New Decemberists - "O New England"

On their first of three Always The Bridesmaid singles, Colin & Co. take the Blue Line to "O New England." It's the B-side to previously dissected "Valerie Plame." The relatively low-key, down-tempo track doesn't have "Valerie Plame"'s horn, group sing-a-long,... CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS - "O NEW ENGLAND"»

Posted on October 23, 2008 (8 comments)
Tags: No Age | The Decemberists

New Decemberists Album Gets A Title

You have to wade through lots of election season talk in yesterday's newsletter, but that's where you'll find the treat: never mind Kate Bush, it's the Decemberists and they're coming with Hazards Of Love. Mixing starts today. ... CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS ALBUM GETS A TITLE»

Posted on October 8, 2008 (0 comments)
Tags: The Decemberists

New Decemberists - "Valerie Plame"

We gave you the details on the Decemberists' forthcoming Always The Bridesmaid 12" series, that "Valerie Plame," the first track on the first volume, is from -- to quote the press release -- "the point-of-view of one of Plame's inside... CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS - "VALERIE PLAME"»

Posted on September 30, 2008 (16 comments)
Tags: The Decemberists

Didn't Expect To Hear The Decemberists On Mad Men Last Night

Sunday night's hour with the misogynists and ladies of Sterling Cooper kicked off with a montage soundtracked by "The Infanta," which has teed off a very important debate on the internet: are you For or Against anachronistic music in period... CONTINUE READING DIDN'T EXPECT TO HEAR THE DECEMBERISTS ON MAD MEN LAST NIGHT»

Posted on September 2, 2008 (15 comments)
Tags: Feist | Little Boots | Mad Men | SXSW | The Decemberists

The Decemberists Return With A Bunch Of Singles And An Ode To Valerie Plame

It's not exactly like Colin & The Gang have been out of sight since dropping The Crane Wife, but sure and yes, a new batch of Decemberists songs sounds great thank you. As far as we know the promise for... CONTINUE READING THE DECEMBERISTS RETURN WITH A BUNCH OF SINGLES AND AN ODE TO VALERIE PLAME»

Posted on August 22, 2008 (17 comments)
Tags: Billy Corgan | The Decemberists | The Smashing Pumpkins

MTV Lets Us Know Portland Has Bands, Basements, Rain, Trees

Echoing Slate's out-of-date Portland exposé from this past fall, MTV's followed the momentum of their Brooklyn 2008 piece with a feature on PDX. What we learn: There are a lot of bands who live there, it's still relatively cheap, it... CONTINUE READING MTV LETS US KNOW PORTLAND HAS BANDS, BASEMENTS, RAIN, TREES»

Colin Meloy Started Writing A Song For The Guardian, Needs Help Completing It

Reminiscent of NPR's "Project Song" -- remember Stephen Merritt's "The Man Of A Million Faces"? -- The Guardian asked Colin Meloy to write a song while journalist Laura Barton sat at the dining room table in his Portland home and... CONTINUE READING COLIN MELOY STARTED WRITING A SONG FOR THE GUARDIAN, NEEDS HELP COMPLETING IT»

Posted on April 14, 2008 (2 comments)
Tags: Colin Meloy | Elvis Perkins | SXSW | The Decemberists

The 'Gum Drop Volume XXVI: Hear New Colin Meloy, Win A Gibson Epiphone Guitar

In April, Colin Meloy's releasing his first full-length solo album, the 17-track Colin Meloy Sings Live! (the Morrissey and Shirley Collins collections were EPs). That's a long time to wait, Decemberists fans, so this week's Drop offered a sneak peek... CONTINUE READING THE 'GUM DROP VOLUME XXVI: HEAR NEW COLIN MELOY, WIN A GIBSON EPIPHONE GUITAR»

Posted on February 27, 2008 in Giveaway (5 comments)
Tags: Bruce Springsteen | Colin Meloy | Peter Bjorn And John | The Decemberists

Colin Meloy Sings Live!

Following in the grand Sings series wherein Colin tackled selections from the catalogs of Shirley Collins (see: Colin Meloy Sings Trad. Arr. Shirley Collins) and Morrissey (see: Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey), the Decemberists' prog-folk poet brings good tidings of a... CONTINUE READING COLIN MELOY SINGS LIVE!»

Posted on January 16, 2008 (5 comments)
Tags: Colin Meloy | The Decemberists

New Decemberists (Feat. Laura Veirs) Video - "Yankee Bayonet" (Live From Austin City Limits)

Now entering its 33rd season, the Austin City Limits PBS show's been mandatory viewing for all of us here at Stereogum for years -- impeccable curation, legendary performances, an A/V treat always. It's been a thrill getting to actually attend... Austin City Limits)'">CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS (FEAT. LAURA VEIRS) VIDEO - "YANKEE BAYONET" (LIVE FROM AUSTIN CITY LIMITS)»

Posted on October 12, 2007 (7 comments)
Tags: Chris Funk | Laura Veirs | The Decemberists

Austin City Limits '07: Sunday In Photos, "Best Of" List

At some point we called this year's Austin City Limits festival "Friday and Sunday heavy," but that shit ain't right; this year's ACL dance-card was tilted entirely toward the tail end. In fact, pretty sure we saw more bands... CONTINUE READING AUSTIN CITY LIMITS '07: SUNDAY IN PHOTOS, "BEST OF" LIST»

New Decemberists - "Little Boxes" (Theme To Weeds)

Last night Weeds welcomed Matthew Modine to the cast! How ... not as exciting as the creators think. And to usher in Matthew's stint as the smarmy, township-of-Majestic rep guy, "Little Boxes" was Donovan-ized! So okay, none of your heart... Weeds)'">CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS - "LITTLE BOXES" (THEME TO WEEDS)»

Posted on September 4, 2007 (13 comments)
Tags: Chris Funk | The Decemberists | Weeds

New Decemberists - "The Perfect Crime (A Touch Of Class Remix)"

Never thought we'd hear the Decemberists backed by Liquid Liquid bang-on-a-can drums and slicing Rapture-style guitar chops, but that's because it took until now for A Touch Of Class to get their cowbell-toting, Scissor Sister-buffing hands on "Perfect Crime #2"... CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS - "THE PERFECT CRIME (A TOUCH OF CLASS REMIX)"»

Posted on August 27, 2007 (9 comments)
Tags: A Touch Of Class | The Decemberists

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... CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS - "THE PERFECT CRIME (JUNIOR BOYS REMIX)"»

Posted on August 23, 2007 in Tour Dates (20 comments)
Tags: Junior Boys | The Decemberists

Colin Meloy Is Lil' Jeb Bush

To this day, we've never been able to sit through more than three minutes of Lil' Bush, which is almost as difficult to bear and far less hilarious than a W. Bush speaking engagement. But the show's talent coordinators, they... CONTINUE READING COLIN MELOY IS LIL' JEB BUSH»

Posted on July 24, 2007 in Video (7 comments)
Tags: The Decemberists

Stereogum Presents... OKX: A Tribute To OK Computer

There's no way Pablo Honey or even The Bends could have prepared us for OK Computer. This isn't a new thought, but it is worth mentioning that in just over four years Radiohead graduated from "Creep" to visionary status. It's... CONTINUE READING STEREOGUM PRESENTS... OKX: A TRIBUTE TO OK COMPUTER»

The Decemberists & The LA Philharmonic Do The Hollywood Bowl

While most of NYC's card-carrying hipsters spent the day of 7s watching (or waiting in line to see) lots of drummers bang to the direction of the Boredoms (post soon, promise), southern Cali's big indie draw came via the Andrew... CONTINUE READING THE DECEMBERISTS & THE LA PHILHARMONIC DO THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL»

Posted on July 9, 2007 in Concert (14 comments)
Tags: The Decemberists

The Perfect Crime 2

Last time Cloak & Dagger pranked someone, they asked Ben Gibbard for Colin Meloy's phone number. This week, it pays off when Cloak & Dagger rings up Colin and ask him about the formative sexual experience that inspired "The Chimbley... CONTINUE READING THE PERFECT CRIME 2»

Posted on June 18, 2007 (4 comments)
Tags: Sufjan Stevens | The Decemberists

Bonnaroo: Sunday 6/17/07: Wilco & The White Stripes Raze The Stages

While Saturday's lineup was the most set-hopper friendly, Sunday's spread offered two trump cards with eagerly anticipated sets from Wilco and the first post-Icky US show from the White Stripes. Before we got there, though, there were a few... CONTINUE READING BONNAROO: SUNDAY 6/17/07: WILCO & THE WHITE STRIPES RAZE THE STAGES»

Colin Meloy Covers Lavender Diamond

Becky Stark's "It's all about love and the earth people, ya know?" shtick doesn't sit well with everybody, but Lavender Diamond's perch on the precipice of over-preciousness has its fans, like us and tourmate Colin Meloy. Mr. Decemberist contributes the... CONTINUE READING COLIN MELOY COVERS LAVENDER DIAMOND»

Posted on May 29, 2007 (3 comments)
Tags: Lavender Diamond | The Decemberists

Patti Smith Covers The Decemberists

Turns out Twelve covers weren't enough for Patti. Along with taking on legends like Jimi, the Stones, and Tears For Fears, Ms. Smith recorded a few bonus cuts for a limited edition 7", one of which is a rather choice... CONTINUE READING PATTI SMITH COVERS THE DECEMBERISTS»

Posted on May 22, 2007 (6 comments)
Tags: Nirvana | Patti Smith | The Decemberists

Coachella: Saturday's Best Of The Rest

Superlatives get tired quick, but here goes ... Saturday may have been the greatest single day festival experience we've had yet. Staving off the 106º temps and sun with a mix of sunscreen and adrenaline, we marched across the Coachella... CONTINUE READING COACHELLA: SATURDAY'S BEST OF THE REST»

The Decemberists' Chris Funk Helms The Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble

We have news of a Decemberist going it alone, at least for a home recording release and a string of West Coast dates as the Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble. The guitarist who dueled with Colbert Frampton in a battle of... CONTINUE READING THE DECEMBERISTS' CHRIS FUNK HELMS THE FLASH HAWK PARLOR ENSEMBLE»

Posted on April 24, 2007 in MP3 (7 comments)
Tags: Chris Funk | Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble | The Decemberists

The Decemberists Cover Robyn Hitchcock, Waterboys In London

Reader Maya writes in from across the Atlantic:Ok so unsurprisingly none of the London music press covered The Decemberists performance at the Shepherds Bush Empire last night. I’m not sure if it was the mid-show calisthenics or the re-enactment of... CONTINUE READING THE DECEMBERISTS COVER ROBYN HITCHCOCK, WATERBOYS IN LONDON»

Posted on February 9, 2007 in Video (6 comments)
Tags: Robyn Hitchcock | The Decemberists | The Waterboys

New Decemberists Video - "O Valencia!"

So much for the Colbert-irking green screen contest? Maybe so, maybe not, but for now The Decemberists secured director Aaron Stewart (of "16 Military Wives" and The Album Leaf's "Always For You") for a proper "O Valencia!" vid. Stewart got... CONTINUE READING NEW DECEMBERISTS VIDEO - "O VALENCIA!"»

Posted on February 1, 2007 in Video (2 comments)
Tags: The Decemberists