to move up and down
Bird Courage
#tracksontracks
Date: January 9th 2013
Station: Lorimer G Line
From what I could hear at the other end of the station, it was a folksy 3-part harmony trio. And beneath their warm vocals, delicate pings of a xylophone ricocheted off the surrounding cement-and-concrete.
I clamored up and swung around three flights of stairs to the other side of the tracks, to meet Bird Courage.
Erik Meier, Samuel Saffery and Sean McMahon—on acoustic guitars and that xylophone—played a few entrancing covers of Stars and their own songs (during which a passerby mistook them for Fleet Foxes).
Their breezy sound gave testament to all that’s great about folk music: Not everyone can do it, but tuned tightly and sung from the gut, it feels unabashed, genuine, and you can’t shake it after the jam-shut of subway doors.
Silky vocals, a xylophone, and three heads of dred-able locks motivated this sloth-like writer to get up-and-stalking. And after some slap-dash internet due diligence, I present to you my intel on Bird Courage:
Upcoming Local Show: at the Paper Box in Brooklyn January 24
Site (with new albums for purchase)
Chipin (to raise money for a forthcoming tour)
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
And lastly, a free download of their cover of Your Ex-Lover is Dead (Stars) available here:
*You’ll like them if you’re into: Fleet Foxes, Imagine Dragons, Stars, Sigur Ros
Photo Series: The Most Stunning Photos of 2012’s Annular Solar Eclipse
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Jean-Paul Gaultier: Photos of the Moment, New York Times
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Photographer: Olaf Wipperfurth
Stylist: Lilly Marthe Ebener
“If Obama used baby animal postcards instead of talking, every political problem, from the economy to healthcare, would be solved.”
alexleo:
Awesome friend Jess Bennett interviewing awesome friend Amanda McCall!
Friend of Newsweek tumblr Amanda McCall (The Wendy Williams Show) and Parks and Recreation funny-guy Ben Schwartz (Jean-Ralphio!) have a new book out this week, Looking on the Bright Side with Baby Animals, which is a follow up to their second book, Asking Awkward Questions with Baby Animals, which followed their first best-seller, Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals, all of which we have long fantasized about plastering all over the office doors of high-level Newsweek executives. Anyway: we asked them to answer some of our burning questions about baby animals, because, well, we think they’re funny. Also, because Amanda once wrote a book called, “Hold My Gold: A White Girl’s Guide to the Hip-Hop.” Please love them.
NWK Tumblr: Do you really think our leg will grow back?
Ben: Well, that’s the best part of our new book. It prevents you from ever having to ‘think’ about things like that. In fact, it prevents you from having to think about anything at all!Is there a particular baby animal that’s best for breaking bad news?
Amanda: When we started writing our first book, and even into our second book, we thought all baby animals were equally helpful. But now we know that every baby animal has its own particular skill set.Ben: For example, kittens are good for relationship problems, while puppies are better for medical emergencies. For crime and other legal matters? Baby bunnies. God, they’re good.
Could your new book help Barack Obama handle the economy?
Ben: If Obama used baby animal postcards instead of talking, every political problem, from the economy to healthcare, would be solved.Who would i give this book to as a gift?
Amanda: Our books are for everyone. Even Kardashians. In fact, I’m convinced that if this book came out a month earlier, Kim and Kris would still be together.What’s the most over-rated animal?
Ben: Humans.
Amanda: Well, between us, cute little baby bears can be real divas.
commuting with commoners is my cross to bear
(Raquel Zimmerman by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia)
