud. The three kids on the bench don’t say a word. Everything is calm as the sun goes down.
We’ve seen groups excite young girls, leave onlookers indifferent, embarrass concierges, and rile up crowds. Andrew Bird put the city on pause. His timidity and lightness didn’t make us wait long.
Andrew Bird’s songs are small Chinese treasure boxes and illustrious Spanish buffets. Elaborately decorated, orchestrated with art, rich with a multitude of hidden drawers, filled with tiny, unexpected boxes and surprises, his songs glide on with episodic movements.
lately, i have been listening to these albums in my car:
califone - quicksand/cradlesnakes
innocence mission - birds of my neighborhood
sonic youth - daydream nation
andrew bird - armchair apocrypha
denison witmer - safe away
!!! - louden up now
down by law
the big lebowski
the royal tenenbaums
old joy
arrested development
seinfeld
the office
milan kundera - the unbearable lightness of being
milan kundera - immortality
yann martel - life of pi
yann martel - the facts behind the helsinki roccamatios
paul whitelaw - belle and sebastian: just a modern rock story
c.s. lewis - the screwtape letters