Allen Toussaint vs. Andrew Bird

The other day I was sitting in my car listening to the last part of Allen Toussaint's incredible 1970 album, "From a Whisper to a Scream", which closes with the incredible tempo-changing instrumental track "Pickles". At nearly two minutes in I heard something that caught my ear.

I know that melody...where do I know it from?

Then it hit me - it sounds just like the intro to the album version of "A nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" by Andrew Bird. I went home and compared the two and they sound just alike to me.

Please tell me I'm not crazy. Here's the songs. Listen to the intro of Bird's tune compared to the section at 1:50 into "Pickles". Lemme know what you think!


Andrew Bird - A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left Via andrewbird.net


Allen Toussaint - Pickles


And in case you're not familiar with Toussaint's work, you should be.

Allen at Wikipedia
Allen at Allmusic.com