Céleste Boursier-Mougenot at Barbican Centre, London

[GIULIOMASIERI]

nice

[Regalseven]

Well I heard of seeing The Byrds playing in concert. Now see the birds playing at the Barbican!. The bird from 0:46 is very talented indeed. Strongly influenced by Jimi Hendrix. Maybe he was playing 'Little Wing' or 'Night Bird Flying'!

[JanVermeer2]

I would love to see this clip combined split-screen with the tambourine=playing cat!  (Maru and Tambourine uploaded by mugumogu)

[GardenSpider]

I went to see this and it was absolutely magical. Two of the finches tried to nest on my bag! I was sad when I had to dislodge them as they're such charming little things.

Although I am rather sad to think that these birds will probably all be separated and put into smaller cages come the end of this exhibit - their rock careers firmly clipped and caged.

[Windkind0]

sound of doom

[GreatChrix]

This video is awesome!! Keep going finches!!

[robertson1a]

Saw this at the Barbican yesterday - it's free, lasts until 23rd May and well worth a visit.

[Vehement78]

Birds should be free...not kept in to facilitate some art statement, this just conveys a very sad sentiment...

[hugestomper]

Mark Knopfler; GO HOME!

[Nortsx]

i hate u trolls. this is just stupid shit. Grindcore maybe)) u really mean grindcore better than lots of bands in normal genres?)) hell win)

[positionnormal71]

Derek Bailey would have loved to have seen this.

[atyeclipse]

this is how pick is invented.....

[spacegirl111]

haha rdod100, i love you! so funny.

[mediawest]

cool, but they poop on the frets!.....

[SaneNoMore729]

Good tone.

[Canal2Maria]

So Cute !!!

[rabidwatchdog59]

Is this where Jimi Hendrix gotten some ideas. that one with the stick sounds a bit like him. Ha Ha

[Khimkharmakan]

Thurston Moore came back as a bird!

[adibfara]

cute!

[brolyservant]

The one with the stick was like, Rock n' roll mother fuckers!!!!!

[krxse]

I liked it a lot!

That bird with the stick knew how to hit the chords.

[utonium]

omg is this real?

[mussfrombruss]

Fucking genius

[tonto4848]

Yeah ! Nice bit if slide playing with the twig !

[seaking333]

guitar-shaped pool...!! :-D

[oOoblackswanoOo]

Prepared guitars!!

;P

[joels344]

@oOoblackswanoOo Fred Frith would be proud.

[probot65]

rdod 1000

nicklback sux over rated

[wiskap]

Wow. Very great concept.

[saumaun92]

Creative, entertaining, and original... but it's not art.

Either way, props to the creator

[sjamesvfx]

this concept was stolen/coincidentally the same as as installation project I saw in... 2004 in Vancouver. I'm guessing it's coincidence but maybe not. Maybe it's the same artist..

[journeymanjim]

i went to see this exhibition at the barbican today, really relaxing to spend some time with these beautiful birds. Some of them were quite cheeky and tried to steal my shoelaces! i think they wanted nest materials :p

[merlinmichaeshepherd]

I reckon it's Nigel Tuffnel's idea!

[the61Kenya]

excellent!

[rdod1000]

wow they're already better than Nickelback!

[probot65]

@rdod1000 don't insult the pretty birds by comparing them to those fags niklbk sux

[MeTerryBailey]

huhuhey ho bin so einsam jemand lust zu chattn oder so

[Itsfaith33]

ha ha ha.........

[reheller0]

Twigman rocks!!!

[aarthoor]

I like it, though I think the band could vary their image a bit.

[probot65]

eternal grace of animals ..

Lovely

[TheHushmotor]

Unbelievable music...amazing.

[avrillia]

I LOVE THIS!!!

Musical little guys!

They are certainly enjoying the "music" because if they weren't , they'd be flyng away immediately..

And YES the little rocker playing solo was TOO hilarious.

WISH I could see this in person...

[probot65]

The graceful makes the best music

[marcszc81]

Wow! A bird version of kirk hammett :D

[rometube]

a bit... don't know, it's like sad. Those birds listening to those terrible and loud sounds. They must be deaf after 10 minutes. It's horrible and fantastic. It's like slavery in the house of the rich.

[starfishisland]

Do the birds really play them? Or is it a CGI computer effect?

[klippspringer]

@starfishisland

no computerfake here. i did the same thing with my finches 35 years ago. zebra finches were better than most of the others i had, because they are very aggressive, which makes a better sound.

what me surprises is, that today it seems possible to make money with things like that, while in the 70s it was just a play from a little boy with his pets ;-)

[Truthless]

@klippspringer

Actually, it's free. The rest of the exhibits, however, are not.

Much cooler in person, I must say.

[starfishisland]

@klippspringer

wow I am amazed at how the birds are able to play them. Natural talent huh?

[NeuropolitiqueCOGGER]

Typical guitarists - straight to the bar after the show.

[itachiroxs]

i went today sooo good

[Timmybear]

ooooh - it's the rare Jandek finch at 0:13 to 0:20. :)

[Klamath2046]

I went to this exhibition today and what this video sadly doesn't illustrate well is that there are several guitars, including basses, set up in a big inddor open area and one can walk freely between the guitars as the wee birds swoop and flutter about you

[Jaybizzz]

@changtuber

GTFO XD

[georgiyzhukov]

This ain't exactly new: avant-gardists in the 1950s were experimenting with aleatory, animal-generated sound. Musically, the results are almost always "so what"? In its favour, I would say that these finches play better guitar than Lydia Lunch or Cosey Fanni Tutti. It takes a human brain to make an instrument sound truly horrible.

[spreaddozer1]

fuckin metal 1:04

[LaimikisLT]

Sounds like Jimi Hendrix!

Great performance.

[LaimikisLT]

Sounds like Jimi Hendix!

Great performance.

[ryanstamen]

This is better than most bands.

[DeathKitty123456]

Whats with the zebra finches? Lmao

[imphlatround]

haha thats flat out awesome ;D

[Widmerpool99]

Would those who claim this is "not art" be good enough to name their two or three favourite things that "are" art?

[FilmForger]

Leave it to the french to fuck up a decent American guitar!

[qwerti666]

I read somewhere they recently placed nesting boxes for the birds as well because one of them had laid an egg on a guitar and it almost rolled off. :o :D (the breeder took care of that one btw)

[changtuber]

M. Boursier-Mougenot, here's my honest reaction: I choose beautiful natural birdsong (which is heard at the end of this video) any day over the harsh clangs of electric guitars... Captivating, live soundscapes? Try nature. 2) What happens if a string snaps? It could easily injure or kill several birds. 3) Do the birds have to listen to these guitars all day? Would you enjoy being forced to sit or lie on something for the amusement of others? I honestly find this disturbing.

[imphlatround]

lmao you must be a real prick to feel compelled to call this "disturbing" ;D

oh yes, what a disgrace to mankind ;o

earth to jerkface, those are tiny birds on new metal strings, and do you really think they put the amps in the cage? xD

[dohboy200]

rock out :52

[notsovelvet]

I would buy an album of this.

[seapeddler]

Not as good as Deep Forest or Secret Garden, but the birds are just amateurs.

And it did have spiritual moments.

[EthanTheMighty]

this is my new fave band

[sk8Aris09]

and what the fuck is this...bullshit

[Sulverine]

It's little birds playing guitar you thick fucking twat. Stay of the ouzo Stavros

[stevenlarkin]

Yo this is really cool. What a novel idea. Who thought of this idea, its the best.

[ctoan1]

00:56 to 01:10 lololol amazing

[cannibalembryo]

derek baily eat your heart out!

[chewupablotter]

There seems to be resurgence into animal and plant matter becoming art, or having art made for them. I like it , cool concept!

[igotyouonyourknees]

I saw this yesterday and it was fantastic. The Zebra Finch Band should tour.

[MysterySparkStudios]

psychedelic vibe

[lover0419]

funny.

[mrdiamondheadTV]

Word on the Street is the Twig wants a Cut from the Gig.The Beautiful Birds have a Clown Fish Like Face.Lovely,Rocking and Bringing Music and Bird Lovers Together...

[thekwaze]

As Weezer once said "Weeeooo, just like Birdy Holly"

The beaky dude with the stick at about 47 seconds has got some attitude on him alright...

[HarlequinEscape]

@thekwaze :P Buddy Holly but nice pun :P

[malkneil]

Zebra Finches Shred. . .

[tedtrippin]

lubaluba56, I'm sorry to hear your coat is unwell. I hope it gets better. I'm afraid that's the only part of your comment I could understand, I don't speak jive.

[Stereotuna]

cage of horror

[Stereotuna]

cage of horror

[qwerti666]

Cute. These birds rock! More solos please. :)

[GeorgeTheBushPig]

BIRDS OF A FEATHER ROCK TOGETHER!!! I think I'll call my band Flock of Finches from now on.

[Lefty001]

Aww. They think they're in Sonic Youth, how cute.

[JaceInman]

the one with the twig is fucking righteous!

[musing1]

there's a little birdie hendrix in the making

[he214ab]

very funny, and these birds are very cute.

[SuperBirdgirl]

this is adorable

[eglbc]

DID THEY DIED?

[DarkDecify]

Waste of 8 gibsons methinks.

[GeneralLein]

@DarkDecify Nah this is way better than most Avant-garde music, I say money well spent.

[DarkDecify]

@GeneralLein still ....8 gibsons at 1500 each

[ryanstamen]

@DarkDecify Nope. Gibsons are only good for pooping on.

[DarkDecify]

@ryanstamen Thats what you'd do with them.

[ryanstamen]

@DarkDecify You are right -- which is preferable to playing crappy Led Zeppelin "riffs" over and over on them.

[DarkDecify]

@ryanstamen  Who plays led zeppelin anymore XD

[ryanstamen]

@DarkDecify A majority of people conspicuously playing Gibson guitars they do not intend to buy at every Guitar Center in the United States, it seems!

[DarkDecify]

@ryanstamen You mean Stairway to Heaven? I hate that song and i bet every single one of the staff hates it too. I think Gibsons are too bassy anyway. I like Schecter and Dean way better.

[DarkDecify]

@ryanstamen Thats what you'd do with them.

[HMCgirl]

Neil Young wrote the soundtrack for "Dead Man" and it sounded *exactly* like this. They could have saved a lot of money by hiring these birds.

[tompot007]

Correct we were just thinking the same thing. great minds....

[irishboy2kwateva]

I used to have four of those birds.Zebra Finches.

[happyrobotlaura]

brilliant!

[PyppyRainbowElf]

Finches are great!

Growing up I was surrounded by these birds, I think they definitely picked the right bird to make music.

To those that think it is cruel, get a grip, I am all for animal rights but they are not getting tortured doing this.

They let in a small group of people at a time so the animals are not really stressed out, do some research before commenting.

[7papaverirossi]

veramente bello...

[herbiditl]

speciesist crap

[psychethos]

You people claiming "animal abuse" are really hilarious. If these birds were frightened or bothered by the noises, they would NOT keep landing on and pecking at the strings of the guitars. It's a little thing called conditioning.

[profuselykase]

art's more about provoking thought than painting the aristocracy now, it's original, and i don't think tracey emin is capable of anything near this.

set the birds free?

they haven't been cut in half and pickled in formaldehyde.

[dougtheguineapig]

I love this love it love it!

[Exeunt26]

1:05 nice solo!

[mcgibs]

Bah-bah-bah bird bird bird

Bird is the word

Bah-bah-bah bird bird bird

Bird is the word

[AlbertMondback]

Beautiful.

[suebeardon]

I'm imagining the speakers are not right up against the birds, so what we are hearing on the clip is not what the birds hear. It's a large aviary I believe. When it comes to wastes of time I can think of much larger and more harmful ones than this. I love it.

[nimasha83]

this is animal cruelty

[andthemuppets]

a story about this exhibition on the bbc said that these birds were from a company that trains birds for commercials, movies, that kind of thing. So when the show is over they'll go back to being in cages. If anything this is probably a nice change of pace for them

[nimasha83]

realese the birds..fucking humans

[MissAlly12]

Notice how the only perch they're allowed is either the guitar or the speakers.

[nimasha83]

realese the birds..fucking humans

[nimasha83]

fucking scam

[krysant50]

to me it looks like the sound of guitar was turned off while birds there, for the video the makers recorded the sound to play it while we watch the vid, perhaps? lovely birds and how they sing by the pond., so sharing with my YT friends

kk

[jessekillerkay]

these finches are better musicians than most out there today.

[ForestMan1129]

Shit on meh gibson!

[gnouyer]

do the birds have to listen?

I love it... but their poor little ears???

[GLeNss]

have u ever heard what a group of these little shits sound like. Their squeeks are worse than the noise the guitar produces.

[TheBluesrat]

Oh that's cool. But I doubt the finches care much. If you gave parrots that kind of noise-making equipment, they'd have the time of their lives.

This isn't abusive. The finches can perch anywhere; they wouldn't go near the guitars if they upset them. And birds are built to handle noise. Singing and calling is how they communicate. Some birds even find it exciting and fun. My parrots, for instance, like to "duet" with the vacuum cleaner.

[epomerantz0]

That is really interesting, I have 2 cats (pretty old) who dash to the other corner of the house and a budgerigar yelling at the thing trying to get the thing out of his sight. Of course when I pull out my guitar, that is a completely different story.

[oogie11]

Saw this on The Culture Show on BBC2, interesting :)

[Stereotuna]

Disgraceful.

These birds should be allowed to fly around outside of this cage of horror.

I'm sure they 'don't mind', and they don't 'seem to have a problem', but these birds would be much happier in their natural environment, because they'd be playing their part as the beings they are.

Putting birds in a cage with electric guitars on posts is not art or music - It's a waste of time. As if there aren't important things to be conveyed using artistic medium.. this doesn't really 'say' anything.

[Matriarch667]

blah blah blah bleeding heart

[Exeunt26]

Art isn't obliged to make political statements, sometimes in fact very often it's about emotional or sensual(sensory) impressions that change how you perceive the world. The random noises/music and the contrast between nature and mechanical devices - that's fertile ground for art.

[Exeunt26]

That's my point though - it isn't *just* about one thing in particular. It can be profound, political - it can also be absurd and mischevious. And actually I'd argue one of the pleasures of art is that it can create thing for their own sake.

As for the Gibsons, as Kurt Cobain once said:

"Somebody cut down a tree to make this guitar; *smash* it!"

[RevolutionarySamurai]

most hardcore birds alive XD

[sassatattoo]

wow, man! this video just crack me up! congratulations for your inspiration!

[heliopolis07]

this is really nice and really cool

i wouldnt say its amazing, but its a good idea :)

[probot65]

Rock n Roll makes us all thirsty

[FSynchro]

Let stand that they hear the sounds that loud themselves anyway, it's electrical guitars people?

They probably hear like a tenth of the actual sound you hear on the video because it is amplified.

This is in no way, abuse, nor offensive to these animals in a way it would harm them or their ears.

They even got on it themselves, and seemed to have no problem with the sound they possibly could hear at all.

[eduverme1]

Muito legal!!!

[aydn09]

inannılmaz güzel bir videoo. çok teşekkürler..thanks mann;)

[Montecore827]

The best part is when Twiggy plays.

[OrganisedBumbleBass]

you reckon, being musical beings if you left them in there for a few years theyd compose something? lol

[rud3m3chanical]

If that had been tuned to an open chord, that would be killer :)

[beptube]

Shitty stuff

[Rafterman123]

He rocks in the tree-top all a day long,

Hoppin' and a-boppin' and a-singin' his song.

All the little birdies on J-Bird Street

Love to hear the robin goin' tweet tweet tweet,

Rockin' Robin

[annie2shoes]

@Rafterman123 VERY GOOD!!!

[meowliz22]

great it :)

[BirdmanDeuce26]

them birds got great guitar tone.

[jadeskye79]

Rock on little birdies! :)

[greenfaun]

I think this is exactly what it's like inside the mind of Jeph Jacques.

[TheParkourir]

tout pourie

[mrparsnip]

Finches vs Thurston moore!

[Guillberto]

I find it somewhat depressing that zebra finches are capable of making better noises on the guitar than i am

[awwwyeaboyeeee]

why does this need to be art? why can't it just be entertaining on a base level?

[killnickleback]

Art can be entertaining too.

[Corvidae5]

Slash is building a nest....:)

[facingjinx]

mmm animals and instruments, not very original. Concept borrowed from basement jaxx - where's your head at video maybe?

[queenkmo]

I love how one bird is trying to build it's nest on the guitar strings haha

[ady24]

love the pond,

[blaze33541]

Adorable video for sure

[craigwithington]

Saw this on the culture show and I am jealous of you in London.

Noisey abstract guitar and pretty birds to boot? Give me some of that, I could watch and listen to it for hours.

Think I'll rig up something similar in my back garden during the summer :)

[baTonkaTruck]

yep. art is officially fucked.

[thearctopus]

I'd like to see Fred Frith collaborate with these birds.

[pseudonamed]

I just saw this at the Barbican. The birds have a huge space to fly around in, with a long corridor to it. There is grass and twigs around. they have a maximum number of people allowed in at one time, all their food and water is there, and there are security to make sure nobody touches them or feeds them. There are people in charge of checking up on them and making sure they're ok. They've certainly got it better than all the birds kept in little cages.

[scalebird]

These finches could open for Sunn O)))

[owenleech]

Saw this live today in London - it's great, very bizarre... it's a really large space and the birds all look very happy.... lots of seed, grass, twigs. It's very funny to see these tiny beautiful creatures making these grungy macho electric guitar sounds. Our rock gods depend almost completely on electricity and amplification...

[theFirecat00]

Ideally, this should be done in the open air. If finches keep coming back to the guitar, that'll show that they really love the sound of it. ..or we may even find magpies do better jamming out there. The finch with a twig got it though, almost.

[tehaleks]

I doubt the finches can hear it, they've got it on an amp and I'm sure the speakers are outside of their corridor. Later in the video it does look like the speakers are in there but they probably don't correlate the sound of them standing, preening and nesting on the guitar to the sounds coming out of the speakers.

[tehjaymo]

i went to see this yesterday. it was a really cool experience. the video elements and of course the birds.

hows does one categorize this - as sound art or as an environmental composition?

[led123del321]

0:56 = Beethoven Symphony No. 5

=)