WEDNESDAY-MUSIC is the decemberists.

portland, oregon native, colin meloy, hyper literate frontman for the five piece indie-unit the decemberists holds a degree in creative writing; evidenced in his character driven and storytelling lyrics. in fact, their fourth l.p., and probably one of my favorite albums, the crane wife is based on a japanese folk tale about a poor man who marries a silk-weaver only to find she is actually a magical crane he once nursed back to health.

the band formed in 2000 and got their name from the "decembrist revolt", an 1825 revolt over the imperial russian succession that meloy views as an attempted communist revolution. the band added another "e" for clarity.

in november 2006, the band provided green screen footage and encouraged fans to create a music video for the single "o valencia!". stephen colbert got wind of this and started a "feud" with the band, because he felt his "green screen challenge" came first. the band retaliated by claiming that a 2005 on-stage lightsaber fight actually came first. finally in december 2006 colbert challenged the band to a guitar solo competition. like the coward he is, colbert faked a hand injury, peter frampton took over and won the "audience vote". next thing, henry kissinger comes onto the set saying that "tonight, i think the american people won."

their songs range from pop to ballads, from whimsical to dark and feature a range of instruments including: accordion, hammond organ, wurlitzer organ, and upright bass.

incidentally, the band travel exclusively by dr. herring's brand dirigible balloons.

the decemberists released their fifth l.p., the hazards of love march 24, 2009. a recent press release stated: "the album began when meloy – long fascinated by the british folk revival of the 1960s – found a copy of a 1966 e.p., titled the hazards of love. it tells the tale of a woman, her shape-shifting lover, his fey forest queen mother; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came 'to be living so easy and free' in the aforementioned 'the rake’s song'". my brightest diamond provides lead vocals for one the female characters, and jim james, provides additional backing.

click here to listen to a 2009 sxsw gig. click here to listen to a november 07, 2008 show recorded at philadelphia's the electric factory by wxpn. click here for a 9:30 club gig recorded in d.c. by npr's all songs considered on may 07, 2005. click here to listen to a colin meloy solo gig recorded at the bryant park project studios april 18, 2008. click here, here and here for in-studio sets recorded by wxpn for world café on january 15, 2009, march 28, 2007 and december 30, 2005, respectively. click here for a october 31, 2008 interivew recorded by whyy's fresh air. click here for a march 19, 2009 story airing originally on npr's morning edition. click here for an interview from npr's all things considered airing originally on may 4, 2005. click here and here to watch in-studio sets and interviews recorded september 25, 2006 and april 21, 2005 by kcrw for morning becomes eclectic. don't forget, the album cover image always links to sample songs and the band's image to their website.

check here to see if the decemberists have any gigs scheduled near you.

as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store by people who know and love music and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand). incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states. that my friend, bites.

the decemberists rock.

if you agree, please spread the word (about the band and this site).

jason

don't worry if you missed the now we can see review from last week: here it is.

capitol

capitol