For sheer smile factor, I'm going today with The Decemberists The Sporting Life --- because it is genuinely funny.
Sadly no proper video, but the song is hilarious...
Showing posts with label The Decemberists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Decemberists. Show all posts
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
In Praise of ... The Decemberists
Ah, I do love The Decemberists - even if the one time we saw them live, the lead singer suffered from Wolverhampton Curry Tummy. I'm well looking forward to getting my mitts on their new album "The King is Dead"- especially since there's a bit of REM involvement to bring some extra goodiness to the proceedings.
There is something bleak, quirky, weird and plain old odd about the narratives of the Colin Meloy and co: Take for example "Sixteen Military Wives"
("O Valencia" is also pretty great, tho embedding is disabled on this story song)
I can't help it - I just love their work. The Decemberists are one of those bands I kinda stumbled across and then got really into and I can't help but keep coming back to enjoy them. I've often found myself wandering the office singing "The Sporting Life" for example, with its delightful narrative lyrics.
And there's a lot to be said for this amateur theatre production of the narrative!
But if you want REAL nasty narratives, try The Rake's Song which is proper wicked - but a great tale nonetheless!
There is something bleak, quirky, weird and plain old odd about the narratives of the Colin Meloy and co: Take for example "Sixteen Military Wives"
("O Valencia" is also pretty great, tho embedding is disabled on this story song)
I can't help it - I just love their work. The Decemberists are one of those bands I kinda stumbled across and then got really into and I can't help but keep coming back to enjoy them. I've often found myself wandering the office singing "The Sporting Life" for example, with its delightful narrative lyrics.
I fell on the playing fieldAnyway, in other examples there's a very charming live version of "The Mariner's Revenge Song" worth watching, though this has a classic Decemberists grim narrative!
The work of an errant heel
The din of the crowd and the loud commotion
Went deafening silence and stopped emotion
The season was almost done
We managed it 12 to 1
So far I had known no humiliation
In front of my friends and close relations
There's my father looking on
And there's my girlfriend arm in arm
With the captain of the other team
And all of this is clear to me
They condescend and fix on me a frown
How they love the sporting life
And father had had such hopes
For a son who would take the ropes
And fulfill all his old athletic aspirations
But apparently now there's some complications
But while I am lying here
Trying to fight the tears
I'll prove to the crowd that I come out stronger
Though I think I might lie here a little longer
There's my coach he's looking down
The disappointment in his knitted brow
I should've known
He thinks again
I never should have put him in
He turns and loads the lemonade away
And breathes in deep
The sporting life
The sporting life
The sporting life
How he loves...
There's my father looking on
And there's my girlfriend arm in arm
With the captain of the other team
And all of this is clear to me
They condescend and fix on me a frown
How they love the sporting life
And there's a lot to be said for this amateur theatre production of the narrative!
But if you want REAL nasty narratives, try The Rake's Song which is proper wicked - but a great tale nonetheless!
Friday, November 23, 2007
SwitchOn Posters
With due credit to Stu N who directed me to this poster for the recent Decemberists gig in Wolverhampton, I had a browse of the rest of the site output.
I especially loved this Glasgow 2007 Decemberists poster. Hmmm.... pretty pictures...!
I especially loved this Glasgow 2007 Decemberists poster. Hmmm.... pretty pictures...!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Gig review: The Decemberists at Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton 5 October 2007
Sorry for the lateness of this.
Setlist: approximate
Crane Wife 3
The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning
The Gymnast, High Above the Ground
Yankee Bayonet
[Impromptu version of 'You are my Sunshine' and a folk song (sorry, unclear what it was) for reasons to be explained]
Crane Wife 1
As I Rise
Shankhill Butchers
O Valencia!
The Chimbly Sweep
The Perfect Crime #2
Sons & Daughters
Clementine
Reviews can also be found here and here.
[Apologies for the awful shaky camera work here - my pixels are poorly]
Anyway, this was a rather odd gig. As those who were hoping to see later gigs on the tour will now know and will be grinding their teeth at, post-this gig, the tour was cancelled. You see, lead singer Colin got a bad case of the Wolverhampton curry tummy (or so it seems) and really was on struggling form for the Wolves gig. Consequently, they've subsequently pulled the tour. Methinks that they won't be back in Wolves for a while.
That's a shame since against the odds he and the band turned in a fine performance, in a gloriously intimate venue, albeit one that seemed to miss certain expectations of the audience. Many wanted material from Picareque (me: I would have died and gone to heaven if they had played something from Picaresqueties, especially either Bandit Queen or their wonderful cover of the Joanna Newsom track Bridges and Balloons with its invocation of Cair Paravel). But what they did was grand: and we did get some older tracks from Castaways and Cutouts and from Her Majesty, The Decemberists which alongside the dominant material from The Crane Wife were beautifully played and conveyed to the crowd. I still choked up at O Valencia! ("and your frame went limp in my arms") and Jenny Conlee did some seriously prog-rock gesturing as she played the keyboards with gusto.
Overall, not the grand experience we might have hoped for, but a definite confirmation of their wonderful music. Sorry EineKleineRob, especially after I think it was us who introduced you to them.
Setlist: approximate
Crane Wife 3
The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning
The Gymnast, High Above the Ground
Yankee Bayonet
[Impromptu version of 'You are my Sunshine' and a folk song (sorry, unclear what it was) for reasons to be explained]
Crane Wife 1
As I Rise
Shankhill Butchers
O Valencia!
The Chimbly Sweep
The Perfect Crime #2
Sons & Daughters
Clementine
Reviews can also be found here and here.
[Apologies for the awful shaky camera work here - my pixels are poorly]
Anyway, this was a rather odd gig. As those who were hoping to see later gigs on the tour will now know and will be grinding their teeth at, post-this gig, the tour was cancelled. You see, lead singer Colin got a bad case of the Wolverhampton curry tummy (or so it seems) and really was on struggling form for the Wolves gig. Consequently, they've subsequently pulled the tour. Methinks that they won't be back in Wolves for a while.
That's a shame since against the odds he and the band turned in a fine performance, in a gloriously intimate venue, albeit one that seemed to miss certain expectations of the audience. Many wanted material from Picareque (me: I would have died and gone to heaven if they had played something from Picaresqueties, especially either Bandit Queen or their wonderful cover of the Joanna Newsom track Bridges and Balloons with its invocation of Cair Paravel). But what they did was grand: and we did get some older tracks from Castaways and Cutouts and from Her Majesty, The Decemberists which alongside the dominant material from The Crane Wife were beautifully played and conveyed to the crowd. I still choked up at O Valencia! ("and your frame went limp in my arms") and Jenny Conlee did some seriously prog-rock gesturing as she played the keyboards with gusto.
Overall, not the grand experience we might have hoped for, but a definite confirmation of their wonderful music. Sorry EineKleineRob, especially after I think it was us who introduced you to them.
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