Don't get lost, it's only Scotland!

I wa going to post something on this really adorable Human Highway video, but then I found a cover of Neil Young's "Human Highway" that I deemed worthier. It's a cover by a German guy with a good voice for this song (not so great for his Dylan covers, but what can you do). Plus, watching this is just like driving through the Scottish countryside. What a good way to spend three minutes.

A little less conversation...

Elvis Perkins, who is named for Presley, looks like John Lennon, and sounds like Costello, just released this new live video (thanks to Stereogum):



It's pretty good, but it's no "While You Were Sleeping," which I listened to on repeat for about a day while writing my thesis last year. Here's that, for good measure:



And, turns out, he's coming to Amsterdam on April 3rd!

Not a robot, but a ghost

Andrew Bird with Mucca Pazza - "Fitz & The Dizzyspells”


Andrew Bird's supposed to get all mainstream and stuff with his new album. And here I thought opening for Rufus Wainwright at the Hollywood Bowl was mainstream plenty. Can't believe the trouble I'm having getting this album here in Dutch-land.

Play me, I'm yours...

While trying to figure out today what city is halfway between Amsterdam and Sydney (to no avail...Google Maps won't let you walk or drive across oceans), I came across this art project in Sydney that placed public pianos all over the city. For most of January, these pianos were available for anyone to play or decorate. This is way better than the horses of Lexington. Maybe if they had been real horses that we could've gotten some use out of...


The idea of pianos as a public, shared, and free commodity has also been embraced by the main library in Amsterdam, where a piano in the foyer is open and available for anyone to play. The Amsterdam library is pretty wonderful in general. It was a main attraction during my excursion to the big city with friends last weekend. Click on the link above for more pictures.