COOL MUSIC FRIDAY #32 - The Bird And The Bee

The Bird and the Bee is an indie/Synthpop/alternative musical duo from Los Angeles, consisting of musicians Inara George ("the bird") and Greg Kurstin ("the bee"). Kurstin, a producer and keyboardist who has worked with Lily Allen,Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Beck, Barenaked Ladies, The Flaming Lips, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Red Hot Chili Peppers, is also a member of the band Geggy Tah. George and Kurstin met while the two were working on her debut album and they decided to collaborate on a jazz-influenced electro pop project. Their debut EP, Again and Again and Again and Again, was released in October 2006 and their debut album was released on January 23, 2007, on Blue Note Records.

According to their MySpace page, "Greg and Inara met a few years ago. Discovered a common love of jazz standards... nerded out for a couple of hours playing every song they knew... and then wrote and recorded a record together."

That record was the 3-song EP Again and Again and Again and Again, released by Blue Note Records on October 31, 2006.  Included on the EP was a fourth track, a remix version of "Fucking Boyfriend", and it was that track that took less than a month to create a buzz about The Bird And The Bee. December 2006 a remix of "Fucking Boyfriend" topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, although because of its title, radio stations only played the edited version of the song in their club mix shows.

The band's first full-length album, the self-titled The Bird And The Bee was released on January 23, 2007 to positive reviews; Allmusic for example described it as "irresistible" and "charming and delightful at every turn".

In 2008 the band released One Too Many Hearts a "digital EP", exclusively for purchase online. Its February 12, 2008 release timed to coincide with Valentines Day, the four-song collection featured a rendition of the 1920s standard Tonight You Belong to Me.

Summer of 2007 found the band touring as opening act for performer Lily Allen, while their music was heard twice that year on the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy, with "Again & Again" featured in the April 26 episode titled Desire, and "Polite Dance Song" featured on the October 25 episode Haunt You Every Day . With the holiday season came additional exposure for the group, when Apple Inc.'s iTunes web store chose "Carol of the Bells" to be the featured "Free Single of the Week" for the week of November 27.

The Bird and the Bee appeared repeatedly in TV and movies during 2008, with "Fucking Boyfriend" appearing in the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall and "How Deep Is Your Love" included in Sex and the City: The Movie and VH1 promos for their reality show lineup.  In July a performance recorded at Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas was released as an EP titled Live At The Palms. The EP included live versions of "Again & Again (Bossa Nova Version)", "Fucking Boyfriend", "Autumn Leaves", "Man", and "Preparedness".

The Bird and The Bee marked the release of their second full album, Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future with two national television appearances, January 26 on NBC'sTonight Show and February 4 on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!.  Following its January 27 release, the album debuted atop the Billboard Magazine Top Heatseekerschart on sales of over 5,000 copies.  In support of the new album the band went on a brief 11 performance U.S. tour, which concluded with a March 7, 2009 performance at New York's Carnegie Hall.  On March 14 The Bird and The Bee played the Tricot Showroom in Los Angeles as part of a FMLYshow.

"What's in the Middle" was featured in Episode 13 of Season 5 of Bones. "4th of July" was featured in the Larry episode of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

The band's song "Diamond Dave" appeared in the Judd Apatow film Funny People.