Hey Machinists — it’s been a moment since I did one of these. Happy to answer any question you might have. I’m here to sate your curiosity, settle inter-relationship disputes, and generally offer up whatever insight I might have on whatever subject you might throw at me. It’s Q&A time!
I am curious!! Is there any connection between Alexandra, The Dowager Governess from Wildwood and the Forest Queen from The Hazards of Love? After reading Wildwood, now whenever I listen to The Hazards of Love, I always imagine her as the one singing.
How can we get a collaboration between The Decemberists and the amazingly talented Carson Ellis for an adult coloring book featuring scenes from a variety of Decemberists songs?
...Maybe a page of Eli the Barrow Boy...
...or a delightful rendition of a confrontation inside the belly of a whale...
This is a tough question -- and something I hadn't really considered until people here started pointing that out. Is Leslie Anne a baby still? And what I arrived at is that she has grown into a young woman ghost from her dead baby ghost form. I guess ghosts do that. Sometimes.
That ‘s how I pictured it initially. Recently I’ve been giggling about the absurdity of the alternative. I think this song would be a great candidate for a sequel. What happens to Leslie as her ghost advances into middle age? Shebangers want to know!
In your books, who would you say is the character you relate to most and which was was your favorite to write about? Also what's your favorite historical era?
Also, I would like to say, that as a Trans, Queer, and autistic kid, I really appreciate you showing genuine support for those communities. Even though it's practically the bare minimum support from people I idolize always makes me overjoyed and gives me hope for the future.
I didn't! He played a local theater outside of Philly on Tuesday. He played for an hour and a half, mostly newer stuff, but he did do 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, which had a lovely tinge of nostalgia given his throaty, older voice (which is still such a luscious baritone).
I remember being on tour, walking somewhere on a day off, and I thinking about the bus mall in old town Portland, and how all bus malls everywhere are a kind of no-man's land, and thinking about the stories there. I liked the idea of exploring the inner lives and relationship of a couple of rentboys there, borrowing a bit from Morrissey's Picadilly Palare...
If you could replace the Mariner’s Revenge Song’s role in your oeuvre (oft-requested fan favorite that you have understandably grown weary of playing) with any other from your catalogue, which would you choose?
Ramifications: Mariner’s is refreshed to you and your band mates, but another must carry its burden.
I was wondering, what do you think about while singing? The imagery of the song, the next line, the feeling of it? Does it get monotonous singing the same songs repeatedly?
Interesting question! Sometimes the lines flow by like water in a river -- just muscle memory working. Sometimes I'll work them over in my mind as they go by. Sometimes I'm holding on for dear life, trying to get from one line to another without screwing up. Sometimes I'm thinking about where we'll be tomorrow and what I should do with myself.
Ha! We failed our second run through of October, that last night in Atlanta. It got pretty dismal -- almost comically so. We keep saying we're going to get together IRL (nontour real life) and finish it out, but I'm not sure when that's gonna happen.
Orate? I remember it so fondly, the online camaraderie. Every day I see the little brass whale and a the little ceramic handmade Colin I got from Christmas gift exchanges or other group events. It was fun. Thanks. Sue
I still have my cherished handmade, Decemberists-themed trinket box and a flip book that someone made me that revealed a scene from 16 military wives. I miss those exchanges!
I found The Decemberists years ago through the Hunger Games soundtrack of all places. When invited to collaborate on a large movie soundtrack like that, how did you come up with the song? Were you told to write a song that correlates to the themes of the movie or did you already have a song half-written or fully written that was usable for the soundtrack?
Neat! I always wondered what kind of audience we would reach with that song. So that was wild ride -- initially the director had contacted me about possibly writing a song for Katniss to sing. That dissipated, somewhere, but we were still invited to write a song for the soundtrack. T. Bone Burnett was producing it. I had this song, "One Engine," kicking around and I revisited it, gave it a polish and a new chorus, and we recorded it in a couple days with Burnett and his engineer at Tucker Martine's Flora Studios. It was cool! It was fun!
As a songwriter and artist, how do you feel about performers that cover your songs? I’ve covered around 45-50 at various live and Zoom open mics to good responses.
Bonus question: on your song Greetings From Anonymity, what is the third line of the third verse (starting with “Got stuck on a ???”). I just couldn’t quite make it out off the recording! Thank you.
I'd love if you released live shows to download each tour, like Pearl Jam or Springsteen. Great souvenir and nice to look back on over time. Also would love a vinyl of course.
Some bands tour for months at a time, it seems the Decemberists tour more frequently but for shorter time. What limits the length of a tour for you? Wear and tear on voice? Time away from home? Bad parts of touring begin to exceed fun parts?
All of the above. We decided a long time ago -- maybe around 2008-9 -- that 3-4 weeks was *plenty* for a tour leg. Beyond that, you start to lose it. So we're judicious about our time away (and getting ever moreso).
Is it too early to ask when your next music tour (whether with the Decemberists or solo) will be? So excited to read the new book. My kiddo and I are just finishing Wildwood 3!
I'm not sure! There's work to be done away from the road right now. It was good to get that tour off our chests, after all these years. I think the next step is making new music -- and inevitably a tour will follow!
Well, drat. I was hoping the late summer run was Part 1 to be followed by Part 2 in the spring, as it seemed the Atlanta date would have been followed by a run back up the east coast states (I'm in NC and was holding out for a date here in Raleigh/Durham).
Hey Colin, had a question about the King is Dead sessions...I remember listening to it for the first time and really hearing the Peter Buck "REM" influence...As a giant REM fan, I honestly wasn't sure what to make of it at first. After several listens, I was completely in. Can you describe the inspiration for that record and how you came to know Peter Buck? And do you still have a relationship with him? I was fortunate to catch Filthy Friends a couple of years back and met him...I was shaking.
Random REM note -- I played my Spanish friend Lluis a selection of Decemberists tracks and when "Down by the Water" came on, he said "I love REM!". Heh. Then he said that in Spain they don't say R - E - M, they pronounce REM like we pronounce it in "REM sleep".
What is the basis of “Grace Cathedral Hill” (love the steel guitar on that one!). The Internet says it’s about the death of Carson’s father, but he seems to be very much alive.
Interesting! Nope, Bob Ellis is alive and kicking. That's about a New Years' Day (obv) spent walking around San Francisco in a (probably) hungover fog -- I think Jan 1 of 2001, in fact. Carson was heartbroken because she'd dumped (or had been dumped by, I don't remember) this guy she was seeing who had a motorcycle. But it's definitely about Carson and I, wandering around, just before we became sweethearts.
Hello! Are you concerned with your vocal chords? In the diaries, you made a number of references to the 2018 tour and this year's shows. Happy to hear you don't have polyps at least!
I've actually just returned from seeing my voice doctor. Pleased to report that the folds are moist and opaline -- in perfect working order. They just get worn down easier these days than they used to. I gotta start warming up into these tours like I was about to hike the Pacific Crest Trail or something...
Does Margaret actually *have* the baby in the Hazards of Love? I can never decide if she's just very pregnant in "Isn't It a Lovely Night," or she's actually got a baby with her. And if she did give birth, where does the baby end up after their tragic end?
There's an easter egg in Illimat, the game we made with Keith Baker that is loosely tied to Hazards, that I don't think *anyone* picked up on, and it's one that answers your question. There are eight Luminary cards in the set (I think), each one designed around a concept or character in the record. One of those cards is "The Newborn," which would suggest that, yes, the baby lives on!
Someone asked this at the preshow in DC and I believe the answer he gave was that the baby does survive. I don't remember what he said about what happens to the baby after. I remember as more of a joke comment he said the baby was carried down the river and became the infanta.
It's a nice change of pace from how babies and children usually end up in these songs!
Hi Colin, when you are close to finishing a song, do you have a sense of if it be one of your more popular pieces or is it often a surprise which songs resonate with your audience? (Loved your show in Boston by the way!)
I think most songs come out fighting for attention, even the slower ones. Otherwise, how would you finish it? I mean, of course there are songs that I know, from the get-go, that will be forever "deep cuts," but everyone needs deep cuts. If there weren't deep cuts, how would you know what the, I dunno, surface cuts were? But some songs have surprised me -- some songs I figured would always be odd men out, but end up being peoples' favorites. I think of "Sleepless" and "Record Year For Rainfall" -- and even "Mariner's Revenge Song," which was such an oddity on the record. It didn't really find its footing till we played it live and realized what fun it was.
I saw The Decemberists perform "Rox in the Box" in concert a few years ago, and you inserted a bridge live that I had never heard before. I can't remember the lyrics, and I haven't been able to find anything about the band always doing this at live shows or find anything else about it. To my ear, it had the sound of a traditional song, but I could be wrong. I've been curious what song was referenced or if it was original lyrics added ever since that night. Any insights?
That's Blackleg Miner, a song we learned from Steeleye Span, and one we recorded with Olivia Chaney as Offa Rex in -- what -- 2017? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAVKy9WUzeU
Nope. I don't think I've ever written a song that started out as a poem (other than adapting Sonnet from Dante). All my attempts at that have failed. No, they both started out as they all mostly do -- finding a direction, following a melody and a chord progression...
I genuinely got my covid jab thinking of Decemberists. 30 year needle phobia but figured we needed that pandemic over with as quickly as possible to get out on the road again.
I loved the general tone, the flatness of it, tbh. I felt very strange, very unsentimental -- which felt at odds with the subject matter. I loved the relationship of Axil and Beatrice, the dreamlike quality of the whole thing.
It WAS really flat! I felt like could feel that. And it was so sad to feel that blahness while also sensing the relationship of Axil and Beatrice being so much more than it was.
I have had a chance to play it, as a matter of fact. It sounds beautiful. It's an archtop, so it really sings. My first archtop, in fact. I'd been kind of looking around for one. Haven't recorded it yet, but that will be a cool experiment...
What exactly is the story behind Shiny? It seems rather cut and dry, but I’ve been researching the ancestry of the Romanichal side of my family and I was wondering what exactly drew you to the Romani community.
That thing was written in 2000/2001, before I really understood that the term "gypsy" was considered pejorative. I thought it was romantic. I'd just read "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and was all over the moon about partisans and revolutionaries and bohemians, and that's who my gypsy is, I think. But it's basically about a love affair, I think, between the author and this tawny gypsy girl, a kind of fey being, and their trysts underneath amusement park rides.
Thank you so much! It’s one of my father’s (and roommate’s) favorite songs. I appreciate your note about the pejorative nature of the word and time period, too. That’s miles more than other artists have done.
Helena Won't Get Stoned is one -- though I kind of regret that refrain/title. It was Eleanor Won't Get Stoned initially until I played it for a friend and he thought I'd said "Helena" -- I thought that was funny at the time and changed it, but now... eh.
Otherwise, Memorial Park gets namechecked in January Hymn, which is a kind of recollection of winter nights tearing around as a teenager
I actually really loved your memoir, Let It Be. My maid of honor was a classmate with Maile in Helena and I liked putting together her memories with yours into that setting of Helena.
I don't know what the progression is top of my head but the chord changes between verse and chorus always reminded me of Sister Nebrasks too, tho I never thought of the two as connected
Oh man, I don't really listen to podcasts! I listen to The Daily a lot, or at least I go in and out of listening to it. I listened to the first ep of The Best Show's "So Far" CSNY rabbit hole dive and loved it, got to get back to that. And then I'll say The Magnus Archives, because it's the show Hank is totally obsessed with.
I thought the first half of the Buried Giant was really good, but didn't you think that the final message was a bit obvious..? I'd be interested to hear what you think about Ishiguro's comment that he is writing the same story in different ways now. (cf 'Never Let Me Go' and 'Klara and The Sun').
I have always wondered if the songs Everything I Try to do, Grace Cathedral Hill, and Record Year were three parts to a story. Did they have inspiration from a common source? I’ve always heard them as a melancholy trilogy.
I read The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro on your recommendation a while ago. I loved it and have since read his Klara and the Sun. What's your take on the ending of The Buried Giant? I think about the book as a whole often; I need to read it again, but I've always been a little "... huh." about the ending.
What has your transition between song writing and more longform writing (your novels) been like for you? Did you find that it was an easy go between? Did one help the other? Do you find you enjoy one more than the other?
Just been so curious about your journey in that respect!
I feel like they really play off each other. There are times when I feel swamped and overburdened in the middle of a book and the suddenness and spontaneity of songwriting can feel like a real relief. Other times I might be stuck with songs, and living in the world of a book for a few pages can feel like progress...
Gotta run to an appt, but I'm gonna get back on in a bit and answer more... persist!
If you are still here passed Midnight UK time please wish me a happy birthday. Two score and a dozen since nobody asked.
Happy birthday, fellow machine shop scrap!
Happy Birthday, youngster.
I am curious!! Is there any connection between Alexandra, The Dowager Governess from Wildwood and the Forest Queen from The Hazards of Love? After reading Wildwood, now whenever I listen to The Hazards of Love, I always imagine her as the one singing.
Ok! That's all I can get to today, but let's do this again. Thanks for your questions! You guys are rad!
How can we get a collaboration between The Decemberists and the amazingly talented Carson Ellis for an adult coloring book featuring scenes from a variety of Decemberists songs?
...Maybe a page of Eli the Barrow Boy...
...or a delightful rendition of a confrontation inside the belly of a whale...
I know I would buy one.
How “old” is the ghost of Leslie Anne Levine? Should I be picturing an infant ghost or a petulant teen wandering around the castle walls?
This is a tough question -- and something I hadn't really considered until people here started pointing that out. Is Leslie Anne a baby still? And what I arrived at is that she has grown into a young woman ghost from her dead baby ghost form. I guess ghosts do that. Sometimes.
I was just pondering this question on Wednesday. Thanks for answering!
That ‘s how I pictured it initially. Recently I’ve been giggling about the absurdity of the alternative. I think this song would be a great candidate for a sequel. What happens to Leslie as her ghost advances into middle age? Shebangers want to know!
In your books, who would you say is the character you relate to most and which was was your favorite to write about? Also what's your favorite historical era?
Also, I would like to say, that as a Trans, Queer, and autistic kid, I really appreciate you showing genuine support for those communities. Even though it's practically the bare minimum support from people I idolize always makes me overjoyed and gives me hope for the future.
I pulled a lot from own life for Curtis from Wildwood -- also Archie in my most recent book.
Fave historical era: probably Great War era/Edwardian era. I dunno why.
I think the communities that you mention are humanity's lifeblood, whether humanity knows it or not!
Thank you for the response:D!!!
Favorite Fairport Convention song or album? Favorite Richard Thompson?
Fairport, it's gotta be Liege & Lief. Richard Thompson? Probably Bright Lights. Pretty vanilla choices, admittedly.
I just saw Thompson in concert for the first time. What a joy!
Did you see Richard Thompson's live stream during the pandemic? It was quite good, unsurprisingly.
I didn't! He played a local theater outside of Philly on Tuesday. He played for an hour and a half, mostly newer stuff, but he did do 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, which had a lovely tinge of nostalgia given his throaty, older voice (which is still such a luscious baritone).
What was the inspiration for On the Bus Mall?
I remember being on tour, walking somewhere on a day off, and I thinking about the bus mall in old town Portland, and how all bus malls everywhere are a kind of no-man's land, and thinking about the stories there. I liked the idea of exploring the inner lives and relationship of a couple of rentboys there, borrowing a bit from Morrissey's Picadilly Palare...
One of my favorites...certainly can see the Morrissey influence. Thanks for the response! Come to Cincinnati soon :-)
If you could replace the Mariner’s Revenge Song’s role in your oeuvre (oft-requested fan favorite that you have understandably grown weary of playing) with any other from your catalogue, which would you choose?
Ramifications: Mariner’s is refreshed to you and your band mates, but another must carry its burden.
I really enjoyed playing I Was Meant For the Stage in the latter part of this last tour. It scratches a similar itch in a different way...
Ooh this is a wonderful question!!
Hello Mr. Meloy,
I was wondering, what do you think about while singing? The imagery of the song, the next line, the feeling of it? Does it get monotonous singing the same songs repeatedly?
Thank you. I love all that you do.
-Connor
Interesting question! Sometimes the lines flow by like water in a river -- just muscle memory working. Sometimes I'll work them over in my mind as they go by. Sometimes I'm holding on for dear life, trying to get from one line to another without screwing up. Sometimes I'm thinking about where we'll be tomorrow and what I should do with myself.
Did you guys finish Season zero? Was there a redemption arc or was it a lost cause?
I don't know why I'm so invested in your pandemic legacy season zero game but here we are
Ha! We failed our second run through of October, that last night in Atlanta. It got pretty dismal -- almost comically so. We keep saying we're going to get together IRL (nontour real life) and finish it out, but I'm not sure when that's gonna happen.
Orate? I remember it so fondly, the online camaraderie. Every day I see the little brass whale and a the little ceramic handmade Colin I got from Christmas gift exchanges or other group events. It was fun. Thanks. Sue
Ah yes, the old message board days. I think social media kinda killed that one -- so many people orbited away.
I still have my cherished handmade, Decemberists-themed trinket box and a flip book that someone made me that revealed a scene from 16 military wives. I miss those exchanges!
So cool! And I think I recall your name:posts Missy. Hmmm, could be fun again…
My /orate handle was shazkitten.🙂 ahhhh those were the days….
I remember you! I think I was roustabout, but I didn't participate a lot. It felt pretty cliquey when I arrived.
I remember you! You came around kind of just after the major heydays, but you still contributed! Hope you’ve been well!🙂
I miss Orate!!! I was looking for it the other day and was sad to discover it no longer exists. So sad.
Hello! Any chance of that California One guitar tutorial? :)
Sure! I'll put it on deck.
Thank you!
oh, I appreciate this. I get as far as "drop-d, d-chord...stuff" but that's about it 😂
The new songs are the tour were great! Any plans forming for the next Decemberists album?
yes!
Wonderful! Any details you can share? 😉
Favorite Squeeze album? Song?
I'm an Eastside Story kinda guy. Favorite song? Has to be Up The Junction
One of the best "story songs" ever
My favorite as well. 👍
Great question! 😎
I found The Decemberists years ago through the Hunger Games soundtrack of all places. When invited to collaborate on a large movie soundtrack like that, how did you come up with the song? Were you told to write a song that correlates to the themes of the movie or did you already have a song half-written or fully written that was usable for the soundtrack?
Neat! I always wondered what kind of audience we would reach with that song. So that was wild ride -- initially the director had contacted me about possibly writing a song for Katniss to sing. That dissipated, somewhere, but we were still invited to write a song for the soundtrack. T. Bone Burnett was producing it. I had this song, "One Engine," kicking around and I revisited it, gave it a polish and a new chorus, and we recorded it in a couple days with Burnett and his engineer at Tucker Martine's Flora Studios. It was cool! It was fun!
As a songwriter and artist, how do you feel about performers that cover your songs? I’ve covered around 45-50 at various live and Zoom open mics to good responses.
Bonus question: on your song Greetings From Anonymity, what is the third line of the third verse (starting with “Got stuck on a ???”). I just couldn’t quite make it out off the recording! Thank you.
I am flattered if anyone chooses to cover one of my songs.
I believe it's "Got stuck on a cross at Calvary." y'know, some crucifixion metaphors being thrown about
How do we keep bloodhounds from breaking into a fenced garden and stealing strawberries and tomatoes?
I'll take my answer in the form of a song, thank you.
🤣
Any plans to release a live album from the Arise from the Bunkers tour?
Maybe! We recorded all the shows. Still determining what's next in the Live Home Library, so you never know if one might show up there.
Would really love to have the version of Severed you played at the Edgefield!
I'd love if you released live shows to download each tour, like Pearl Jam or Springsteen. Great souvenir and nice to look back on over time. Also would love a vinyl of course.
Some bands tour for months at a time, it seems the Decemberists tour more frequently but for shorter time. What limits the length of a tour for you? Wear and tear on voice? Time away from home? Bad parts of touring begin to exceed fun parts?
All of the above. We decided a long time ago -- maybe around 2008-9 -- that 3-4 weeks was *plenty* for a tour leg. Beyond that, you start to lose it. So we're judicious about our time away (and getting ever moreso).
Is it too early to ask when your next music tour (whether with the Decemberists or solo) will be? So excited to read the new book. My kiddo and I are just finishing Wildwood 3!
I'm not sure! There's work to be done away from the road right now. It was good to get that tour off our chests, after all these years. I think the next step is making new music -- and inevitably a tour will follow!
Can't wait for the music! I hope the mellow Wolf Trap crowd doesn't keep you from the D.C. area whenever the next tour is. Thank you for all you do.
I've been thinking the same thing since we saw them there! 😆
Well, drat. I was hoping the late summer run was Part 1 to be followed by Part 2 in the spring, as it seemed the Atlanta date would have been followed by a run back up the east coast states (I'm in NC and was holding out for a date here in Raleigh/Durham).
Hey Colin, had a question about the King is Dead sessions...I remember listening to it for the first time and really hearing the Peter Buck "REM" influence...As a giant REM fan, I honestly wasn't sure what to make of it at first. After several listens, I was completely in. Can you describe the inspiration for that record and how you came to know Peter Buck? And do you still have a relationship with him? I was fortunate to catch Filthy Friends a couple of years back and met him...I was shaking.
Random REM note -- I played my Spanish friend Lluis a selection of Decemberists tracks and when "Down by the Water" came on, he said "I love REM!". Heh. Then he said that in Spain they don't say R - E - M, they pronounce REM like we pronounce it in "REM sleep".
Are there more dead bodies at the end of the average John Wick film or the average Decemberists album?
Surely there’s no such thing as an average Decemberists album?
Point taken, Deryck. And the deaths are infinitely more interesting.
How did you get involved in the Parks & Recreation tv show concert?
What is the basis of “Grace Cathedral Hill” (love the steel guitar on that one!). The Internet says it’s about the death of Carson’s father, but he seems to be very much alive.
Interesting! Nope, Bob Ellis is alive and kicking. That's about a New Years' Day (obv) spent walking around San Francisco in a (probably) hungover fog -- I think Jan 1 of 2001, in fact. Carson was heartbroken because she'd dumped (or had been dumped by, I don't remember) this guy she was seeing who had a motorcycle. But it's definitely about Carson and I, wandering around, just before we became sweethearts.
It always felt like a love song to San Francisco to me. But curious too.
Hello! Are you concerned with your vocal chords? In the diaries, you made a number of references to the 2018 tour and this year's shows. Happy to hear you don't have polyps at least!
I've actually just returned from seeing my voice doctor. Pleased to report that the folds are moist and opaline -- in perfect working order. They just get worn down easier these days than they used to. I gotta start warming up into these tours like I was about to hike the Pacific Crest Trail or something...
Lol "moist and opaline" is a Colin Meloy lyric if I ever heard one.
Literally thought the same thing, and then saw your comment 😂. Sounds like it belongs in Philomena.
Do you have any Portland based voice coaches you'd recommend?
Does Margaret actually *have* the baby in the Hazards of Love? I can never decide if she's just very pregnant in "Isn't It a Lovely Night," or she's actually got a baby with her. And if she did give birth, where does the baby end up after their tragic end?
There's an easter egg in Illimat, the game we made with Keith Baker that is loosely tied to Hazards, that I don't think *anyone* picked up on, and it's one that answers your question. There are eight Luminary cards in the set (I think), each one designed around a concept or character in the record. One of those cards is "The Newborn," which would suggest that, yes, the baby lives on!
Someone asked this at the preshow in DC and I believe the answer he gave was that the baby does survive. I don't remember what he said about what happens to the baby after. I remember as more of a joke comment he said the baby was carried down the river and became the infanta.
It's a nice change of pace from how babies and children usually end up in these songs!
I love the idea of Margaret's baby becoming the Infanta :D So many "Moses" babies in Decemberists songs!
Hi Colin, when you are close to finishing a song, do you have a sense of if it be one of your more popular pieces or is it often a surprise which songs resonate with your audience? (Loved your show in Boston by the way!)
I think most songs come out fighting for attention, even the slower ones. Otherwise, how would you finish it? I mean, of course there are songs that I know, from the get-go, that will be forever "deep cuts," but everyone needs deep cuts. If there weren't deep cuts, how would you know what the, I dunno, surface cuts were? But some songs have surprised me -- some songs I figured would always be odd men out, but end up being peoples' favorites. I think of "Sleepless" and "Record Year For Rainfall" -- and even "Mariner's Revenge Song," which was such an oddity on the record. It didn't really find its footing till we played it live and realized what fun it was.
I saw The Decemberists perform "Rox in the Box" in concert a few years ago, and you inserted a bridge live that I had never heard before. I can't remember the lyrics, and I haven't been able to find anything about the band always doing this at live shows or find anything else about it. To my ear, it had the sound of a traditional song, but I could be wrong. I've been curious what song was referenced or if it was original lyrics added ever since that night. Any insights?
That's Blackleg Miner, a song we learned from Steeleye Span, and one we recorded with Olivia Chaney as Offa Rex in -- what -- 2017? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAVKy9WUzeU
Thank you!
It memory serves it was probably a bit of Blackleg Miner! Traditional folk song that Offa Rex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen_of_Hearts_(album) put out. Cool album.
Thanks!
I've always wondered: did "January Hymn" and "June Hymn" start out as poems rather than songs?
Nope. I don't think I've ever written a song that started out as a poem (other than adapting Sonnet from Dante). All my attempts at that have failed. No, they both started out as they all mostly do -- finding a direction, following a melody and a chord progression...
Please please please will you do a UK tour again soon?
I genuinely got my covid jab thinking of Decemberists. 30 year needle phobia but figured we needed that pandemic over with as quickly as possible to get out on the road again.
I want to ask this, as a Shebanger, what did you love about The Buried Giant? I read it and I feel like I've missed something.
I loved the general tone, the flatness of it, tbh. I felt very strange, very unsentimental -- which felt at odds with the subject matter. I loved the relationship of Axil and Beatrice, the dreamlike quality of the whole thing.
It WAS really flat! I felt like could feel that. And it was so sad to feel that blahness while also sensing the relationship of Axil and Beatrice being so much more than it was.
Thank you for putting that into words.
In Nashville you purchased the new guitar, have you had a chance to play it? How was the sound and feel?
I have had a chance to play it, as a matter of fact. It sounds beautiful. It's an archtop, so it really sings. My first archtop, in fact. I'd been kind of looking around for one. Haven't recorded it yet, but that will be a cool experiment...
Awesome thank you for the response!
What exactly is the story behind Shiny? It seems rather cut and dry, but I’ve been researching the ancestry of the Romanichal side of my family and I was wondering what exactly drew you to the Romani community.
That thing was written in 2000/2001, before I really understood that the term "gypsy" was considered pejorative. I thought it was romantic. I'd just read "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and was all over the moon about partisans and revolutionaries and bohemians, and that's who my gypsy is, I think. But it's basically about a love affair, I think, between the author and this tawny gypsy girl, a kind of fey being, and their trysts underneath amusement park rides.
Thank you so much! It’s one of my father’s (and roommate’s) favorite songs. I appreciate your note about the pejorative nature of the word and time period, too. That’s miles more than other artists have done.
Any songs/characters inspired by our hometown of Helena :)
Helena Won't Get Stoned is one -- though I kind of regret that refrain/title. It was Eleanor Won't Get Stoned initially until I played it for a friend and he thought I'd said "Helena" -- I thought that was funny at the time and changed it, but now... eh.
Otherwise, Memorial Park gets namechecked in January Hymn, which is a kind of recollection of winter nights tearing around as a teenager
I actually really loved your memoir, Let It Be. My maid of honor was a classmate with Maile in Helena and I liked putting together her memories with yours into that setting of Helena.
Helena Won't Get Stoned comes to mind...
what are some great names for geese?
Was Down on the Knuckle a continuation of Tarkio’s Sister Nebraska?
Interesting. That is a parallel i had not seen. How do you reckon? I don't see them connected, tbh.
The lyrics “Sylvia knows a little hideaway” makes me think she’s the companion in Sister Nebraska going across country seeing the countryside.
I figured that was a Sylvia Plath reference!
I don't know what the progression is top of my head but the chord changes between verse and chorus always reminded me of Sister Nebrasks too, tho I never thought of the two as connected
What is your favorite album cover art, Decemberists or non?
I think my favorite Decemberists record cover is What A Terrible World...
Non-Decemberists? Probably The Pogues' Rum Sodomy and the Lash
What are your 3 favorite podcasts? Besides old bright, i already listen, ha ha i am looking for good listening!
Oh man, I don't really listen to podcasts! I listen to The Daily a lot, or at least I go in and out of listening to it. I listened to the first ep of The Best Show's "So Far" CSNY rabbit hole dive and loved it, got to get back to that. And then I'll say The Magnus Archives, because it's the show Hank is totally obsessed with.
How about Death in the West? Show Butte some love!
Thanks Colin, the Daily is excellent!
what glasses do you wear?
Wow -- the 2nd glasses question! O'Malleys from Oliver Peoples if you must know. + it has a fitted sunglasses clip.
What books are on your bedside table??
Top shelf: The Mists of Avalon, last week's New Yorker
2nd shelf: August 1914 by Solzhenitsyn
3rd shelf: LeGuin's Earthsea books in one volume, the Book of Three, and the Hobbit (I think these last three are all Milo bedtime readalouds)
Which is your favourite Earthsea book? And what do you think ogf the Gormenghast trilogy? Was Titus Alone a book too far?
Hi Colin, what made you choose the River Annan for the Hazards of Love setting?
Because Hazards of Love was a cobbling together of various folk song motifs, that was one that I stole from Nic Jones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzo7fADr_50
"And woe betide you Annan Water
At nights you are a gloomy river,
And over you I'll build a bridge
That never more true love may sever."
Favorite non-fiction books? Favorite fiction?
Nonfiction: The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell
The Reason I Jump, Naoki Higashida
Fiction: The Buried Giant by Ishiguro
Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
I thought the first half of the Buried Giant was really good, but didn't you think that the final message was a bit obvious..? I'd be interested to hear what you think about Ishiguro's comment that he is writing the same story in different ways now. (cf 'Never Let Me Go' and 'Klara and The Sun').
I’ve actually got Paul Fussell on my reading list, specifically “Doing Battle” and “The Boys Crusade.”
I’m a sucker for American WW2 History/Memoirs
I have always wondered if the songs Everything I Try to do, Grace Cathedral Hill, and Record Year were three parts to a story. Did they have inspiration from a common source? I’ve always heard them as a melancholy trilogy.
Where in the greater Portland area should I go for dinner this weekend?
I read The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro on your recommendation a while ago. I loved it and have since read his Klara and the Sun. What's your take on the ending of The Buried Giant? I think about the book as a whole often; I need to read it again, but I've always been a little "... huh." about the ending.
Hi Colin!!
What has your transition between song writing and more longform writing (your novels) been like for you? Did you find that it was an easy go between? Did one help the other? Do you find you enjoy one more than the other?
Just been so curious about your journey in that respect!
I feel like they really play off each other. There are times when I feel swamped and overburdened in the middle of a book and the suddenness and spontaneity of songwriting can feel like a real relief. Other times I might be stuck with songs, and living in the world of a book for a few pages can feel like progress...
Love that. Thank you!
No question today, but thanks for the offer. Heading to see Roxy Music tonight. Can’t wait.
Would you like a King or Queen rather than a President?
First time long time. Being a fiery furnaces fan I was wondering if you had any stories with Eleanor Friedburger from your 2018 tour
I don't really, other than Eleanor was such a great tourmate. She's super sweet and down to earth.
I loved Fugue State. Any chance of future sessions?
Maybe! I think the audience was terribly small, it didn't really warrant the effort and scheduling being put into it. But it was super fun.