I first learned about The Mistress by Yellow Ostrich in an e-mail from a friend two months ago.  I liked it immediately and passed it along to a friend who had a similar reaction. Then I did nothing, until today.  Thank my kids for being fans of good indie music (I should get my oldest to do a top ten for 2010. Comments?).  They are big fans of The Mistress, especially WHALE, Libraries, and Hahahahoho.

Alex Schaaf

Yellow Ostrich is a project of Alex Schaaf (The Chairs) that started with an unusual muse, Morgan Freeman.  He came across Morgan Freeman’s Wikipedia entry and somehow drew a spark from it.  That inspiration led to the recording and release of the Morgan Freeman EP in August.  Read more about the Morgan Freeman EP here.

Since the Freeman EP, Schaaf has released a second EP, Fade Cave, and the aforementioned LP, The Mistress.  All three are offered for “name your price” or a contribution to the “virtual tip jar.”  In other words, you can pay what you want or have it for free.  In May, Schaaf tackled Radiohead with the recording: Radiohead’s Kid A Reimagined.  The arrangement of Kid A Reimagined uses two pianos, two violins, two cellos, and six singers.  It’s a little different, but enjoyable.

Needless to say, I am really digging all four recordings, and recommend you head over to Bandcamp and at least stream these (using the preceding links for each recording).

Check out:

Yellow Ostrich – WHALE [mp3]

Watch – Yellow Ostrich – Morgan Freeman’s Early Life

Watching that video brings back childhood memories of the Electric Company, which was a PBS show intended for kids who were just beyond Sesame Street’s reach.

Watch – Yellow Ostrich – WHALE

I needed about that many scoops of instant coffee this morning.  I stayed up to watch the Patriots thrash the Jets.  I know most of you left the game during the second quarter, but for Pats fans, it was like an early Christmas.

Until next time…

Cheers!