• The Decemberists - The Indie Folk Masters of Storytelling
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[url]http://www.last.fm/music/The+Decemberists[/url] [img]http://www.oedipus1.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/The+Decemberists.jpg[/img] [quote]The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards, harmonica), Nate Query (bass guitar, string bass), and John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica, guitar). The band's debut EP, 5 Songs, was self-released in 2001. Their sixth full-length album, The King Is Dead, was released on 14 January 2011, by Capitol Records. It was the band's third record with the label. In addition to their lyrics, which often focus on historical incidents and/or folklore, The Decemberists are also well known for their eclectic live shows. Audience participation is often a part of each performance, typically during encores. The band stages whimsical reenactments of sea battles and other centuries-old events, typically of regional interest, or acts out songs with members of the crowd. During their European tour in the winter of 2011, the band performed The Mariner's Revenge Song at the conclusion of each date. The audience was encouraged to scream as if they were being consumed by a whale mentioned in the track's narrative while the band pretended to die on stage.[/quote] I'm sure that you've heard of The Decemberists at least a few times by now. They are pretty popular within the hipster/indie community. Please, don't let that turn you away from them. The Decemberists truly are the masters of amazing storytelling. Here are some lyrics as examples; Leslie Anne Levine [quote]my name is Leslie Anne Levine my mother birthed me down a dry ravine my mother birthed me far too soon born at nine and dead at noon fifteen years gone now i still wander this parapet and shake my rattle bone fifteen years gone now i still cling to the petticoats of the girl who died with me on the roof above the streets the only love i've known 's a chimney sweep lost and lodged inside a flue back in 1842 fifteen years gone now i still wail from these catacombs and curse my mother's name fifteen years gone now still a wastrel mesallied has brought this fate on me my name is Leslie Anne Levine i've got no one left to mourn for me my body lies inside its grave in a ditch not far away fifteen years gone now i still wander this parapet and shake my rattle bone fifteen years gone now i still cling to the petticoats of the girl who died with me [/quote] The Mariner's Revenge Song (absolutely the best example of Colin Meloy's amazing story telling ability) [quote] We are two mariners Our ships' sole survivors In this belly of a whale Its ribs our ceiling beams Its guts our carpeting I guess we have some time to kill You may not remember me I was a child of three And you, a lad of eighteen But I remember you And I will relate to you How our histories interweave At the time you were A rake and a roustabout Spending all your money On the whores and hounds Oh Ohhhhh You had a charming air All cheap and debonair My widowed mother found so sweet And so she took you in Her sheets still warm with him Now filled with filth and foul disease As time wore on you proved A debt-ridden drunken mess Leaving my mother A poor consumptive wretch Oh Ohhhhh And then you disappeared Your gambling arrears The only thing you left behind And then the magistrate Reclaimed our small estate And my poor mother lost her mind Then one day, in spring My dear sweet mother died But before she did I took her hand as she, dying, cried: Oh Ohhhhh "Find him, bind him Tie him to a pole and break His fingers to splinters Drag him to a hole until he Wakes up naked Clawing at the ceiling Of his grave *sigh*" It took me fifteen years To swallow all my tears Among the urchins in the street Until a priory Took pity and hired me To keep their vestry nice and neat But never once in the employ Of these holy men Did I ever, once, turn my mind From the thought of revenge Oh Ohhhhh One night I overheard The prior exchanging words With a penitent whaler from the sea The captain of his ship Who matched you toe to tip Was known for a wanton cruelty The following day I shipped to sea With a privateer And in the whistle Of the wind I could almost hear... Oh Ohhhhh "Find him, bind him Tie him to a pole and break His fingers to splinters Drag him to a hole until he Wakes up naked Clawing at the ceiling Of his grave "There is one thing I must say to you As you sail across the sea Always, your mother will watch over you As you avenge this wicked deed" [haunting, sailor-esque musical interlude lead by mandolin, accordion and tuba] And then that fateful night We had you in our sight After twenty months at sea Your starboard flank abeam I was getting my muskets clean When came this rumbling from beneath The ocean shook The sky went black And the captain quailed And before us grew The angry jaws Of a giant whale [instrumental noise] oh ohhhhhhhhhh [screaming] ohhhhh [screaming] Don't know how I survived The crew all was chewed alive I must have slipped between his teeth But, oh! What providence! What divine intelligence! That you should survive As well as me It gives my heart Great joy To see your eyes fill with fear So lean in close And I will whisper The last words you'll hear Ohh Ohhhhh [/quote] The Rake's Song [quote]I had entered into a marriage In the summer of my twenty-first year And the bells rang for our wedding Only now do I remember it clear Alright, alright, alright No more a rake and no more a bachelor I was wedded and it whetted my thirst Until her womb start spilling out babies Only then did I reckon my curse Alright, alright, alright Alright, alright, alright First came Eziah with his crinkled little fingers Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery Mercifully taking her mother along Alright, alright, alright What can one do when one is widower Shamefully saddled with three little pests All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life So my burden I began to divest Alright, alright, alright Alright, alright, alright Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath Eziah fought but was easily bested Burned his body for incurring my wrath Alright, alright, alright And that’s how I came your humble narrator To be living so easy and free Expect you think that I should be haunted But it never really bothers me Alright, alright, alright Alright, alright, alright[/quote] The genres that The Decemberists cover range from your standard indie rock to indie pop to country folk and all over the goddamn place. I guarantee you'll find something you love by The Decemberists eventually. [b]Albums[/b] Castaways and Cutouts - 2002 [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Castaways.jpg[/img] This album is their first. It is excellent; it has 2 examples of excellent story telling with "Leslie Anne Levine" and "A Cautionary Song." "A Cautionary Song" is actually about the mother of 2 having to prostitute herself to support her children. Her Majesty the Decemberists - 2003 [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Her-majesty.jpg[/img] This is my least favourite album, nothing in particular stands out too much to me. Picaresque - 2004 [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/33/Picaresque.jpg[/img] "Picaresque" is probably my 2nd favourite album. "The Infanta," "16 Military Wives," and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" are the highlights of this album. This album is both a combination of indie pop and "epic" storytelling. The Crane Wife - 2006 [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Decemberists_TheCraneWife.jpg/600px-Decemberists_TheCraneWife.jpg[/img] This is my 2nd to least favourite album released by The Decemberists. It is folky with a tiny bit of progressive indie tossed in. The only notable song off of this album, in my opinion, is "Shankill Butchers." (Shankill Butchers is a song about the splinter group of the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Shankill Butchers. The UVF is a Protestant paramilitary organization. The Shankill Butchers split off of the UVF in the mid-70's and carried out a series of grisly murders. These are the basis of the song. The Butchers abducted 7 random Catholic citizens of Northern Ireland and killed them in the middle of the night by slashing their throats. They also carried out several other shootings and bomb attacks, killing as many as 30 people. The lines "The Shankill Butchers ride tonight//You better shut your windows tight" are a warning to protect yourself from being abducted and murdered by the Butchers.) This is another great example of their storytelling ability. The Hazards of Love - 2009 [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/06/TheHazardsofLove1.jpg[/img] This is hands-down my favourite release. The whole album is one incredibly in-depth story. (The Hazards of Love is a rock opera, with all songs contributing to a unified narrative, similar to the use of recurring stories in The Crane Wife. The plot is a love story: a woman named Margaret (voiced by Stark) falls in love with a shape-shifting boreal forest dweller named William (voiced by Meloy). William's mother, a jealous fairy queen (voiced by Worden) and the villainous Rake (also voiced by Meloy) bring conflict to the album's story arc.) I would say that this is The Decemberists best album, but it is VERY, VERY, VERY dark. The Decemberists received a fair bit of criticism because of the fact that the topics of rape, infanticide, murder, and such other things are included in the lyrics. The King is Dead - 2011 [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5b/The_Decemberists_-_The_King_Is_Dead.jpg/600px-The_Decemberists_-_The_King_Is_Dead.jpg[/img] This album just came out earlier this year and I'm starting to take a liking to it. It has more of a "country folk" twang to it. Notable tracks are "Down by the Water," "Rox in a Box," and "Calamity Song." [b]Videos[/b] - I'll do my best to showcase the song that I believe are most worth mentioning. There is so much amazing content so it will be hard to decide which songs to display. Leslie Anne Levine [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml0VI8VZO2U[/media] The Infanta [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT_sPE4ahJk[/media] 16 Military Wives [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK3Ce9md96g[/media] Shankhill Butchers [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLY0HNds_tE[/media] A Bower Scene [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns6ghNpzmDY[/media] Won't Want For Love (Margaret in the Taiga) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=881qFziuGG8[/media] The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKhydixkeA[/media] The Rake's Song [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULSKZ7IP930[/media] Down by the Water [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR9DjdMrpHg[/media] Calamity Song [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcGSEbfegrs[/media] Rox in the Box [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Waz7PMZHeg[/media] And last but not least, the most notable recording by The Decemberists, [b]The Mariner's Revenge Song[/b] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sw61oITuts[/media]
Picked up Picaresque on holiday a few months ago, fantastic album :buddy:
I used to listen to the Mariner's Revenge Song quite a bit
Bempers.
Sounds pretty good. Will have to look into them more.
Come on vagaboos, you know you want to heart The Decemberists.
These guys are fucking awesome The only downside is that I hate how they dress (See: OP picture of them)
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kao1QEjfgno[/media] What got me into them...
The King is Dead is now officially my favourite album from The Decemberists and is also now in my top 20 favourite albums.
I love The Decemberists, I first got into them by the 'Summer in City 17' video as well. My favourite songs are probably 'The Mariner's Revenge Song' and 'Eli, The Barrow Boy'. [QUOTE][video=youtube;Jz7wKhVa_VE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz7wKhVa_VE[/video][/QUOTE]
I had Reunion Tour, some amazing memories came with it.
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