I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: THE DECEMBERISTS-Castaways and Cutouts (2002) & Her Majesty (2003) & Picaresque (2005) & 5 Songs (2003) & Billy Liar [single] (2004) & The Tain (2004).

The Decemberists were, in fact, the soundtrack for this book. The last 250 pages were accompanied by the entire Decemberists catalog [excepting The Crane Wife, which was out in the car]. Whether or not it was a good choice, I feel that it certainly set a mood for the book.

I feel that the Decemberists have been part of my cultural landscape for many years. Their name seemed to pop up from time to time in a way that said I should check them out. And yet I resisted. No real reason why; I just did. And then when Picaresque came out and was so widely applauded, I thought I would need to hear for myself what this band was about. I was immediately smitten: by the tunes, by his voice, by the subject matter. Everything. Such an odd band, yet so smart, so literate, so edifying. They are truly one of the great storytelling bands.

Castaways and Cutouts. The Decemberists’ first album is a statement of purpose. From the opening of “Leslie Anne Levine,” you know what the band is going to be like. Colin Meloy’s voice right up front, unusual (for a rock band) instruments, fine melody, and a sad, cautionary tale (in this case about a girl born at nine and dead at noon). For such a bummer song, the chorus is fantasically catchy… and so goes the rest of the album. A great starting point for any potential fan.

Her Majesty. The Decemberists’s follow-up seems to be the first time Meloy and company thought about crafting a single. And they hit big with two of them: “Billy Liar” and “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” (one of my favorite Decemberists songs). There are some other great songs on this one as well, such as “I Was Meant for the Stage,” and “The Chimbley Sweep” (a song that is running through my head as I type). Somehow, despite these great songs, I find Castaways and Cutouts better overall.

Picaresque. And so it began. This was the first Decemberists that I bought. And I was really hooked right away. Overall, the album is a little faster, and, dare I say, poppier than the others. “The Sporting Life” and “The Bus Mall” come very close to being upbeat and happy, even! This is not to say that it is a pop album. The subject matter is still pretty unusual (seafaring and what not) with well written and non-cliched lyrics. For me, the true highlight is “The Mariner’s Revenge Song,” nearly nine minutes of an epic story of death and revenge on the high seas. No matter how many times I hear it, the story never gets old, and the song can still raise hairs on the back of my neck.

5 Songs. This is an EP released before Castaways. As you might expect, it is a little bit less than the glorious whole that became The Decemberists. Nevertheless, it is still a fun piece of music. I especially like the 6th song (“Apology Song”) which is, as the title suggests, and apology to his friend Steven for allowing his bike to be stolen.

Billy Liar [single]. A four song single, with “Billy Liar” and “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” and 2 B-sides.

The Tain. This is an EP based on a violent saga of pre-Christian Ireland, that I had to read in high school. I didn’t like the story, as it was long and epic, but I like this EP, because it is long and epic. It’s a 20 minute song in 5 parts. The musical theme of the piece resurfaces many times, but the piece is quite raw and angry for The Decemberists (as you might expect for a pre-Christian epic). Not the first place to start with the Decemberists, but if you like them, don’t pass this one up!

[READ: July 21-24 2007]. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

Phew. Three days. And, boy was it worth ignoring everything else in my life (including my wife, who was ignoring me as she finished it an hour before I did) to finish it! Fear not, gentle reader: NO SPOILERS! I will not give anything away. I will say only that this book was fantastic. The pacing was excellent; the excitement was palpable; the chapter endings were such great cliffhangers, that I could barely put the book down! I do admit that one of my main reasons for flying through the book was so that I didn’t hear any spoilers ahead of time; however, I was totally hooked, and stayed up till absurd hours of the night each night, trying to finish. And, of course, I haven’t seen or heard a spoiler at all, which I think is very sporting of everyone.

One particularly nice feature of the book is the way Rowling ties up all of the possible threads that you can imagine. If you had a minor character that you were rooting for since book three, that character shows up in this book. I myself was delighted by the reappearance of Buckbeak. And even after some 3,500 pages of HP…. Lo, a new character pops out of the woodwork (Or the floo, I suppose)

I had originally hoped to reread 1-6 before starting 7, obviously, that didn’t happen; so I don’t have the freshest memory of what was going on…there were definitely times when I wondered… “and who was that again?” Of course, we had also just seen HP 5, the movie, which was immensely helpful for reminding us who these people were! Some kind of index would have been really helpful, though. Or she just assumed that her readers are fanatics who can cope with all of these characters for all of those years.

I feel in some way defensive about enjoying the series so much, and yet I can think of no one who is actively against the series, or who thinks it’s all hogwash. Nevertheless, I want to add a kudos and three cheers to JK for creating a superb character and a great series. It was a great ride!