Picaresque
The Decemberists
Open iTunes to preview, buy, and download music.
| Name | Artist | Time | Price | ||
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1 |
The Infanta | The Decemberists | 5:07 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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2 |
We Both Go Down Together | The Decemberists | 3:04 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Eli, the Barrow Boy | The Decemberists | 3:11 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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4 |
The Sporting Life | The Decemberists | 4:38 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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5 |
The Bagman's Gambit | The Decemberists | 7:02 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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6 |
From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea) | The Decemberists | 3:42 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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7 |
16 Military Wives | The Decemberists | 4:52 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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8 |
The Engine Driver | The Decemberists | 4:15 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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9 |
On the Bus Mall | The Decemberists | 6:04 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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10 |
The Mariner's Revenge Song | The Decemberists | 8:45 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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11 |
Of Angels and Angles | The Decemberists | 2:27 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
| Total: 11 Songs |
iTunes Review
Decemberists' lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy likes a good put-on. He's less the leader of a five-piece indie-rock band from Portland, Oregon than the high-school theater director of "South Pacific" gone stark, raving mad. For his band's third album, Picaresque, Meloy continues his obsession with life's quirky characters - suicides, military wives, failed athletes - setting their unfortunate tales to music that recalls the rushing waves of the sea and the ornate production principles of '60s psychedelia. He can be too precious ("Of Angels and Angles" wouldn't impress a dyslexic), but he often imbues his characters with a humanity and self-knowledge that make them sympathetic in their ambitions ("The Sporting Life"). Picaresque was recorded over three weeks in a former Baptist church and features a grand sound - with fourteen guest musicians on trumpet, trombone, and something called "The Worm Hole," - that lends even the darkest tale a circus-like enthusiasm and festivity. Whether these are all shaggy-dog stories or genuine tales of heartache and woe, Meloy is one of the few songwriters who goes beyond his thesaurus to capture a world where "folderol" can be rhymed with "chaparral" without blushing.
Customer Reviews
So Good, I Stopped Writing Songs
Maybe, maybe once a year you come across an album that makes you realize as a songwriter "I will never be this good and I should quit now." If the Decemberists never become big as REM (and they probably wont), then you again realize, A. The world doesnt want quality, and B. So why bother. Decemberists Colin Meloy is a masterful storyteller, reminiscent of another musical storytelling genius left, Robyn Hitchcock. Why he gets criticized for doing what Hitchcock or Michael Stipe have done for years is beyond me. The guy read a book, so he gets stuck in the eye for it. The Decemberists are so uniquely refreshing because they resist the cliche requisite that artists are supposed to wear their emotions on their sleeve. These are not Top 40 buffoons who let us into their "raw" personal intimate thoughts which only reveal how shallow and moronic those artists are.. Instead, the Decemberists return music to what it does best - storytelling in tradition of Tom Waits and the Beatles Rubber Soul/Seargent Peppers. Finally, an album where we dont have to suffer "artists" whining about their one-dimensional, inarticulate feelings, which always sounds in the end like a high school kid's lame diary entry anyway. The Decemberists are one of the only bands left for grown ups.
The Best of 2005?
I really can't think of an album that does a better job of conjuring up such wonderful images in ones mind as you listen to it. Each track is incredibly evocative of a scene... from the spy-tales of 'The Bagman's Gambit', through the Victorian seaman life of 'The Mariner's Revenge', to the incredibly clever anti-war protest song '16 Military Wives'. It seems the Decemberists have produced the best of their career in Picaresque: it's varied, imaginative, and musically excellent. Overall making the album great fun to listen to - and one of the best of 2005.
Good
Colin Meloy seems to have realized that if Homer were alive today, he'd be a rock star. And, even if he's never thought that, his songs are in an Homeric tradition. Best example: "The Bagman's Gambit" where he manages to write a song about espionage that avoids being a send-up, is exciting as the subject and actually manages a few notes of emotional genuinity. The criticism of The Decemberists will be that the music is too much; too overstuffed with words and overblown with heightened emotion. Which is true, but also why it's so damned refreshing. It's music for people who don't need the creative cynicism of pop music or the actual cyncism of the past 15 years of alternative music.
Biography
Formed: 2000 in Portland, OR
Genre: Alternative
Years Active: '00s, '10s
Top Albums and Songs By The Decemberists
| Name | Album | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 |
Down By the Water | The King Is Dead | 3:41 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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2 |
This Is Why We Fight | The King Is Dead | 5:30 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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3 |
Here I Dreamt I was an Architect | Castaways and Cutouts | 4:29 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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4 |
July, July! | Castaways and Cutouts | 2:53 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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5 |
16 Military Wives | Picaresque | 4:52 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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6 |
Calamity Song | The King Is Dead | 3:48 | $1.29 | View In iTunes |
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7 |
California One / Youth and Beauty Brigade | Castaways and Cutouts | 9:50 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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8 |
The Mariner's Revenge Song | Picaresque | 8:45 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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9 |
The Legionnaire's Lament | Castaways and Cutouts | 4:44 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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10 |
The Engine Driver | Picaresque | 4:15 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
- $9.99
- Genres: Alternative, Music, Indie Rock, Pop, Pop/Rock
- Released: Mar 22, 2005
- ℗ 2005 Kill Rock Stars
