Andrew Bird: Alien or Not?

Before I even ask the question again, the answer is: alien.

My New Years’ Resolution last year was to stop reading commentary on websites, most notably refraining from delving into the murderously offensive and obtuse comments on Youtube. But if you have noticed, Youtube has changed its format, now displaying the most “liked” comments near the top, so they are nearly impossible to miss. Needless to say, I broke my rule, and peaked at the comments after watching an Andrew Bird video. Here’s what zhurein had to say:

Andrew Bird is an alien. Things like this aren’t made on earth. F***ing incredible.

(censorship added).

Here’s the thing, zhurein is right. Andrew Bird is not a human being, I am convinced of that. Whether he was manufactured on this planet, is an entirely different discussion. But the fact remains, he is not a human being. I have had the privilege of seeing him live (meaning in person, again, an entirely different discussion as to whether a non-human can “live”) three times. Each time I had the same reaction: quitting music entirely for the next unknown period of time. When people are this good, its hard to reconcile even trying to be an amateur.

It’s like when you get out of high school, and realize, well, I got my varsity letter, but maybe it’s time to hang up the cleats and try something else. Except, we all know the people who never hung it up: still wear the letterman jacket, still go to Friday night games, and end up coaching JV special teams. For those of us with any decency, we knew when to call it quits. All I am saying is if you play the violin and you know Andrew Bird exists, why keep trying?

With five solo albums and a whole basket of live albums, EP’s, and collaborations, it’s hard to see how he hasn’t exploded on the charts yet. His newest album, an instrumental work called Useless Creatures, is out now, and you can get it from his website, or any other reputable audio-dealer. I’m not going to waste time describing Andrew Bird’s music, that’s a little like trying to describe the Colosseum to a Roman. Not only it is a waste of time, it’s just offensive.

Andrew Bird is decidedly this fall’s preferred music choice.

In case you were wondering, the top “liked” comment on the video above was from otr15 at 68 “likes”:

I just sh*t my pants.

(censorship added). When was the last time any one’s incontinence made 68 people happy?

Proof that Andrew Bird is an alien.