The Decemberists

chris01

Any fans?

I just got their album, only heard the first half of it but its pretty good.
Some of it sounds a bit too close to The Stranglers though, not that they're bad, it just sounds like covers.

3sheets

yeah, the Crane Wife is a pretty solid album. i found it used, so it was a pretty inexpensive, but worthwhile purchase. i still can't get enough of their single "O, Valencia". What a great, catchy pop song. I think O, Valencia, Pillar of Salt (The Thermals), and Incinerate (Sonic Youth) were my 3 favorite singles from last year.

boroff89

The Decemberists are outstanding. I love the new album, but all of their older stuff is great too.

off_the_record

boroff89 wrote:

The Decemberists are outstanding. I love the new album, but all of their older stuff is great too.

agreed. castaways and cutouts is fantastic.

Tek Money

The Crane Wife is one of the best albums I have ever heard.

I have been catching up on their music and I have to say it is all really good. I can't wait to see them live.

soulsinging

i am obsessed with the crane wife. im going to see them in april. ive downloaded some of their older stuff but dont enjoy it as much as the latest one. at least not their first album (whichever one that is).

Pearl Jam and toast

Good band..

but my god are they overrated. People treat them like the fucking Beatles and they don't deserve it. They get boring and a lot of their stuff sounds the same. They're good but for fucks sake be real. They aren't great.

orig_long red

good album so far....not sure if it has staying power just yet.

chris01

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

Good band..

but my god are they overrated. People treat them like the fucking Beatles and they don't deserve it.

I agree with you there, poor bastards being compared to The Beetles. lol jk.

I acutally didnt even know they had older albums since i only heard of them a few weeks ago.
Craine Wife is the only one i had heard of. Ill have a look for older ones.

Tek Money

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

Good band..

but my god are they overrated. People treat them like the fucking Beatles and they don't deserve it. They get boring and a lot of their stuff sounds the same. They're good but for fucks sake be real. They aren't great.

I don't know who is treating them like the Beatles. I haven't met a lot of people who even know about them. I happen to think they are great. It's all in opinion. Don't pretend like yours is the only right one.

Pearl Jam and toast

Tek Money wrote:

I don't know who is treating them like the Beatles. I haven't met a lot of people who even know about them. I happen to think they are great. It's all in opinion. Don't pretend like yours is the only right one.

I could break it down and write a thesis paper on why they're overrated.

Maybe they aren't as known in England, but everyone here seems to be in love with them.

Tek Money

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

I could break it down and write a thesis paper on why they're overrated.

Maybe they aren't as known in England, but everyone here seems to be in love with them.

What makes you think I live in England?

Pearl Jam and toast

Tek Money wrote:

What makes you think I live in England?

whoops i meant Canada

I saw london

Tek Money

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

whoops i meant Canada

I saw london

Yeah I am in the fake London

Back on topic: All I know is I have read reviews praising their album, and I have read reviews saying it was alright. I think it should be praised. It's one of the best I have heard ever. But I can respect that it might not be someone else's cup of tea.

Pearl Jam and toast

Tek Money wrote:

Yeah I am in the fake London

Back on topic: All I know is I have read reviews praising their album, and I have read reviews saying it was alright. I think it should be praised. It's one of the best I have heard ever. But I can respect that it might not be someone else's cup of tea.

They're a good band, I know. I like them. But especially considering some of the albums that have come out in the last year (pearl jam, modest mouse, kings of leon, yeah yeah yeahs, chili peppers, bob dylan, neil young, thom yorke, sonic youth,.. come to mind) they just don't stack up.

Tek Money

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

They're a good band, I know. I like them. But especially considering some of the albums that have come out in the last year (pearl jam, modest mouse, kings of leon, yeah yeah yeahs, chili peppers, bob dylan, neil young, thom yorke, sonic youth,.. come to mind) they just don't stack up.

Well personally I wasn't impressed at all with Pearl Jam's new album. It did nothing for me after numerous tries to get into it. Pearl Jam is being too safe. I think that 'The Crane Wife' is better than all the albums you named.

Tek Money

I mean you can't say that 'The Crane Wife 1 & 2' is not one of the greatest songs ever.

Pearl Jam and toast

Tek Money wrote:

Well personally I wasn't impressed at all with Pearl Jam's new album. It did nothing for me after numerous tries to get into it. Pearl Jam is being too safe. I think that 'The Crane Wife' is better than all the albums you named.

Guess it really is just a 'not your cup of tea' thing. Pearl Jam's album (as well as MM, and parts of all the albums I listed) blew me away.

soulsinging

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

I could break it down and write a thesis paper on why they're overrated.

Maybe they aren't as known in England, but everyone here seems to be in love with them.

really? i havent really heard a peep about them here in chicago. granted, their new album is earning rave reviews, but ive never once heard anything that could remotely be on a par with the mindless praise heaped upon the beatles or... dare i say it... radiohead. on that latter note, you're the last person that should be complaining about a band being given props out of proportion to their body of work

ill agree, they're good, not great. they're a lot of fun. but from what i've heard of the first album, their sound really hasn't changed. which is fine, but it's also why i dont feel compelled to buy their back catalogue.

Todd76

Tek Money wrote:

Well personally I wasn't impressed at all with Pearl Jam's new album. It did nothing for me after numerous tries to get into it. Pearl Jam is being too safe. I think that 'The Crane Wife' is better than all the albums you named.

I think The Crane Wife was EASILY the best album of 2006 and it is definitely one of my favourite albums ever!!!!

"The Crane Wife 1 & 2" tears me up everytime I hear it.....I played this song for a girl at work (who knew nothing about the band - but who has great taste in music) and she broke down in tears - not the reaction I expected BUT it does show (to all you doubters in the "people who dont get indie music" thread) that indie music can be full of raw emotion and passion even with whimpy vocals and without "shredding" guitar solos - the Decemberists aint even remotely boring IMO

.....and this was a band that I knew nothing/very little about before I started hanging out on this board - so to the person who asked (in the "people whos favorite band aint PJ" thread) why someone would hang out here and not like PJ more than any other band (or 25 other bands) on the face of the earth....that is why - the discovery of good music and some good people

janegosford

I thought Colbert already put them in their place?

Pearl Jam and toast

soulsinging wrote:

really? i havent really heard a peep about them here in chicago. granted, their new album is earning rave reviews, but ive never once heard anything that could remotely be on a par with the mindless praise heaped upon the beatles or... dare i say it... radiohead. on that latter note, you're the last person that should be complaining about a band being given props out of proportion to their body of work

ill agree, they're good, not great. they're a lot of fun. but from what i've heard of the first album, their sound really hasn't changed. which is fine, but it's also why i dont feel compelled to buy their back catalogue.

It's probably different for high schoolers. It's a big young people's fad right now.

I'm gonna ignore that radiohead comment..

soulsinging

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

It's probably different for high schoolers. It's a big young people's fad right now.

I'm gonna ignore that radiohead comment..

yes, let's not hijack yet another thread with this epic battle between the forces of good and evil

but that could be. im in law school and as far as i can tell nobody around here listens to music. ive volunteered myself to do some music reviews for them, starting with the new bloc party and tv on the radio (they're both playing in this town over our break). so i am a bit out of touch with the hype that may be surrounding them. i guess id have to say i like the thought of them hitting it big over panic at the disco or whoever.

im thinking my next article might be a reivew of my st patty's day concert weekend: brand new on friday, hold steady on saturday... it's going to rock.

moemoe6434

going to see them in March!

3sheets

how did Colbert put them in their place? i gotta know this b/c it's probably pretty damn funny.

cc10106

One of the best 'newer' bands around. All 4 of their records are excellent, but granted, take time to digest. Picaresque is the one that got me hooked, but Her Majesty is still my fav. I saw them at ACL Fest '05 and was blown away, plain and simple. The singer even gave a nod to Bob Mould and expressed his displeasure with being scheduled at the same time on a different stage, else he'd be there jammin out. Not in a bitchy indie way, just giving props to a musical/indie legend. The only negative thing I can say about him and this band is his comments in regard to how they won't play Houston, especially after the Two Gallants/taser episode. Now that came across in a very pretentious way, but I can always drive to Austin and will listen to their music.

soulsinging

cc10106 wrote:

One of the best 'newer' bands around. All 4 of their records are excellent, but granted, take time to digest. Picaresque is the one that got me hooked, but Her Majesty is still my fav. I saw them at ACL Fest '05 and was blown away, plain and simple. The singer even gave a nod to Bob Mould and expressed his displeasure with being scheduled at the same time on a different stage, else he'd be there jammin out. Not in a bitchy indie way, just giving props to a musical/indie legend. The only negative thing I can say about him and this band is his comments in regard to how they won't play Houston, especially after the Two Gallants/taser episode. Now that came across in a very pretentious way, but I can always drive to Austin and will listen to their music.

what comments were those? what gallants/taser episode?

cc10106

soulsinging wrote:

what comments were those? what gallants/taser episode?

Basically, while the band was playing a show at one of the smaller 'indie' venues, there was a noise complaint. This led to an officer coming inside to basically shut the thing down. I'm not real clear as to what happened from there. I've heard they turned it down, then back up after he left. I've heard one of the members cussed the cop out - who really knows? I do know that it got pretty violent, and the videos portray an officer with a bit of a power trip. Someone was tased, whether it was someone in the band or in the audience. I know the cop claimed he thought he felt someone try to take his gun. Then again, I think he was by himself, and probably looking to spoil someone's fun. Obviously pretty stupid and pointless/unfortunate occurrence, making it that much harder for my town to attract great bands to play here. Hell, My Morning Jacket cancelled their show here in November '05 to tape Austin City Limits. They then promised to make up the show, but of course, they were full of shit and didn't do it. The Decemberists never made up a show that was cancelled due to Hurricane Rita, but Built to Spill did (they were on the same bill for the original show).

Here are some different links that are still around involving the incident...

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/39203/Two_Gallants_Speak_Out_About_Houston_Incident

http://blogs.chron.com/handstamp/archives/2006/10/incident_at_wal_1.html

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=1810327&blogID=180431773&MyToken=fe2f9d0b-7244-4bf8-8db5-defba1040397


As far as Mr. Meloy's reaction that I spoke of, it was on their myspace page or something a day or so after it happened. Not sure where it is now. He just said basically that there's a reason why they don't play Houston, and they won't again until a change is made or people start trying to do something about it. He also said that Two Gallants were good friends of his and the incident only seemed to fuel his distaste for playing here. Perhaps he's using the incident as another exucuse, I don't know, and don't really care honestly.
Guess I could move to Dallas, where everyone stops for a show or two, but well... Dallas sucks... to me anyway.

soulsinging

cc10106 wrote:

Basically, while the band was playing a show at one of the smaller 'indie' venues, there was a noise complaint. This led to an officer coming inside to basically shut the thing down. I'm not real clear as to what happened from there. I've heard they turned it down, then back up after he left. I've heard one of the members cussed the cop out - who really knows? I do know that it got pretty violent, and the videos portray an officer with a bit of a power trip. Someone was tased, whether it was someone in the band or in the audience. I know the cop claimed he thought he felt someone try to take his gun. Then again, I think he was by himself, and probably looking to spoil someone's fun. Obviously pretty stupid and pointless/unfortunate occurrence, making it that much harder for my town to attract great bands to play here. Hell, My Morning Jacket cancelled their show here in November '05 to tape Austin City Limits. They then promised to make up the show, but of course, they were full of shit and didn't do it. The Decemberists never made up a show that was cancelled due to Hurricane Rita, but Built to Spill did (they were on the same bill for the original show).

Here are some different links that are still around involving the incident...

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/39203/Two_Gallants_Speak_Out_About_Houston_Incident

http://blogs.chron.com/handstamp/archives/2006/10/incident_at_wal_1.html

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=1810327&blogID=180431773&MyToken=fe2f9d0b-7244-4bf8-8db5-defba1040397


As far as Mr. Meloy's reaction that I spoke of, it was on their myspace page or something a day or so after it happened. Not sure where it is now. He just said basically that there's a reason why they don't play Houston, and they won't again until a change is made or people start trying to do something about it. He also said that Two Gallants were good friends of his and the incident only seemed to fuel his distaste for playing here. Perhaps he's using the incident as another exucuse, I don't know, and don't really care honestly.
Guess I could move to Dallas, where everyone stops for a show or two, but well... Dallas sucks... to me anyway.

sounds like houston sucks to me man.

cc10106

guess i don't base my opinion of a city on what bands choose/choose not to play there. maybe there's a bit of bias, but then again there's tons of people who say 'houston sucks' who've probably never been here, or really have any idea. i've been to dallas 8 million times. i'd rather live here. that's all i was really saying. sorry to hurt anyone's feelings...:)

soulsinging

cc10106 wrote:

guess i don't base my opinion of a city on what bands choose/choose not to play there. maybe there's a bit of bias, but then again there's tons of people who say 'houston sucks' who've probably never been here, or really have any idea. i've been to dallas 8 million times. i'd rather live here. that's all i was really saying. sorry to hurt anyone's feelings...:)

didnt hurt mine. my roomate's from texas. he said he cant wait to go back to dallas after he graduates. he said austin and san antonio are cool too. never said anything about houston though. but given their trigger happy bored cops, it doesnt sound so appealing. and if my chief means of nightlife is live music, a city that turns bands off becos of that sounds kinda crappy

but nothing personal. im sure it has its perks.