the bird and the bee - new album - tour

Who: the bird and the bee

Where: Spiegeltent - NY, NY
When: 9/30/08 -11:15pm

the bird and the bee - "Birthday" - mp3
Admittedly, we're a day late and a dollar short on this post, which doesn't cut it in this blogger world, but hey, sometimes there's just other shit going on. Tonight, Stark heads down to Spiegelworld in NY to catch the ever-crafty, stylish, and highly-prolific duo the bird and the bee. Featuring Inara George and one man supergroup/producer Greg Kurstin, the LA based twosome will be playing songs from their upcoming record Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future. While previous shows featured a full band including ace drummer Joey Waronker and some questionable back-up singers -- tonight it will just be George and Kurstin; in the opinion of this writer, that is where they truly excel.

We've been spinning Ray Guns for several weeks now and it has proven to be a large step forward for the duo. The melodies are more refined, a little darker, and built upon a thicker Kurstin-sound-bed. These factors give their sophomore LP a more mature and edgy sound than the group has been known for in the past. Including only the best of the best from the duo's previous EP's, the bird and the bee cut back on filler and prove they are capable of making a solid record from start to finish. Ray Guns comes out via Blue Note Records January 27. See after the jump for more tour dates, track list and the amazing video for "Polite Dance Song" directed by Tim and Eric of Comedy Central "fame."
Photo credit: Autumn De Wilde




Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
01 Fanfare
02 My Love
03 Diamond Dave
04 What's in the Middle
05 Ray Gun
06 Love Letter to Japan
07 Meteor
08 Baby
09 Phil
10 Polite Dance Song
11 You're a Cad
12 Witch
13 Birthday
14 Lifespan of a Fly

Tour Dates
09-28 Boston, MA - Great Scott
09-29 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
09-30 New York, NY - Spiegeltent
10-01 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
10-03 Vienna, VA - Jammin Java
10-04 Annapolis, MD - Rams Head
10-05 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
03-07 New York, NY - Zankel Hall

Ben Folds, Awesome Video, Great Job!

Featured:

BEN FOLDS "You Don't Know Me"

Benjamin Folds, ever the goofball, has unveiled his new video for "You Don't Know Me" today via Myspace. With a little help from Tim and Eric (as in, Awesome Show, Great Job!), Folds waxes quirky the entire time. Do you like awkward pauses? Weird faces? Men in drag? Josh Groban? Then this is your video! Clip is seriously wack, but in a good way. The song's definitely growing on me, but I wish Regina Spektor would've been utilized more. And you'd be right in wondering where the hell she is in the video; it took me a replay to find her. Check out the video after the jump, and check out Way To Normal in stores 9/30.

You Dont Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor)