# Any Decemberists fans here? (Thought so) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2004, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290 "2004-12-11T09:14:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/1 "2004-12-11T09:14:46Z")
My impression is that this is a little-known group, so I’m not expecting to get many replies. If there’s anyone, though, say so so we can talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/2 "2004-12-11T10:00:25Z")
I just can’t get into them because they seem like a 100% Neutral Milk Hotel ripoff - consciously anachronistic songwriting, the same instrumentation, and Colin intentionally affects a singing voice that sounds exactly like NMH’s Jeff Mangum. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/3 "2004-12-11T15:30:54Z")
I’m not that much of a fan, but as soon as I clicked on this thread, the one song of theirs I have started playing. Oo, weird. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/4 "2004-12-11T15:34:36Z")
Gee, and I thought you were talking about a former (now banned) Doper. I’ll leave now. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/5 "2004-12-11T17:10:35Z")
I thought you were referring to the 19th Century Russian revolutionaries. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/6 "2004-12-11T17:44:46Z")
I wouldn’t call them “little-known” exactly. Most of my friends have at least heard of them - then again, we’re college students who listen to underground music. I have both of their full-lengths, neither of which are “must plays” for me but both are enjoyable listens. Of the two, I probably like _Her Majesty the Decemberists_ a little better, but that’s the one I got first and have listened to the longest. Favorite songs by them are “July, July!” “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect,” “The Chimbley Sweep” and “The Sodiering Life.” > [@](#): > > I just can’t get into them because they seem like a 100% Neutral Milk Hotel ripoff - consciously anachronistic songwriting, the same instrumentation, and Colin intentionally affects a singing voice that sounds exactly like NMH’s Jeff Mangum. Yeah, I see what you mean. I’ve always thought of them as half-way between Neutral Milk Hotel and Robyn Hitchcock, with some Belle and Sebastian and pirate music thrown in. They aren’t the most original band in the world, but they’re a fun band and Colin Meloy really can turn a phrase. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/7 "2004-12-11T17:45:55Z")
They played at the TLA here in town a few months back, and I missed them. I’m a huge Neutral Milk Hotel fan and never saw the similarity. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/8 "2004-12-11T17:51:48Z")
I’ve only heard a couple of their songs that I downloaded legally off of emusic. I like Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect ok, but hated a cover they did of Bjork’s Human Behavior. Should I bother trying to download more? ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/9 "2004-12-11T17:53:25Z")
Being a huge Neutral Milk Hotel fan, Amazon always recommends Her Majesty, The Decemberists. I pose this question: Is that the album I should get, or is there a better one? What are some key tracks? > [@](#): > > ``` > Brrrr, and I thought you were talking about a former (now banned) Doper (shiver). > > ``` This post has been Decembered by the Decemberist! ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/10 "2004-12-11T18:25:20Z")
I like _Her Majesty the Decemberists_ and _Castaways and Cutouts_ pretty equally. My favorite songs are probably _The Legionnaire’s Lament_ (off _C&C_) and _The Chimbley Sweep_ (off _HMtD_). Normally I don’t pay much attention to the lyrics, but I really like these. I also like the use of accordian. The Decemberists came to play near my school a few months ago, but unfortunately I had no transportation and also an exam. Dang. Hooray, they’re coming to Chicago on January 19th! Crap, that’s a Wednesday and I’ll already be back at school. Such is life… ---
**Author:** ![\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/7cd45c/32.png) [@\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Deep_F_ied)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/11 "2004-12-11T18:57:30Z")
My girlfriend’s daughter saw them up in 'Frisco not long ago. She seems to like them, but I have never heard anything they have done. I’ll have to give it a listen next time she comes over. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/12 "2004-12-11T19:13:11Z")
They’re not my favorite band, but they’re very, very good. The one problem is that they seem to be continually paddling around in a lake overshadowed by the mountain of Neutral Milk Hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Ooner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@Ooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ooner)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/13 "2004-12-11T19:57:32Z")
As many times as I hear the comparison, I can not for the life of me find such an overwhelming similarity between them and NMH. I don’t think Meloy sounds like Jeff Mangum. I find almost all of Neutral Milk Hotel’s lyrics to be very abstract and almost all of The Decemberists to be stories clearly told. They fall in the same genre I suppose, but I don’t think they’re as similar as everyone seems to suggest. That said, I like them. Not as much as Neutral Milk Hotel, but I think Meloy is a good songwriter and both albums have several good tracks. My only complaint is that they aren’t consistent. On each album I really like 3 or 4 songs, think 3 or 4 are ok, and I’m bored to tears by the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/14 "2004-12-11T22:28:26Z")
It’s not that I have a problem with derivative music - I think the world could use more Robyn Hitchcock and Magnetic Fields ripoffs - but “In the aeroplane over the sea” is so special and personally important to me that I can’t help but react with hostility to such a calculated attempt to ride on that album’s popularity. Colin: “Hey, guys - Jeff Mangum isn’t releasing records anymore. Here’s our chance!” :wally ---
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/15 "2004-12-11T23:35:00Z")
I’ve never heard of Neutral Milk Hotel, but I’m not planning on listening to them. There’s no excuse for that name even if they sound like a choir of angels. And “Jeff Magnum?” Sounds like a gay porn star moniker to me. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/16 "2004-12-11T23:40:50Z")
> [@PaulFitzroy](#): > > I’ve never heard of Neutral Milk Hotel, but I’m not planning on listening to them. There’s no excuse for that name even if they sound like a choir of angels. And “Jeff Magnum?” Sounds like a gay porn star moniker to me. In this case, ignorance is not bliss - please, please, please if you ever get a chance pick up or listen to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. So far, I have yet to find one person despise that album; there just doesn’t seem to be anything to hate. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/17 "2004-12-12T02:37:44Z")
> [@PaulFitzroy](#): > > And “Jeff Magnum?” Sounds like a gay porn star moniker to me. It’s not “Magnum,” it’s “Mangum.” :wally ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/18 "2004-12-12T02:43:23Z")
I think the Decemberists are pretty well known, and I have a soft spot for their The Tain EP. ---
**Author:** ![Ooner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@Ooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ooner)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/19 "2004-12-12T06:21:13Z")
Oh man Paul… your aversion to the name is resulting in you missing out on what is very possibly one of the best albums ever recorded. That’s a shame. ---
**Author:** ![PaulFitzroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290/20 "2004-12-12T06:47:13Z")
Alright, alright, I’ll listen to them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-decemberists-fans-here-thought-so/279290.md?page=2)