The Decemberists

:This article is about the indie rock band The Decemberists. See Decembrist Revolt for the failed revolt against Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in December 1825.

Related Topics:
Decembrist Revolt - Nicholas I of Russia

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The Decemberists are an indie pop band from Portland, Oregon. Their songs range from upbeat pop to slower, instrumentally lush arrangements. In their lyrics, they eschew the angst and introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach with lines like "My mother was a Chinese trapeze artist / In pre-war Paris / Smuggling bombs for the underground" (from "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist", on 5 Songs) and "We are two mariners / Our ship's sole survivors / Inside this belly of a whale / Its ribs our ceiling beams / Its guts our carpeting / I guess we have some time to kill" ("The Mariner's Revenge Song", from Picaresque). Their songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect") to epic ("The Tain") to truly dark ("Odalisque").

Related Topics:
Indie pop - Portland, Oregon

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While they boast a genuinely original sound (which often features the accordion), their demeanor and approach often finds The Decemberists compared to Neutral Milk Hotel. Many reviewers and fans categorize the band as pirate rock (due to alleged pirate themes in the music), a characterization that lead singer Colin Meloy disputes http://www.dailynexus.com/artsweek/2004/6445.html.

Related Topics:
Accordion - Neutral Milk Hotel - Pirate rock - Pirate - Colin Meloy

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In March 2005, the Decemberists were reportedly the first band to distribute a music video, the self-produced 16 Military Wives (for the song of the same name off of Picaresque), via BitTorrent. http://decemberists.com/16mw-torrent.html That same month, the band's gear trailer was stolen; fans contributed to a replacement fund, and another fund-raiser was organized via eBay auction.

Related Topics:
March - 2005 - BitTorrent - EBay

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