Dry the River, Demons

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Atlantic, Ben Howard, Bon Iver, Demons, Dry the River, Fleet Foxes, James Vincent McMorrow, Josh Garrels, Ruthie Bird, Shallow Bed, The Bible Belt, Watch Listen Tell

I know, I know, that song title is throwing you off (like it did to me at first). What the heck is Sarah Ruthie Bird doing writing about Demons? Well, that’s a very good question. The song “Demons” has everything to do with the British sensation, Dry The River. The five-membered band released their newest creation in April, and now at the start of June, the band’s reach has creeped across the Atlantic to saturate American playlists. My favorite tracks on the album are side-by-side (nos. 6 & 7), Demons and Bible Belt. Watch Listen Tell made a beautiful video of Bible Belt in 2010. Check it out!

Shelve next to: Bon Iver, James Vincent McMorrow, Josh Garrels, Fleet Foxes, and Ben Howard.

Music Monday: JVM (again…)

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Acoustic, Bon Iver, Chasing the Moon, Hear The Noise that Moves So Soft and Slow, Higher Love, Indie, James Blake, James Vincent McMorrow, Music, Sparrow and the Wolf, Steve Wentwood, This Old Dark Machine

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “this girl is going overboard with the James Vincent McMorrow posts.” While this may be true, just consider your life more enriched and….cultured because of it! I’ve said it before, I love James Vincent McMorrow. Remember the song “Higher Love,” by Steve Wentwood, that upbeat staple of the 1980s?  Well, James has his own cover of the song. He strips it down to a light piano base and washes his wispy vocals all over it.

AAAAANNNDD there’s more…

Last August, JVM recorded this acoustic set at Chasing the Moon, singing “This Old Dark Machine,” “Hear the Noise That Moves So Soft and Low,” and “Sparrow and the Wolf.”   If you’re a fan of fellow falsetto kings like Bon Iver or James Blake you’re going to love these songs!

Music Monday: Spicing it up.

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Alex Clare, Black is the Bird, Chris Isaak, Cover, Eve, Humming Bird, Indie, James Vincent McMorrow, Music, Neulore, NYC, One Day International, Pop, Ruthie Bird, Wicked Games

I’m terrified that someday I’ll get tired of listening to James Vincent McMorrow, so I decided to make sure that would never be the case. Of course, I’m still head-over-heels for JVM’s cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked games, but this week I’m shaking up my playlist a bit with an indie-pop kick: bring out some Neulore, One Day International, and Alex Clare. Two of the songs have the word “bird” in the title. #winning.

^Wicked Game (Christ Isaak cover), James Vincent McMorrow

^Hummingbird, Alex Clare

^Black Is The Bird, One Day International

11 from ’11: The Best of Ruthie Bird

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2011, Blackbird, Cameron Mitchell, Coffee, Decor, Design, Eyeglasses, Fashion's Night Out, FNO 2011, Food, James Vincent McMorrow, John, Josh Garrels, Little Talks, Manhattan, Mexicue, Music, NYC, Of Monsters and Men, Roman & Williams, Stumptown Coffee, The Best of 2011, Uniqlo, Warby Parker

Okay, have you tried to compile a top-11 list for 2011? It’s near impossible-at least for me. 2011 has been a great year of newness, exploration, and growth. But the most important thing I learned is that it’s not the stuff that’s in your life but WHO’s in your life that counts. Something like, the quantity of life isn’t as important as the quality of life. Love well and you’ll live well, and that usually means that to love others well, you must be the one to initiate.

With that tidbit in mind, I’ll just give a you a Ruthie Bird run down-a top 11 of 2011-complete with your favorite posts (at least, what my site stats tell me are your fav’s) from RB’s launch in August ’til now.

1. Of Monsters and Men:
2. Stumptown Coffee:
   
3. Cameron Mitchell Music:
4. Josh Garrels Music:
5. Warby Parker, Eyeglasses:
6. Mexicue:
7. John Derian, Dry Goods:
8. James Vincent McMorrow:*Ruthie Bird’s two cents* If I had my way, JVM would be in the #1 spot, but I’m listening to the people right now. JVM’s voice is perfect. Give him a listen, please?
9. Uniqlo Cubes:
10. Roman & Williams Buildings and Interiors:
11. Recap: FNO 11:

What were your favorite things about 2011?

Friday Favors

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34th St., 5th Ave, Adele, Cameron Mitchell, Flagship, James Vincent McMorrow, Max Wanger, Motopony, Photography, Ruthie Bird, Someone Like You, The Glee Project, The Road, Tumblr, Uniqlo, Wait For Me

Happy Weekend everyone! To celebrate, I’ve put together a little weekend montage for your senses’ pleasure.

To Hear:

James Vincent McMorrow’s cover of Someone Like You by Adele

A Cameron Mitchell original called The Road

Motopony, Wait For Me

To Know:

Uniqlo has opened two new stores, one is uptown on 5th Avenue (the new flagship location!) and 53rd Street, and the other is on 34th street between Broadway and 5th. Check them out and take advantage of their $9.90 jean deal during this opening week.

To See:

MAX WANGER PHOTOGRAPHY. I’ve been a fan of Max Wanger for a few years, now you’ll know why. He uses a lot of negative space and bright colors and I love it! I will never grow tired of stalking Max’s blog. You should love/consistantly stalk it too.  Max’s photography is so beautiful, I want to put every single photograph on Ruthie Bird, alas, there would be too many of them so you will just have to browse his archives and tumblr on your own. Until then, here are a few pictures to wet your whistle

Music Monday: James Vincent McMorrow

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Band of Horses, Early In the Morning, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Folk, Follow You Down to The Red Oak Tree, Indie, Ireland, Iron & Wine, James Vincent McMorrow, John Steinback, Music, Red Dust, SoulKitchen, Sufjan Stevens, Whip My Hair, Willow Smith

Listen While Reading:

With soaring falsetto, haunting melodies, and flawless harmonies comparable to Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, Irish folk artist James Vincent McMorrow is giving American Indie/Folk artists a run for their money. McMorrow sites F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck as lyrical inspirations, and shades of Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and Band of Horses fill out the set. Unfortunately for us New Yorkers, James is touring across the pond for a while and won’t be coming to play in our lovely city anytime soon.

McMorrow’s first full-length LP, Early In the Morning, was released in the USA during January of 2011. an download a copy of the full-length for $5 on Amazon, type his name into Spotify, or download four acoustic tracks from Early In the Morning on Daytrotter fo’ free.

SoulKitchen, the French music magazine did a video of JVM for its V-Log earlier this year:

Tracks of Note: We Don’t Eat, Follow You Down to the Red Oak Tree, Red Dust, If I Had a Boat, and Early In the Morning, I’ll Come Calling

Make sure to listen to James’ cover of Willow Smith’s Whip My Hair.

Friday Favors

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100 years of style, Bon Iver, Come Talk to Me, Fashion, Flume, Friday Favors, James Vincent McMorrow, Mat Kearney, Music, Peter Gabriel, Photography, Weekend, Wesley Stringer

I know you’ll miss Ruthie Bird over the weekend, so here are some special Friday favors (links, music, and inspiration) to tide you over until Monday.