Are you somebody who's constantly whistling?ĪYes, even if it's inaudible. We hear your famous whistling almost immediately. The gloves come off later with 'Bloodless' and 'Fallorun,' and the record ends with 'Bellevue Bridge Club,' bruised and bloodied. I thought it good to start this record with that melody and that moral quandary. 'History forgets the moderates,' but won't there be collateral damage if the whole system comes apart, if the baby goes with the bathwater? Every time I talk about this song I say something different. It started with the word 'precipice.' I was thinking about thresholds when Sisyphus ponders how to escape his fate and how it turns into a moral crisis.

What was it about the story of Sisyphus that compelled you to write a song about it, and how does that song relate to the political subject matter in other songs on the record?Ī. I wanted a melody that's like wind in your hair, like that scene in 'Easy Rider' at Four Corners. The cry of a kid on an airplane turned into the song 'Oh No'. The screech from the breaks of a bus or the moan of a tree in a wind storm. That certainly happens in both urban and natural environments. 'My Finest Work Yet' opens with 'Sisyphus.' Did a specific sound you heard in everyday life inspire that melody? If so, how so? Were there other songs on the record that drew inspiration from random sounds?Ī. Before the show, Bird answered some questions about the record and his Mass MoCA debut by email. He'll play at Joe's Field on the opening evening of FreshGrass. (He'll appear in the next season of 'Fargo.')īut it's 'My Finest Work Yet' that brings Bird to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams on Friday night. 12 on the Billboard 200.Īll the while, Bird has been apt to experiment, working with pedals and producing instrumental works. His subsequent solo career elevated his musical stature by 2009, his album 'Noble Beast' peaked at No.

A classically trained violinist, Bird began his career in the jazz realm with Squirrel Nut Zippers during the late 1990s. Tongue-in-cheek 'My Finest Work Yet' offers plenty of opportunity to explore that full spectrum, though its political subject matter, especially in songs such as 'Bloodless' and 'Fallorun,' tinges any amusement with darkness.Ī third strength of Bird's musicianship - his violin-playing - doesn't greet listeners immediately, but resounds later on. He's the rare musician who can carry a New York Times blog about his creative process with specificity and, perhaps more importantly, without incessant self-promotion, and his verses can range from humorous to devastating. The singer-songwriter has a way with words. Coming from Bird, the impressive consonance in these lyrics isn't surprising.

Andrew bird noble beast free