Andrew Bird’s socks
Inspiration can help us get through this. It really can. And sometimes, it is found in unlikely places. I found some in Andrew Bird’s socks.
Over the past three years, the singer-songwriter has welcomed musicians in his beautiful Los Angeles home to come and play some music with him. These intimate gigs take place in The Great Room, a living room with a high, wooden ceiling and a staircase to more awesomeness.
How do we even know? Bird live-streamed these 28 concerts, and he is now releasing them on YouTube (he posted eighteen so far).
“I’m sharing the series as a whole in hopes that it might help some folks looking for creative inspiration during isolation,” says Bird. “I bring in musicians that I think will push me into interesting territory. I’ve always been about showing the process and the never-ending quest to get to the heart of a song, and there’s something casual about this whole thing that’s appealing.” (source: Glide magazine)
Here’s one that I liked, featuring Dawes. Their version of Right on time is divine:
Avatars
The past couple of months have thrown us all in a pit of uncertainty and anxiety. Everything needs to be reinvented, and naturally, doubt flares up.
I did not realize this, but I needed something, somebody, to remind me what humble confidence looked like.
Bird’s confidence shows in his interaction with his guests and his performances. He has nothing to prove to anybody. He and his music simply are and allow others to be.
As I started watching the series, something else caught my eye, too: People take their shoes off in the Bird/Tsina house.
Nothing unusual, I’ll admit, but I must’ve been projecting a bit. I felt that this was exposing the artists even more to the public eye (when is the last time you saw The National’s Matt Berninger without shoes?).
Andrew Bird’s socks will then always be avatars of confidence for me, bringing the image of an artist at the top of his craft being generous with his music.
Next time the imposter syndrome visits me, I’ll tell it to put a sock in it.
