Results tagged “thedecemberists”

Since daylight savings time kicked it's been hard to get a good nights sleep. Up too late, and up again the next day too early. This week promises to keep us in that very same groove with a list of great music coming to Boston. Who needs sleep anyway? Don't forget to give your support to Exploit Boston Radio, they've got their fingers crossed that Congress and their favor of big label music will be beaten. Listen up for hot local tunes. more ›

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending... more ›

Does signing to a major label change everything? Many longtime fans of the Portland, Oregon-based band The Decemberists wondered if the group's decision to sign with Capitol Records to release their fourth full-length album would serve to tone down everything that drew indie fans to them in the first place: the quirky lyrics, the range of song subject matter (from prostitutes to mariners), and the group's unabashed fondness for obscure literary and historical allusions. The... more ›

We live in an iTunes nation. It's easy to pull a track down to your pod for under a buck. Bostonist still longs for cover art, liner notes, and that masterwork that is a multi-track collection of songs we call an album. Listed here is our much discussed, unbiased by payola, top 25 albums of 2005. After the jump you'll find where some of us stand individually on the subject of the years best. (Apparently... more ›

Bostonist had good intentions of writing a full-bodied concert round up to feature the wonder, whimsy and rock of The Decemberists and Franz Ferdinand, both gracing Boston with their presence last week. Quite unfortunately, review of the latter was prevented by a dramatic series of events on Saturday night, including the slam of a guest list against the Orpheum will call window, the insensitive throw of an Ohio drivers' license back through the copper ticket slot, and a loud statement of the obvious, "You're not on the list! Next!" The embarassing defeat of a psuedo-journalist/blogger aside, Bostonist now turns to its readers for concert insight: more ›

Back in early August, Bostonist advised the timely purchase of tickets to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, performing at TT the Bears on September 14. Clearly someone was listening because the show has long sold out and a frenzy of desperate Craigslist posts (buying, not selling) has since ensued. The story follows suit for Sufjan Stevens, playing with Laura Veirs at the Somerville Theatre on September 8. more ›

Goofiness aside, Okkervil River are a fantastic band and they just keep getting better--Bostonist would wholeheartedly recommend 2003's Down The River Of Golden Dreams and Black Sheep Boy is stunning. Black Sheep Boy is loosely centered around British 60s folkie Tim Hardin's titular song about a prodigal son, and the band builds upon that concept by writing murder ballads and love songs about stones in complex song. (For those of you keeping track, awesome Swede Nicolai Dunger has written a song called something like "Ballad For Tim Hardin") Sheff is one of the more interesting lyricists around--his songs are prose poems and they demand unpacking, while his singing voice is one that can be nuanced and sweet or thrillingly desperate, while the band is tight, playing country-tinged rock featuring a multitude of instruments, particularly killer keyboards, and soul. Bostonist can't really gush enough, it's a fantastic album in an ipod world. They've gotten lumped in with their tourmates The Decemberists recently as "literate rock" but Bostonist would argue that Okkervil River leave more of a mark. The Black Sheep Boys play TT the Bears' tonight and what is galvanizing on record should be fantastic live. Bonus: the album has gorgeous artwork by William Schaff, which is kind of confusing, eh? more ›