Andrew Bird's idiosyncratic style was tempered in a hot pot of genres and traditions. A pinch of gypsy jazz here (Django Reinhardt) and some classical there (Maurice Ravel) created a solid base, the flavours of which were supplemented with a bit more jazz (Slim and Slam) and, of course, some good old indie rock (Yo La Tengo, Elliott Smith) and country (Townes Van Zandt).