The Drop: The Bird And The Bee

Date/Time
Date(s) - Wednesday, September 11, 2019
7:30 pm

Location
Grammy Museum

Categories No Categories

The GRAMMY Museum is thrilled to welcome Inara George and Greg Kurstin of The Bird and The Bee for an intimate conversation moderated by Scott Goldman, discussing the making of their new album, Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Van Halen. Following the conversation, the duo will perform a set of songs from the album. Since forming in 2005, The Bird and The Bee have brought a breezy elegance to their music, putting their own idiosyncratic twist on time-bending indie-pop. On their latest album, the L.A.-based duo find an unlikely vessel for that sound, covering some of the most massive and magnificently wild songs from David Lee Roth-era Van Halen. The fifth full-length from singer Inara George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin, Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 2: A Tribute to Van Halen both sheds new light on the glory of classic VH and further proves the playful brilliance of The Bird and The Bee. Produced by Kurstin—a seven-time GRAMMY Award-winner who’s recently worked with Kendrick Lamar, Paul McCartney, and Adele—the album alchemizes the outrageous dazzle of Diamond Dave into something delicate and dreamy and softly shimmering. On the lead single “Panama,” Kurstin’s lush piano work replaces the revved-up guitar riffs of the original, transforming the track into a radiant pop anthem bathed in bright synth and George’s luminous vocals. Elsewhere on Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 2, “Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love” warps into a new-wavey fever dream, and “Jump” turns strangely ethereal thanks to George’s hypnotic vocal percussion. On “Jamie’s Cryin’,” her tender vocal delivery reveals a rarely acknowledged sensitivity in Roth’s storytelling.