Suggested playlist, consisting solely of songs by colin meloy and the decemberists. Beginning with their first album, 2002s castaways and cutouts, colin meloy and crew sang in ornate vocabulary of archaic characters. The decemberists upcoming album, the crane wife, is thematically. The crane wife 3, which tells the tragic end of the tale is the album opener.
Meloy well, with the crane wife songs, i started out wanting it to be one song, and that was what became the crane wife 2. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica and percussion instruments. The crane wife colin meloy the decemberists busking. Oct 03, 2006 national public radio listeners voted the crane wife the best album of 2006. Colin meloy on how signing to a major label impacted his bands exquisite the crane wife, why it isnt a concept album, and his love of narrative lyrics. Colin meloy on how signing to a major label impacted his bands exquisite the crane wife, why it isnt a concept album, and his love. Oct 03, 2006 the crane wife employs an impressive variety of styles and sounds to tell meloy s imaginative stories. The decemberists songs of colin meloy a collection of. The books will be illustrated by meloys wife, carson ellis, the artist who designed covers for several decemberists albums, including the crane wife and the hazards of love.
Colin meloys theatrical and hyperliterate band makes an unexpected move to capitol records, and delivers a record that matches the ambition. This time, he says, the songs share a mood thats steeped in our current times and conditionexuberant. The band offered a song based on the fable of the crane wife on their 2006 album of. Official site with biography, discography, contact information, tour dates, photos, press, merchandise, and links. Colin meloy the decemberists interview 2007 scott nygaard. Apr 29, 2010 the books will be illustrated by meloys wife, carson ellis, the artist who designed covers for several decemberists albums, including the crane wife and the hazards of love.
The crane wife patrick ness read online free books. If ever a was a singer born to write ya novels, it is colin meloy. The crane wife employs an impressive variety of styles and sounds to tell meloys imaginative stories. But i was never really satisfied with that song on its own. In addition to his vocal duties, he plays acoustic guitar, 12string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, and percussion.
The decemberists colin meloy on chart success and chicken. Decemberists push the envelope on crane wife billboard. Performing a solo acoustic set for kexps day stage at the ace hotel, new york for cmj 2010. Meloy s gift for memorable, lovely melodies made what could be rather.
Decemberists prep crane wife box set with linmanuel miranda essay indie folk outfit collects colin meloy demos, unreleased outtakes, alternate versions for fivelp set. Colin patrick henry meloy born october 5, 1974 is an american musician, singersongwriter and author best known as the frontman of the portland, oregon, indie folk rock band the decemberists. Colin meloy isnt a goodreads author, but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed. And as frontman for the decemberists, indie rocks most wellread band, hes been forever flogged for it.
Jan 25, 2007 the decemberists, the crane wife 4 5 stars 4. Writing a book or something, you wouldnt very often return to the material. Colin meloy writes songs with intelligence, and i appreciate that. That was the title of the decemberists 2005 kill rock stars album, which came complete with such arcana as a barrow boy, an infanta and a veranda. Nesss novel is prefaced with a quote from the pop band the decemberists an avowed inspiration, he tells us in his afterword and all the more appropriate given that their lead singer, colin meloy, published his own work of ya fantasy, wildwood, in 2011.
Colin meloys ageless voice is entirely unchanged, as purely iron and sharp not in pitch, but in feel youll know it when you hear it as ever before. Oct 03, 2006 the crane wife 3, which tells the tragic end of the tale is the album opener. The man was now naked from the waist up, kneeling in frozen grass, on a clear night in a cold season that could very well kill him if he stayed. The crane acquiesced with an ease that terrified him, but he could still see it breathing, its chest rising and falling, more rapidly than seemed right but at least still alive. Throughout, bandleader colin meloys evocative, literary songwriting drew from imagery of violence and death, wedding the legend of the crane wife to the historical import of the american civil war, world war ii. Their albums do not cover the typical contemporary topics of getting drunk, getting laid and breaking up. Meloy is calling the series wildwood, a classic tale of adventure, magic and danger, set in an alternate version of modernday portland, ore. Description provided by wikipedia under creative commons attribution ccbysa 4. I actually scrapped it and started working on a different version, which became the crane wife 1, and i thought maybe they would work together. The decemberists album, the crane wife, is thematically based on a tragic japanese folk tale, but band leader colin meloy promises a fair dose of rocknroll, rape, murder and violence as well. He kicked off the book tour as the keynote of the ajc decatur book festival on september 2, 2011. Out today in fine indie and otherwise bookstores, online, airmail, whathaveyou. Jim palermo introjoe shanahan introdecemberists intro 02. The set is the fivesomes fourth fulllength and their first since moving over to a major label from kill rock stars.
The decemberists have carved out a unique aesthetic. The crane wife, picaresque, her majesty and castaways and cutouts plus non lp extras. The set is the fivesomes fourth fulllength and their first since moving over to a. Come and see the landlords daughteryoull not feel the drowning duration. The decemberists colin meloy picks the decemberists best songs. Colin meloy was born on october 5, 1974 in helena, montana, usa. Colin meloy of the decemberists on the classic crane wife. The album cover was designed by the portland artist carson ellis, colin meloy s wife, who has created artwork for each of the bands albums. Husband and wife duo, author colin meloy and illustrator carson ellis, discuss wildwood, the first in a new series of middlegrade adventure novels that juxtapose the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Oct 23, 2010 performing a solo acoustic set for kexps day stage at the ace hotel, new york for cmj 2010. He is an actor, known for wildwood, parks and recreation 2009 and portlandia 2011.
The decemberists the crane wife 2006, vinyl discogs. Before illustrating the new wildwood books with colin meloy, artist carson ellis created images for several decemberists album covers, including the crane wife. Carson ellis is also an editorial illustrator and fine artist, having worked for the new york times, the new yorker, and poetry magazine. Everything exists in wartime in our songs portland indie hero talks about the 10thanniversary deluxe box set of the decemberists. The decemberists album, the crane wife, is thematically based on a tragic japanese folk tale, but band leader colin meloy promises a fair dose of rock n roll, rape, murder and violence as well. Colin meloy looks inward on the decemberists what a. The decemberists colin meloy on chart success and chicken feed michael hann after their last album debuted at no 1 in the us, portlands. The decemberists, the crane wife music the guardian. The chapter, like many in the book, consists almost entirely of. Colin patrick henry meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the portland, oregon folkrock band the decemberists. Meloy released a sequel, under wildwood, in 2012, and the third book in the series, wildwood imperium.
The crane wife in the lyrically impaired altrock world, colin meloy is lionized for his literary prowess because his reading predates bret easton ellis and he knows what picaresque means. Oct 25, 2016 decemberists prep crane wife box set with linmanuel miranda essay indie folk outfit collects colin meloy demos, unreleased outtakes, alternate versions for fivelp set. After he releases the crane, a woman appears at his doorstep with whom he falls in love. The album cover was designed by the portland artist carson ellis, colin meloys wife, who has created artwork for each of the bands albums. Meloys gift for memorable, lovely melodies made what. The reasons behind this segmented and reversed telling of the story were revealved in colin meloys recent ama on. He thought it might be time to take a break and spend more time on a single project. Learn more about the decemberists background, music, side projects, and career. The crane wife by the decemberists album, folk rock. The decemberists, american indierock group known for its highly stylized, literate songs, notably the mariners revenge song, an eightminute epic in the style of a sea shanty, and the ballads on the crane wife. The crane wife colin meloy the decemberists busking in. Frontman colin meloy often wound poetic narratives that always felt. Out today in fine indie and otherwise bookstores, online.
The crane wife, on capitol records, is the decemberists major label debut and most sonically ambitious album to date. Theres the bands usual folkrock, honed to an incisively sharp point, but they also deploy. It brings out the malvina reynolds, pete seeger, bob dylan, gordon lightfoot, donovan leitch whom i got to talk to in dingle ireland in 2012, and peter, paul and mary of my generation. The wildwood chronicles, illustrated by ellis and written by her husband, musician colin. The crane wife is the fourth album by the decemberists, released in 2006. But the crane wife also includes some of the decemberists most catchy and accessible pop tunes. Club last spoke to colin meloy, singersongwriterfrontman of the notoriously idiosyncratic altrock band the decemberists, he was musing over his groups whirlwind run of four albums, a handful of eps, a series of tours, and a jump to a major label, all in just five years. Jan 08, 2015 the decemberists colin meloy on chart success and chicken feed michael hann after their last album debuted at no 1 in the us, portlands indiefolk rockers disappeared for four years. Meloy made his debut as a childrens writer with wildwood, illustrated by his wife, carson ellis.
Decemberists singer inks kids book about pete seeger. Dec 12, 2016 colin meloy of the decemberists on the classic crane wife. The crane wife also marked the decemberists majorlabel debut. As the decemberists the crane wife celebrates 10 years. My first read of 2012 is wildwood by colin meloy, lead singer and songwriter of quirky band, the decemberists. The crane wife 3 based on a japanese folk tale, the jangly oh valencia. Everyones awake my new picture book, illustrated by the very great shawn harris. Jan 01, 2006 national public radio listeners voted the crane wife the best album of 2006. Kexp and free yr radio present the decemberists colin meloy performing all three parts of the crane wife live on kexp from the ace.
The golden thread will be a kidfriendly biography of. The best new childrens books how the gilded age got that way. Previous decemberists records like the hazards of love or the crane wife have been structured around thematic or musical concepts, though meloy maintains that ultimately, its always our frame of mind that ties them together. Id just spent 20 minutes speaking on the phone with colin meloy about his latest projects. Colin meloys ageless voice is entirely unchanged, as purely iron and sharp not in pitch, but in feel.
Colin meloy of the decemberists may live on a farm outside of portland and write childrens books, but dont put him in a flannel box. Mar 09, 2012 anyone who has listened to the decemberists knows their penchant for storytelling. The wildwood chronicles, illustrated by ellis and written by her husband, musician colin meloy, was a bestselling series for middlegrade readers. The decemberists album, the crane wife, is thematically based on a tragic japanese folk tale, but band leader colin meloy promises a fair dose of rocknroll.
While there are many variations of the tale, a common version is that a poor man finds an injured crane on his doorstep or outside with an arrow in it, takes it in and nurses it back to health. The previous decemberists cd, the critically lionized concept album the crane wife 2006, mashed up japanese folklore and shakespeares the tempest, giving meloy the opportunity to rhyme. The crane wife is his grandest enterprise yet, partly. Plastic bag in the tree flash hawk parlour ensemble. The books will be illustrated by meloys wife, carson. As the decemberists the crane wife celebrates 10 years, colin. Instead they draw their inspiration from fables, such as the crane wife. The last great book i read was hunger by elise blackwell.
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