Okay. I'm listening to The Decemberists.

[leftofthedial]

What the fuck is a crane wife?

[Tsiyu]

1. I think their album is based on a folktale of the Crane Wife

maybe Japanese or Chinese.




I heard an interview with them recently and I can't recall everything, but seems like that's the basis for the songs...

[leftofthedial]

3. so, in effect, it doesn't mean anything in particular

then. At least to the target audience of a Capitol Records audience.

I like the song and most of the album.

Reminds me of The Strawbs.

[Tsiyu]

5. Here's the wiki story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crane_Wife


I like them okay. Have heard most of the cuts on this album and it has a draw, but not what i would listen to much.

[leftofthedial]

6. sometimes (like all the fucking time) you just have to wonder

what the fuck the major label A&R people are thinking.

I like the CD okay, but they strike me as a cool indie band.

But then WTF do I know.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Who knows?

I haven't been able to get into the Decemberists at all. I find them vaguely annoying, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. (I think the lead singer's slightly nasal tenor has something to do with it; is there some sort of CONSPIRACY in indie rock that says male singers HAVE to be tenors, and they have to either sing through their noses or else sound like they're impersonating Morrissey with a bad head cold? It certainly seems like it...)

[leftofthedial]

4. Personally, I blame the spectacular disappearance

of the Crash Test Dummies for the bland tenorness of indie singers.

But I actually kid of like the Decemberists. I did get a little annoyed and bored along about track 6 or 7, but then I'm drinking gin instead of whiskey tonight and that always makes me kind of mean.

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. It's not just the voices, though...

the music generally seems a bit too twee and precious and overly-mannered; there don't seem to be that many "indie rock" bands that actually, you know, ROCK (the Yeah Yeah Yeahs come to mind, and maybe a few others, but they seem to be heavily outnumbered).

[leftofthedial]

8. "precious" is a word I frequently use

when expressing the same complaint you just articulated.

:toast:

Popular music is, by definition, disposable.

If you want us to gaze in endless admiration at your work, take up architecture.

[Chan790]

9. I like this CD, but learned to block out the words...

it's about the composition of the backing music. It's very intricate and subtle.