47 Comments
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Lela's avatar

These breakdowns are my favorite part of the site so far, I love getting the inside scoop, and all the things that we could never know without it.

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Simon Kelso's avatar

100% agreed, these breakdowns are so cool.

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George's avatar

Loving these breakdowns. It’s great that you share these in a very intimate, person-to-person manner. Kind of annoying these other jerks are listening in on our personal conversation.

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Elycia's avatar

My first Decemberists song, a 15 minute download on Napster 😳 I promise I’ve paid for everything since!

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Colin Meloy's avatar

ha

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Teresa Hardy's avatar

This is the content I'm here for! Wonderful insight into the artist's mind and process. Thank you Colin. (Is it selfish to ask for more?)

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David Montagne's avatar

So “young Colin” is your poor uncle too obtuse to appreciate the choice of “peeling” as a replacement for “clanging”? Was “pealing” not available back in those days?😉

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Jenny Nunemacher's avatar

My fellow Church Congregants may disagree, but I happen to love horny Colin lyrics. Bawdy tales of rrrrribaldry!

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GoyBeorge's avatar

Huge Ask. Any chance of an entire annotated The Hazards of Love?

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Simon Kelso's avatar

Once again these deep dives into lyrics are super super cool. Gives a lot of extra stuff to think about on re-listens.

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Something's avatar

I would enjoy very much a breakdown of the next track from the 5 Songs E.P.

Shiny!

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Samuel's avatar

I was sure it was "lowing" shores, as in cows and capybaras sounding in the pale morning mist.....

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Danielle's avatar

Me too! I was picturing cows, personally. Hehe

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Matthew R's avatar

One of my favorite songs. Can't wait for more of these. I think my best friend will have a mental breakdown if you do "On The Bus Mall."

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Deborah's avatar

Yes Saturday’s show was great. Looking forward to Boulder .

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Duganz's avatar

All of these annotations are creating a counter narrative to the idea that Decemberists songs are about characters not named Colin.

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JimW's avatar

Excellent. Enjoyed Saturday's show greatly. I was sitting behind Milo which increased my entertainment. Given his age and the covid hiatus, he probably has not experienced a lot of public performances.

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Eric's avatar

Love to hear the stories behind the lyrics. Of course, now that I know it's there, I won't be able to unhear that bass string :)

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Yas's avatar

I subscribed to the Machine Shop back when you originally announced it, and then my life exploded (in a good way!). I am finally getting around to reading all of your entries so don't be surprised if there are other new comments in older posts... :)

Oceanside is one of my favorite songs ever, so this annotation breakdown is a treasure. I used to frequently play it on repeat back in middle and high school. I even wrote a blog post about it in my college freshmen's student blog. It no longer exists but a friend still associates this song with me. It makes me quite happy.

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