Good Music Thursday: Volume 3

You've had your two week trial of free music. Now it's time to pay up. That's right, the Speckled Mind is just like that 'free' one year subscription you got to Sports Illustrated when you signed up for a Capital One Visa. That card has now been charged the full fee...which is collecting interest at 29.9%, I might add. You should have remembered to cancel; we knew you'd forget. Hooray for shady capitalistic dealings!

Seriously, this one will cost you. But it is definitely worth your $9.99 on iTunes (or, you can stream it here for free) Our subject today is the Decemberists new LP "The Crane Wife."

For those unfamiliar with this band, it is fronted by nerdy, arty, folky English-Lit.-Major-Guy, Colin Meloy. Colin's songwriting, like many others of our time, centers around relationships--young love and broken hearts.

The similarities, however, end there.

Colin usually couches these stories of romance and tragedy in language best suited to the British Literature section of Barnes & Noble. I challenge you to find another songwriter that has written a love song sung from the dual perspectives of a dead Civil War soldier and his pregnant, forlorn girlfriend. That track ('Yankee Bayonet--I Will Be Home Then') features the brilliant Laura Veirs and is one of the highlights of the new LP.

Another very...interesing song is called, "The Shankhill Butchers." You won't find anything like this from any other artist. Like all of Colin's songs, it walks the fine line between historical truth and fiction. One thing that is absolutely factual--this is the creepiest children's lullaby you'll ever hear.

The Shankill butchers ride tonight
You better shut your windows tight
Theyre sharpening their cleavers and their knives
And taking all their whisky by the pint
Cuz everybody knows
If you dont mind your mother's words
A wicked wind will blow
Your ribbons from your curls
Everybody moan everybody shake
The shankill butchers wanna catch you
Awake

They used to be just like me and you
They used to be sweet little boys
But something went horribly askew
Now killing is their only source of joy
Cuz everybodys knows...

The shankill butchers on the rise
Theyre waiting till the dead of night
Theyre picking at their fingers with their knives
And wiping off their cleavers on their thighs
Cuz everybod knows...

The shankill butchers wanna kill you
The shankill butchers wanna cut you
The shankill butchers wanna catch you
Awake
Awake
Awake
Awake

Sleep tight, kids. If you're interested in learning more about the album, Pitchfork did an excellent review.

All in all this album marks an excellent departure from the indie world and rebirth in the land of Capitol Records. The band managed to maintain its artistic integrity and uniqueness despite the pressure to fit a niche that usually accompanies migration to a major label.

If you want to get a free taste of Colin and his brilliance before ponying up your bucks, check out the live show he did for NPR (avaialble for streaming here). My favorite line from that show, "I think it's time that we move right into the gypsy material."

Happy Thursday, Speckled Mind readers. And remember--life is too short to listen to bad music.