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August 23, 2007

New Decemberists - "The Perfect Crime (Junior Boys Remix)"

If reality TV has taught us anything (it hasn't), it's that you can in fact dance to Junior Boys. And the take home from our nights with Colin Meloy? You can dance to the Decemberists too! But apparently Mr. Meloy wants to make the danceability of his proggy chamber pop more evident (and without having to be present to lead in-the-flesh group-boogie exercises). So clear some hard drive space for the Perfect Crime #2 EP, featuring Diplo, A Touch Of Class, and Junior Boys, all taking turns on "The Perfect Crime #2" remix duty. Unconvinced of the booty shaking ability of Colin's nasal inflections? Have the Junior Boys remix for free (well, gotta fork over your email addy) by heading here.

What does it sound like? Just like pressing play on your Crane Wife loaded iPod, popping some Mitsubishis, and strolling into your local techno night. Hyperliterate prog pop never sounded so sexy. Or fit for tight tees. About that EP: In addition to the aforementioned remixes, you'll get a "truncated" version of the title track, billed "The Perfect Crime #2.5.1." For the completists, we'd reckon.

 

[Pic of the Decemberists from Coachella '07/Pic of Junior Boys from P4K Fest '07]

The Perfect Crime #2 EP is out 9/25 via Capitol. But that's not all from Decemberists land. The band plans to take some time off in '08 to write and recuperate, but not before one big blow-out tour, set to spend at least two nights in each city it hits. Here's the twist: During each city's tour stop, one night will be billed "The Long Of It" (dedicated to tunes 8+ minutes in length), the other dubbed "The Short Of It" (spent on tunes of a lesser duration). Tour dates and ticket info await you after the jump.

10/28 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater ("Long of It")
10/29 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater ("Short of It")
11/01 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 ("Long of It")
11/02 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5 ("Short of It")
11/03 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum ("Long of It")
11/04 - Boston, MA @ Orpheum ("Short of It")
11/06 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Millennium Center ("Long of It")
11/07 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Millennium Center ("Short of It")
11/09 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ("Long of It")
11/10 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ("Short of It")
11/11 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ("Long of It")
11/12 - Washington, DC 9:30 Club ("Short of It")
11/15 - Columbus, OH @ Lifestyle Communities Pavilion ("Long of It")
11/16 - Columbus, OH @ Lifestyle Communities Pavilion ("Short of It")
11/18 - Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater ("Long of It")
11/19 - Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater ("Short of It")
11/23 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ("Long of It")
11/24 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ("Short of It")
11/25 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ("Long of It")
11/26 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ("Short of It")
11/29 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ("Long of It")
11/30 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ("Short of It")
12/01 - San Diego, CA @ Spreckels Theatre ("Long of It")
12/02 - San Diego, CA @ Spreckels Theatre ("Short of It")
12/05 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom ("Long of It")
12/06 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom ("Short of It")
12/07 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
12/08 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre ("Long of It")
12/09 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre ("Short of It")

Presale for the shows (with $10 discount!) starts 8/25 here.

Posted at 4:22 PM in
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20 Comments

Uh, they exceeded their downloads?

Posted by: jason at 08/23/07 5:11 PM | Reply
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yah really, they got our info and we got nothin'.
grrrr.

Posted by: tngregory at 08/23/07 5:23 PM | Reply
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Well, I am glad i just signed away my email adress and name to get endless spam and got a dead link in return. hurray.

Posted by: Brian at 08/23/07 5:41 PM | Reply
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it really saddens me to see how the decemberists are evolving. they went from one of my most favourite bands to complete sellouts. it appears they know it as they are about to embark on a tour where they play their "unpopular" songs and one night they play their "hits". how sad it's come to this.

Posted by: ko at 08/23/07 7:00 PM | Reply
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Managed to get the track and posted it on my blog, but I think it's crap.

Too bad, as the Decemberists are among my personal faves.

Posted by: Rich at 08/23/07 7:10 PM | Reply
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I got a email and the link said I've exceded my download limit. I hadn't downloaded anything. Great promotion.

Posted by: spackelle at 08/23/07 7:26 PM | Reply
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playing a full set with an orchestra followed by a full standard set = having sold out?

I see this as their attempt at yet another variation on the ordinary/predictable tour; i.e. innovative, a la Bright Eyes (x2), Iron & Wine/Calexico, Arcade Fire (x2), BSS/Feist/K.Drew, ATP's/"Don't Look Back," and prob many other tours I'm forgetting (SG readers?).

(I'd add something about the $10 pre-sale discount, but I'm skeptical about the actual savings -- not like they can help the exorbitant prices today.)

Posted by: OK at 08/23/07 7:52 PM | Reply
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I'm more inclined to see the show where they play the epics, so the point of seeing the show with "hits" is moot to me.

Posted by: volume-addict at 08/23/07 7:57 PM | Reply
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@KO

Many fans love the Tain and the crane wife series while they adore the Mariners revenge so i don't really see how you classify the longer songs as "unpopular songs".

Posted by: bmckim at 08/23/07 8:51 PM | Reply
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the decemberists are as far as they come from sellouts...i'm so excited about this, what a great idea. and their "hits?" are you serious? give me a break, they don't even have any hits. they have songs that are shorter than 5 minutes, many songs, and many of them are phenomenal. I, personally, will be going to both shows at the orpheum theater in boston (amazing venue, saw the decemberists there last summer and they were phenomenal...its an opera theater, which fits them perfectly). I imagine that, with the $10 savings, the pair will cost $60 max.

Posted by: james at 08/23/07 10:07 PM | Reply
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also the techno mix sucks a fat one.

Posted by: bmckim at 08/23/07 10:24 PM | Reply
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@KO

You decide to play the "sellout" card only because they're putting on multiple shows in each city, dedicating each night to their two different types of songs so the fans can finally hear the damn "Tain" again? You're the only one I've ever heard that's called their longer songs unpopular. If anything they're doing this so more of their epics can be performed. Since when is "I Was Meant for the Stage" a Top 10 hit (hey, it's sub 8 minutes)? Maybe you should listen to the band before spouting such crap.

Oh and james, the Orpheum is horrible, but I'll be at both shows as well (nothing beats them at the Avalon).

Posted by: Cherry Ghost at 08/23/07 11:12 PM | Reply
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i wish i would have read the comments before opening up my email to capitol records
dammit

Posted by: brody at 08/23/07 11:24 PM | Reply
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avalon is a great venue...maybe the best in boston. still, the orpheum is theatrical...so are the decemberists...only complaint is the assigned seating, but i actually like the acoustics at orpheum more than at avalon.

oh, and when you submit you're email, you're basically signing up for the decemberists email list. I've been signed up for over a year now; I never get any non-decemberists emails from capitol records. And the decemberists only send out an email maybe 4 times a year, and they're usually announcing major events, like a new cd or a new tour. It's gotten to the point where I'm actually excited to see a new email from them.

Posted by: james at 08/23/07 11:44 PM | Reply
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I like the Orpheum OK, but Avalon is pretty awesome. Just saw Rufus Wainwright there, and he rocked that place.

And I'd like the remix if there was, I dunno, anything from the original song in there... besides the length (zing!)

Posted by: historyman68 at 08/24/07 12:05 AM | Reply
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the fact that the band has succumbed to a marketing dept. with way too much money really shows here. i mean, are the decemberists really a band that needs to be remixed? at all? especially by the likes of junior boys? and...the fact that you have to play two shows to divide your previous/current audiences should open up some eyes. maybe they're having second thoughts about signing with capitol? i mean, it only makes since as they've spoken about seeing all the frat kids and housewives looking confused when they play the non-crane wife stuff. this is a band that i absolutely loved, not my mom is singing along while thumbing through gardening magazines in the dentist office.

Posted by: ko at 08/24/07 10:55 AM | Reply
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They got more popular. That's not selling out, that's just what happens when you're a good band that people connect with. Yeah, I completely agree that the shows now have too large a contingent of people who are there just to be seen being there, but you can't lay that at the foot of the band. They've gotten bigger, gotten to the point where people want to be seen at their shows, without compromising a thing. It could be argued that The Crane Wife was their least accessible album, and that's what they gave Capitol.

Oh, and no, the Decemberists didn't need a remix record, but neither to 99% of the indie artists that do the remix thing.

And finally, this remix really sucks.

Posted by: JG at 08/24/07 11:35 AM | Reply
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Perhaps (one of) the hardest working bands in showbiz? This will be their 3rd visit this year to the NY Metro area, and my only concern is which show to attend. Maybe both.

I would recommend for anyone to see one of the Decemberists live shows - the band rarely fails to entertain.

Posted by: drewo at 08/24/07 12:36 PM | Reply
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C'mon folks, isn't it time you bow to Portland, Oregon?

Posted by: abe at 08/25/07 4:10 AM | Reply
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"Sorry. You have exceeded the maximum number of downloads."

Huh? I didn't get the song!

Posted by: Daniel G at 08/27/07 10:50 AM | Reply
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