The Decemberists--still obsessed

First, I'm finally up and running again after a bad sinus infection.  So now is catch up time, including this blog.  It occurred to me last week that I might not see the Decemberists this year at all.  One member of the band was not able to complete last year's tour and the rest of the schedule was cancelled.  So for this year their lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy is venturing out on his own tour starting April 7th through May 3rd.  The closest he comes to Philly is Brooklyn.  If I didn't have kids that had to be at school/preschool the next day I would go.  I suppose there is always a chance of another tour later in the year, so I'll hold onto that.

Yes, this Decemberist obsession is not going away anytime soon.  My hubby is quite perplexed because it's the only band I listen to.  He's not used to me like this.  He didn't know me that well in seventh grade when I was obsessed with the Carpenters.  Or in ninth grade when everything was the Beatles.  Eleventh grade ushered in an obsession with female singer/songwriters like Ann Wilson, Natalie Merchant, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Sarah McLachlan.  All these singers have been etched into my heart and shall remain there.  He did see me through my Jewel phase but not since then (and her selling out) have I been so excited about music.

So to get my fix, I preordered Colin Meloy Sings Live from their website.  The first 300 orders are personally signed by Colin himself!  I'm not able to tell which number I was so I'll hope for the best.  Here's the rundown of types of songs on the album from their website:

"Included on Sings Live! are songs from Meloy's first band, Tarkio, as well as cuts from every Decemberists full-length pre-The Crane Wife. There is also a tune from the 2006 EP Picaresqueties, two previously unreleased originals ("Dracula's Daughter" and "Wonder"), bits of covers of songs by the Smiths, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, and Fleetwood Mac, and a traditional folk song in debt to Shirley Collins' arrangement."

This is Colin's third solo album. The others are Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey, and Colin Meloy Sings Shirley Collins.

So you may ask what makes the Decemberists so special? Most of Colin's songs are deep.  Everyone in the band is an accomplished musician and so are experts at evoking the exact type of emotion Colin's songs need.  No two songs sound alike.  From the last post about them, I have a new appreciation for their album Castaways and Cutouts.  The song "Odalisque" is a favorite.

Julio has loved the Decemberists since 2005.  As you can tell from his blog, there are other bands out there he likes too.  The band that should receive honorable mention is Camera Obscura.  They rock, just in a completely other way.

At least I'm not the only one.  Madeleine is still hooked on the song "Crane Wife" (part 1).  She prefers it as a lullaby.