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July 26th, 2008 by admin

That’s right… We’ve got a theme song! It’s a folky little number called ‘A Field of Birds’, inspired by the Yellow Bird Project, and written and recorded by Swedish singer/songwriter The Tallest Man On Earth.

We also had some original CD artwork made to accompany the song. This artwork (seen below) was created by the lovely and talented illustrator Eleanor Rudge.

To find out more about the story behind this song, click here.

If you have a blog or website then please feel free to give this song away to your readers. Or, why not tell a friend about this song, and brighten up their day!

Gather your friends and family around, and have a listen!

A Field of Birds - The Tallest Man On Earth (Yellow Bird Theme Song)

(to download, right click, Save Target As)

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July 25th, 2008 by themiddledistancerunner

Good Day Yellow Birds,

The Polaris Music Prize list of nominees has been rounded down to 10 finalists! I don’t know why I get so excited about this Prize but I really love it. I guess it’s like the Oscars, but for Canadian music. In case you didn’t know, the Polaris Music Prize is awarded annually to the best Canadian album, based purely on artistic merit, and not taking into account album sales or radio play. The winner is awarded 20,000 Canadian dollars. This is the third year of the award. The first one went to Final Fantasy’s He Poos Clouds and last year’s prize went to Patrick Watson’s (or as i call him, P-Wat) Close to Paradise. Two great albums if you ask me. This year, the long list, which contained the likes of Tegan & Sara, Born Ruffians, Islands, the New Pornographers, Hayden and the Acorn, has been rounded down to a list of just 10. There is now only one yellow bird artist remaining in the running!

The nominees for outstanding performance in the land of snow and ice are:

Black Mountain - In The Future (Vancouver, BC)
http://www.myspace.com/blackmountain

Basia Bulat - Oh, My Darling (London, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/basiamyspace

Caribou - Andorra (Dundas, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba

Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers (Ottawa, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/kathleenedwards

Holy Fuck - LP (Toronto, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck

Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue (Montreal, QC)
http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals

Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War (Montreal, QC)
http://www.myspace.com/stars

Shad - The Old Prince (London, ON)
http://www.myspace.com/shad

Two Hours Traffic - Little Jabs (Charlottetown, PE)
http://www.myspace.com/twohourstraffic

The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour (Winnipeg, MB)
http://www.myspace.com/theweakerthans

I’m rooting for Basia, Plants & Animals, Caribou or Stars. Who do you think is gonna take it?

On a side note…

Have you seen what Devendra Banhart and Natalie Portman (or as I call them Natavendra) have been up to?

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Wild!

Untill next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

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July 23rd, 2008 by admin

To all the amazing and revolutionary innovators at YBP,
These shirts you present, and the idea behind the concept as a whole is one of the most moral, progressive, and ingenious things done today. First off, of course all these Indie artists create some of the most unique and imaginative designs imaginable. Primarily though, that all the proceeds go to the designated charities is one of the most righteous acts being carried out today. What the purchase and wearing of these shirts means to me, is that I am helping an amazing organization help the world, one person and one place at a time. It means that I am indirectly collaborating with some of the biggest names in Indie culture to bring about a better world for tomorrow.

Peace,

Juan Carlos Blanco

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July 19th, 2008 by themiddledistancerunner

It’s been a hectic week for me. I just wrote a 3 hour midterm on the history of China, and now I am studying for my second midterm on Canadian Politics, which is Wednesday. Have no fear though. This doesn’t mean the music has stopped! Just because one chooses to take classes in the summer doesn’t mean one can’t have a little fun in between. So here are my top five songs from last week, that I have been playing on repeat in between my studies on Confucianism and Daoism.

5. Middle Distance Runner (no relation) - Shoot The Shit

It just so happens that we go by the same name. We didn’t come out of the same womb or anything. But I have been listening to this bands debut LP, entitled Plane in Flames, a lot lately. This song gets me hyped! These guys are definitely worth checking out. One thing we don’t have in common is musical ability. Although I have dabbled in my Mac Book’s “Garage Band”, none of those files will ever see the light of day. Consider yourself lucky.

4. Abba - “I Have A Dream”

Ok, I’ll admit it. I saw Mamma Mia last night. And yes I am aware that The Dark Night came out last night as well. I willfully saw Mamma Mia, and I am proud to say that I loved it! What are you gonna do about it? huh punk? This is the first song in the movie, sung by the lovely Amanda Seyfried. Who knew she had a voice. And a really nice voice at that. Everyone in the movie sang really well. Pierce was just okay, but everyone else was stellar. Especially Meryl Streep singing “The Winner Takes it All”.

3. Dr. Dog - “The Old Days”

This is my immediate favourite upon first listen of Dr. Dog’s new album Fate. I’m still unsure as to whether I consider myself a Dr. Dog fan or not, but they do make some catchy music. And I’ve always been a sucker for lush vocal harmonies and they can lay down some pretty sweet ones. Just listen to the song “Hang On”. Love it!

2. Crystal Castles - Untrust Us

Just getting into this band. They make some pretty nice electronicky kinda music. And not only that, they are Canadian! This song is the first song off their debut self-titled album. Some nice nintendo sounds, mixed with some random jibberish vocals, makes for a great song.

5. Fleet Foxes - “Mykonos”

I Just saw Fleet Foxes perform live in Montreal on Tuesday at Divan Orange. It was an awesome awesome awesome show! Yes 3 awesomes. It was that good. I’m pretty obsessed with this band’s Sun Giant EP, especially the song “Mykonos”. If you have a chance to see these guys play live, you must do so! Before they become too big.

Ok guys, I gotta get back to the Plains of Abraham…

Until next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

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July 17th, 2008 by admin

To me, a YBP t-shirt means a warm place to be in, cleverly and generously designed by a super-cool group of people who are having fun with their lives and using it to help a charity through the YBP.
(A movement that I mention on my site;
http://knowyouronion.wordpress.com/ :) )

-David

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