His early work, which echoed gypsy jazz and traditional folk, has led into his current sound, which mixes rock with more broad compositions. His years of solo song-craft have now enabled him to produce a sound that is uniquely his own.
Trained by the Suzuki method from a young age and a graduate of Illinois' Northwestern University, Bird released his first solo album, Music of Hair, in 1996. Vastly different from his later releases, this first album showcases his violin skills and pays tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues.
His initial commercial exposure was in collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers. He was quickly lumped in with the swing craze that swept the United States music industry in the mid '90s; this is an affiliation that he is still working to shed.
Taking on the role of band leader in 1997 with Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, he released the album Thrills. This was followed by Oh! The Grandeur in 1998. Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument.
In 2001, Bird released The Swimming Hour, his third release with the Bowl of Fire and a dramatic departure from previous recordings. The Swimming Hour featured a mixture of styles, from the zydeco-influenced "Core and Rind" to more straightforward rock songs. He has often referred to this record as his "jukebox album".
The Bowl of Fire unofficially disbanded some time in 2003, having featured many skilled Chicago musicians including Kevin O'Donnell, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins (aka Mr. Rudy Day), Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn and Ryan Hembrey.
Bird then released two subsequent solo albums, both distributed through the label operated by Ani DiFranco, Righteous Babe Records. The two records, 2003's Weather Systems and 2005's The Mysterious Production of Eggs, continue a progression towards an eclectic indie folk sound that has proven challenging to classify.
Bird's live solo shows have been notable in that he uses a multi-track system to sample and loop his own performance. For example, he may record a snippet of his performance on violin, then play a "loop" of that sound. This provides a more full-bodied sound and aurally suggests a band performance, rather than the sound of a solo artist.
Bird's next full-length album Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum) was released on March 20th 2007.
November 2007 saw the Soldier On EP originally a European tour-only release. But due to high demand and unanticipated critical acclaim was released digitally and in CD-format on both sides of the Atlantic. Critics and fans alike have hearkened to the EP's first track, "The Trees Were Mistaken", a complex yet austere looping composition that marks a departure from Bird's earlier body of work. It also contains a cover of Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister".
January 2009 saw Noble Beast, also available with instrumental album Useless Creatures, released worldwide to positive reviews.
The Fatal Shore Songfacts reports that Break it Yourself, Bird's sixth solo studio album, was released on March 6, 2012 through Mom+Pop records in the US and Bella Union in the UK. The origins of the LP lie in a couple of jam sessions by a gathering of Bird's friends in the singer's western Illinois barn, near the banks of the Mississippi River.
Of his 2019 album My Finest Work Yet, Talia Schlanger of NPR says "Bird zooms way out on humanity across history's timeline, seeking insight about our current age, in a way he hopes 'stays above the news feed noise.'" Many tracks, including the opener "Sisyphus," include Andrew's trademark whistling.
Case In Point
Andrew Bird Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I don't know where I stand
Not since someone informed me
That my house was built on sand
And it's not the earth beneath me
It's just the concept of the land
And I'm standing on the corner
If you blink once you're a goner
Everything just goes pell-mell
It's a real hard sell
My conceptual hell
Not even good for kindling
When the buildings they all fell
I'm a breather mail receiver
Bottomfeeder just getting by
And you know it's all just par for the course
But you blame it on some non-existent force
Oh yeah, of course
You know you can't ride the concept of the horse
But still I try
In a cartoon desert landscape
With a pair of ACME jet skates
Focused on my destination
I seem to have forgot my station
Now it's time to face the nation
And I'm riding to meet you
On a brown gray speckled mare
But there's something that unnerves me
Like I'm riding on thin air
These few doubts desserve me
Thinking no one really cares
And I'm jumping over fences
On this obstacle course
But it seems I'm getting nowhere
On the concept of the horse
It's a real hard sell
My conceptual hell
Not even good for kindling
When the buildings they all fell
I'm a breather
Bottomfeeder
How many liters
Must I imbibe
And you know it's all just par for the course
But you blame it on some non-existent force
Oh yeah, of course
You know you can't ride the concept of the horse
But still I try
In Andrew Bird's "Case in Point," the lyrics are a reflection on the precariousness of reality and the attempts to make sense of the world around us. The chorus, "It's a real hard sell, my conceptual hell, not even good for kindling when the buildings they all fell," speaks to the idea that our perceptions of reality, much like buildings built on sand, can be quickly destroyed and rendered useless. The singer is struggling to make sense of their place in the world, and they grapple with the idea that their life is simply a matter of going through the motions, blaming circumstances on an intangible force.
The second verse adds a layer to this uncertainty, as the singer imagines themselves in a "cartoon desert landscape," trying to make their way to a destination but feeling like they've lost their way. They're riding a horse, a traditional symbol of freedom and power, but still feeling unsure and unnerved. The final lines of the song reveal the sense of futility that the singer feels in trying to grasp the world around them, as they try to ride the "concept of the horse" and ultimately end up going nowhere.
Overall, "Case in Point" is a song that speaks to the challenges of navigating a complex and constantly shifting world, where our attempts to create structure and meaning can often feel frail and vulnerable.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a breather mail receiver
I am a person who receives and breathes mail.
And I don't know where I stand
I am uncertain about my position in life.
Not since someone informed me
My uncertainty started when someone told me.
That my house was built on sand
That the foundation of my life is weak and unstable.
And it's not the earth beneath me
The ground I stand on is not solid.
It's just the concept of the land
It's just an abstract idea of the place I inhabit.
And I'm standing on the corner
I find myself on a street corner.
When the buildings they all fell
In a sudden moment all the buildings around me crumbled.
If you blink once you're a goner
If you don't pay attention to what's happening, you'll be in trouble.
Everything just goes pell-mell
Everything is chaotic and out of control.
It's a real hard sell
It's difficult to convince others of my situation.
My conceptual hell
My mental anguish caused by the abstractness of my predicament.
Not even good for kindling
My situation is not even useful for making a fire.
I'm a breather mail receiver
I am still a person who receives and breathes mail.
Bottomfeeder just getting by
I am living my life with little money or success.
And you know it's all just par for the course
This is just how life is and I accept it.
But you blame it on some non-existent force
But sometimes I blame my problems on things that don't really exist.
Oh yeah, of course
I know this is not a logical way to think.
You know you can't ride the concept of the horse
I know I can't rely on abstract ideas to get by in life.
But still I try
But I still attempt to make sense of my situation.
In a cartoon desert landscape
In my imagination, I see myself in a cartoonish desert environment.
With a pair of ACME jet skates
I envision myself wearing high-tech boots that allow me to move quickly.
Focused on my destination
My thoughts are solely on where I am headed in life.
I seem to have forgot my station
But I seem to have lost sight of my position in life.
Now it's time to face the nation
It's time for me to confront my problems and be honest with myself and others.
And I'm riding to meet you
I am heading towards someone to deal with my problems.
On a brown gray speckled mare
I see myself on a horse with a particular coloring.
But there's something that unnerves me
I am feeling uncomfortable and uneasy.
Like I'm riding on thin air
As if I am not making progress and am stuck in one spot.
These few doubts deserve me
I know that my doubts are justified and reasonable.
Thinking no one really cares
I feel that nobody really understands or cares about my situation.
And I'm jumping over fences
I am working hard to overcome the obstacles in my life.
On this obstacle course
This is a metaphorical course filled with obstacles of life.
But it seems I'm getting nowhere
Despite my efforts, I am not making any real progress.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind