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Indie Bird Songs

Posted Wed Mar 18, 2009 5:57pm PDT by Robert of the Radish in The Y! Music Playlist Blog

The bird holds a ton of possibility for the inspired songwriter. They are a natural symbol of freedom due to their envied flying ability. And some individual species have their on unique associations. The owl for wisdom, the dove for peace, the peacock for flamboyance, the raven and vulture for death, and so on.

The bird has been used as a central theme in song for eons and the tradition continues today. Recently I compiled a playlist of bird songs performed entirely by Neil Young.

For this playlist I selected one of my favorite genres (indie) and scoured my library for only quality bird-centric tracks.

What are your favorite "bird songs"?

Indie Bird Songs 

   1. I Like Birds - Eels   

   2. Bird Stealing Bread - Iron & Wine   

   3. Blue Bird - The Rosebuds   

   4. I'll Be Yr Bird - M. Ward   

   5. Tiny Birds - Yo La Tengo   

   6. A Good Flying Bird - Guided By Voices   

   7. Bird And Flag - The Sea and Cake   

   8. The Funny Bird - Mercury Rev   

   9. The Birds In Your Garden - Pulp   

   10. The Bird That You Can't See - The Apples in Stereo   

   11. Birds - M83   

   12. Bird With the Broken Wing - The State   

   13. New Birds - Arab Strap   

   14. My Bird Sings - Sharks and Minnows   

   15. Free The Birds In The Stall - Boat   

   16. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) - The Fiery Furnaces   

Follow what Robert is listening to on Twitter.   

8 Comments

1. Melissa S -
does birdhous in your soul count?

2. DUDE -
Technically,birdhous in your soul does not actually count...It sort of pecks things in a numerical order.

3. Gerry -
For more indiebirds, there's Grey DeLisle's "Sweet Little Bluebird". And even though it's major label, I'd toss on Captain Beefheart's "Golden Birdies" from CLEAR SPOT, since that sure wasn't geared towards a mass audience.

4. __A_YAHOO_USER__ -
Wow DUDE, you nailed it!

5. J.B. -
How about "Talking Bird", by Death Cab For Cutie? Now, that's a good one.

6. Yahoo! Music User -
How in the world could you leave "Surfin' Bird" off this list? Ramones or Trashmen version would work. For this omission I'm flippin' you the bird.

7. Jonathan -
Why'd you pick the Fiery Furnaces version over the original Beatles version? I guess the Fiery Furnaces version more indie...still.

8. Ty -
How about these:

Chicken Farm by Dead Kennedys
Nightingale by Saves the Day
The Crowing by Coheed and Cambria
Vultures by Five Iron Frenzy

A lot of borderline entries, I know, but good songs nonetheless.
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