Pitchfork

Janet Reno has hosted dance parties before. Her just-released Song of America compilation reaches back further into the 20th century than "My Sharona", aiming to educate the kids about American history through the power of song. Andrew Bird, who already lent his whistling to a ringtone for the state of Illinois, here provides more lip-pursing, acoustic guitar, piano, violin, and double-tracked vocals on a rendition of 1919 song "How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm". The lyrics by Sam Lewis and Joe Young ask, rather prophetically, how the U.S. soldiers will remain satisfied with the quiet country life "after they seen Paree" fighting in World War I. Bird tones down the ragtimey music, composed by Walter Donaldson, for a mellow sound more rooted in what is now considered Americana. Next up, the Roaring Twenties.

[from Song of America; out now on Split Rock Records/31 Tigers]