Andrew Bird: Andrew Bird brings in New Year on Noble Beast
On Jan. 27 Fat Possum will uncage Noble Beast, the follow up to Andrew Bird's fairly successful 2007 release Armchair Apocrypha. I think from the titles of tracks like "Tenuousness" and "Not a Robot, But a Ghost," we can expect some of the same invovled wordplay that Mr. Bird has delivered on previous releases.  To celebrate, Bird will be playing some small shows where attendees will get the chance to hear some tracks from his new record. Bird will also be playing at Obama fundraise

New Andrew Bird - "Oh No"
If you recall, Owen Pallett told us Andrew Bird handled the whistling in the St. Kitts Orchestra on his forthcoming Plays To Please EP. "Oh No" offers some whistling, too, but this time Andrew's front and center. Not too long ago we heard some live Bird songs, where we mentioned "Oh No," but this is the first Noble Beat studio work we've captured. The song mixes classy violin, whistling, guitar accents, and harmonies with lyrics about calculated blows to the head and harmless sociopaths. (Via P4K)

New Live Andrew Bird Songs
The last peep we got out of Andrew Bird was some literal whistling as part of Final Fantasy's Toronto-based St. Kitts Orchestra on the second of Owen Pallet's forthcoming EPs, Plays To Please. Bird played a number of festivals this spring and summer, though, most recently at Outside Lands at the end of August. During those sets, he previewed tracks from the unreleased Armchair Apocrypha followup, A Non-Animal. For instance, the percussive "Master Swarm" from 8/24 at the aforementioned Outside Lands in Gold

Andrew Bird And Yo-Yo Ma Smile And Whistle At Each Other
Presented without comment over at The Daily Swarm this afternoon is this two minute, first-meeting of the bows between Yo-Yo and Dr. Stringz. Ma's eager to the point of being patronizing, sorta like a preschool TV show host in laying out the rules (I'll play something, you just jump in whenever) and congratulating Andrew on his performance as if this was Bird's first time in violin class. However Andrew probably doesn't mind, it's Yo-Yo after all (never said that before) and they really do make some nice co

Andrew Bird Planning Tour in Early 2009
Andrew Bird will be whistling his way through the US beginning in late January with Lonely, Dear (except for Carnegie Hall, which will feature Bird and Dosh). In case anyone was wondering, there is a “Sean’s birthday” angle to all of this. It’s here. Thursday is the big day, after all. Andrew Bird - Scythian Empires Lonely, Dear - I Am John Jan 28 - Carnegie Hall New York, New York Jan 30 - Orpheum Theatre Boston, Massachusetts Jan 30 - Orpheum Theatre Boston, Massachusetts

Fiery Furnaces for Brooklyn Barackrock Benefit
Fiery Furnaces, Andrew Bird, Eugene Mirman and Kumail Nanjiani are among the performers scheduled to take part in a fundraiser for presidential hopeful Barack Obama next Monday (October 7). Alina Simone, Heather Lawless, Guster , Lizz Winstead, Martin Bisi, John Roberts and Adira Amram will also help raise money for the Obama campaign, as will Les Savy Fav who will perform an acoustic set on the night. The event will take place at the Music Hall of Williamsburg where the acts will perform over severa

Tour Tracker: Lil Wayne, Andrew Bird and Where’s The Band?
Lil Wayne actually leaves the recording studio for some year-end shows, Andrew Bird flies around the U.S. in 2009 and Where’s The Band? Tour features the frontmen of Thrice, Saves the Day, Get Up Kids and Bayside. Follow the jump for the complete set of dates. Lil Wayne December 6 - Rochester, NY @ Blue Cross Arena December 14 - Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena December 18 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center December 19 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center December 21 - Universal City, CA @ Gib

Obama Fund-raiser Brings ‘Limeys’ Franz Ferdinand to Tiny Venue
Andrew Bird and — wow! — Franz Ferdinand.Photo: Ehren Gresehover Though the election is a month away, the mood at Barack Rock — a comedy, rock, and, yes, comedy-rock benefit at the Music Hall of Williamsburg for "that one" — was more relaxed and celebratory than the tenor of the hard-fought campaign would lead anyone (or at least any Democrat with at least a four-year memory) to believe. The pupu platter of indie-rock bands —

Joanna Newsom: Newsom joins legions of artists for Obama
Joanna Newsom will join the likes of Arcade Fire, Jim James, Andrew Bird, and Bruce Springsteen this upcoming Monday, Oct. 20, when she plays Nightingale Concert Hall at University of Nevada campus in Reno to support Barack Obama's bid for the presidency. The show is free and open to anyone who has a Nevada student ID or driver's license. The show is intended to drum up interest in the swing state's early voting program, which is open from November 18th until the 31st. With Newsom behind him, what artists'

Hot Tickets: Obama, Eggers, Second City
Next Tuesday, you’ll have a crucial decision to make: Barack Obama or Dave Eggers. On Oct. 7, you could a) head to the Music Hall of Williamsburg for the super-deluxe Barack Rock Benefit featuring six musicians and six comedians—all “hyping the hope.” There’ll be Andrew Bird, The Fiery Furnaces, and Guster, on the one hand, and NYC comedians extraordinaire, Eugene Mirman and John Roberts, and Daily Show co-creator, Lizz Winstead, on the other. Or you could b) make your way to Town Hall for the ann

Suzanne Vega is the "Mother of the MP3"
As it does for just about everything, the New York Times has a blog about songwriting. It’s called, somewhat pretentiously, Measure for Measure: How to Write a Song and Other Mysteries. It’s rarely updated, but it’s rarely bad. It features folks like Andrew Bird, Roseanne Cash, and Peter Holsapple (formerly of the Continental Drifters). Suzanne Vega is also a semi-regular contributor. You’ll probably know her for her hits “Luka” and 1987’s near-ubiquitous “Tom’s Diner” (just hum that ja

Andrew Bird Whistles Through the Financial Apocalypse
As the title suggests, beneath the pretty strings and whistling, Andrew Bird is pretty alarmed on this track off his next album. But not about the economy! He's mostly upset about "calcium mines you bury deep in your chest" and calculators used as weapons. [Pitchfork] 2. The Killers, "Spaceman" Aliens always seem to abduct crazy people. Like Brandon Flowers, who told of a close encounter on this weekend's SNL wearing what could be the weirdest jacket we've ever seen. [Culture Bully] 3. The Game feat. M

Morning Buzz: Animal Collective, Weezer, Danielson
:: Weezer and fans rewrite some world records in the band’s new video. Not sure if there’s a world record for dressing up like a Mexican gangster, but apparently Cuomo is trying to take that crown. :: In addition to the Danielson vinyl re-issues and retrospective being released, Secretly Canadian is giving away a digital-only live EP. :: All the cool kids and trust fund babies are already salivating over this, but Andrew Bird has a new album coming out Jan. 27 on Fat Possum. :: I wasted all o

Link Time! 11/20
Dear Gossip Girl: Please get rid of Aaron Rose. XOXO. — Buddy TV Ben Lyons sucks some information from Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke. — E!'s Lyons Den Should Disney make the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 3-D? — Cinematical Check out James Van Der Beek on One Tree Hill. — Give Me My Remote Bryan Singer opens up about Valkyrie and we get a new photo from the film. — MTV Movies Blog It's a new Andrew Bird song! Happy day. — You Ain't No Picasso Hot dogs and ostrich eggs? Go talk

Link Time! 9/9
Apple has upgraded its iPod Nano, iPod Touch, and iTunes application. — geeksugar Five reasons to look forward to ABC's The Unusuals — already! — TV Squad On a scale of 1 to 10: What's the likelihood you'll see the just-announced Jessica Alba movie, An Invisible Sign of My Own? — Popwatch The CW should take the diversity of America's Next Top Model and spread it to some other primetime shows. — Jezebel Four — count 'em, four! — new Andrew Bird songs. — You Ain't No Picasso JJ Abrams explains

Wilco Kind of Overdo It
On this brand-new song (recorded just the other day at the Bridge School Benefit), Jeff Tweedy promises he'd "kill for you" and "die for you," but if the other tracks on Wilco's next album sound anything like this, that probably won't be necessary. [Muzzle of Bees] 2. M.I.A., "Shells (Slow)" Currently available only on the How Many Votes Fix Mix EP on iTunes, this track might yet be the only evidence that pregnancy is slowing M.I.A. down. [Ants in My Trance] 3. Andrew Bird and Yo Yo Ma, "Untitled" T