For the remainder of 2009 we will be featuring albums that meant a lot to us this decade. I have really enjoyed spending quality time with my record collection and not just what is new and current. One thing this collection will not be is all-encompassing. We will be deliberately leaving out some of the universal favorites (Kid A
Instead, this collection will very much an outlet for us to share/discuss our favorites over the past 10 years with a focus on albums that we feel have been overlooked in the lists we’ve seen roll out this far.
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Andrew Bird | The Mysterious Production of Eggs
A true sign that an album is one of the best of the decade is that it’s still in steady rotation amongst your record collection. Some years your favorite albums stay stuck in time and you never really go back to them once January arrives. It’s not enough to say that Andrew Bird’s The Mysterious Production of Eggs one of my favorite albums of the decade, it’s far more than that for me. It’s one of my all-time favorite records. Arriving in 2005, a year ripe with many great releases, this album made me a full-fledged fan of Andrew Bird forever. The type of fan that gets excited about news of an upcoming album, that buys tickets in advance to shows when announced, and, on many occasions, spends even more at the merchandise table on the night of the show.
Being a fan of Andrew Bird means you’re never let down – both on record and in concert. While I’ve never since loved an album of Bird’s outright like The Mysterious Production of Eggs, I’ve always enjoyed the records that came after. Below, you’ll find a few songs that I highlighted as favorites, though I may as well have said front-to-back, because this album is truly supreme from beginning to end. These are the songs that always bring a smile to my face when I hear them. This is a record that I own several copies of on multiple formats. I’ve given this record as a gift and feel it is a safe recommendation to almost anyone. If you own this record I hope reading this makes you want to listen to it again. If you don’t own this record, I hope reading this makes you want to add it to your collection. It’s that good.
Best Live Show I Saw: High Noon Saloon, Madison (2006)
Best Tracks: “Fake Palindromes” “A Nervous Tic” “Skin” “Masterfade” & “Measuring Cups”
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Buy: Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
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Damn right this makes me want to listen to Mysterious Production of Eggs again. Stellar choice.
Great Choice! This album is definitely one of my all time favorites, as well as Andrew Bird is one of my all time favorite artists. He provided so many memorable moments, both recorded and live to fill a lifetime’s worth of musical indulgences. I will have to add that Weather Systems is also a superb album front to back, and to be able to say that this wonderfully charming artist has 2 albums that are superb front to back is an amazing feat! Thanks for always keeping us in the loop on the Bird watching!
Your favorite Bird album? My favorite Bird album.
Your 4 favorite songs from said album? My 4 favorite songs from said album.
Awesome!
Truly a great artist and album, but I’ll be the dissenting voice here and say that I prefer Armchair Apocrypha to Eggs. Still, pretty much everything A.B. touches is wonderful. Missed a chance to see him in southern Oregon this summer and really regret it.
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Good pick. This was the first Andrew Bird record I heard, and I was blown away. I saw him open for Wilco at Summerfest and immediately went out and bought this album. “A Nervous Tic…” and “Fake Palindromes” are still my favorite tracks. And though I can’t really relate, the line, “I’m gonna tie your wrists with leather and drill a tiny hole into your head,” always gets me.