CD of the Week: The Decemberists Keep it Sweetly Simple

"Here we come to a turning of the season," Colin Meloy declares over a bluesy harmonica riff which opens WTMD's new CD of the Week, The King is Dead.

It's an organic, straightforward return for this Portland, Oregon band, whose ambitious The Hazards of Love, featured a hard-to-digest plot line and cast of characters. The Decemberists new salt of the earth songs come courtesy of the comfortingly familiar, Fables of the Reconstruction-era guitar and mandolin of REM's Peter Buck, some sweet steel guitar from multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk and the ghostly Appalachian background vocals of Gillian Welch, who sings on most of the album's ten tracks.

A serene, seasonally-themed album that sees Meloy mining American roots influences rather than his usual English folk muse, The Decemberists' The King is Dead makes the first, "now top that!" statement in 2011. Listen this week on WTMD to hear more!

Mix Tape Thursday, 4/9/09

WTMD listeners take over the airwaves with three-to-five song sets on Thursday.

Submit your own mixtape and enter a drawing to win a pair of VIP tickets to the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, TN!

7 a.m. Joe Grice

These are all songs that I beleive have amazing female vocalists.

• "My Love," by The Bird and The Bee
  
• "The Fear," by Lily Allen
  
• "Boom," by Anjulie

9 a.m. Erik Dudziak

I'm not sure if Back Door Slam has ever played at Bonnaroo, but they should. I saw them at Artscape and have been a fan ever since. Both Ben Harper and Band of Horses are rocking out at Bonnaroo this year, and although I have never seen either live I really want to.

• "Come Home," by Back Door Slam
  
• "Shimmer and Shine," by Ben Harper & The Relentless 7
  
• "Marry Song," by Band of Horses
  

11 a.m. Trish Smith

• "Ooh, La, La," by The Faces
  This is my favorite song ever because it's not only from my favorite movie (Rushmore), but because it also reveals life lessons.

• "El Scorcho," by Weezer
  This was the first Weezer song I ever listened to, and since I'm half Korean (not half Japanese), I feel a connection to it.

• "Coffee & TV," by Blur
  This is a great song with an even better music video. Who doesn't like coffee or tv?!

• "In Between Days," by The Cure
  My favorite Cure song. It's beautiful.

• "Bittersweet Symphony," by The Verve
  "You're a slave to money then you die." What sums up life better than this?
  
  

1 p.m. David Paremske

All of these songs are groovy.

• "Helicopters," by Disco Biscuits
  
• "Maze," by Phish
  
• "Toe Jam," by BPA
  
• "Sabotage," by Beastie Boys
  

5 p.m. Dan Anderson

I think song #1 is great and it just shows how awesome WTMD is - where else would you hear a song like this? Thanks for introducing it to me! I think his voice sounds a little like Dracula's voice and that makes me think of the Dracula song in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (song #2). It's a short funny song, but it's actually pretty good. Then that song makes me think of the line "Send me all your vampires" in song #3. And of course that then makes me think of Vampire Weekend. Did you follow all of that?

• "Epilepsy is Dancing," by Antony and the Johnsons
  I think this song is great and it just shows how awesome WTMD is—where else would you hear a song like this? Thanks for introducing it to me!
  
  I think his voice sounds a little like Dracula's voice and that makes me think of the Dracula song in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It's a short funny song, but it's actually pretty good. Then that song makes me think of the line "Send me all your vampires" in the Third Eye Blind track. And, of course, that makes me think of Vampire Weekend. Did you follow all of that?
  

• "Dracula's Lament," by Jason Segal
  
  

• "I Want You," by Third Eye Blind
  
  
• "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," by Vampire Weekend
  

6 p.m. Maria Shaivitz

I picked these because they are songs that I never get tired of hearing. Thanks WTMD for all the great music you play!

• "Electric Feel," by MGMT
  

• "Stop the Bus," by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
  

• "Valerie Plame," by The Decemberists
  

• "Theologians," by Wilco

• "Heretics," by Andrew Bird
  

Mix Tape Thursday, 3/12/09

WTMD listeners take over the airwaves with three-to-five song sets on Thursday.

Submit your own mixtape!

7 a.m. Amanda Torbit

I've seen all of these women in concert and each blew me away like I would never believe, including Bonnie Raitt who I went to see because there was an extra ticket. She totally rocked, what a nice shock.

Patty is my favorite and I just saw her a couple weeks ago at the Meyerhoff and she was by far the best. I never thought I would have a favorite singer because I like so many kinds of music but I'm glad I found Patty and she will remain my favorite forever.

I hope you get as much joy from these women as I do!

• "Words Fell," by Lucinda Williams
  
• "You Got the Silver," by Susan Tedeschi
  
• "Angel from Montgomery," by Bonnie Raitt
• "Forgiveness," by Patty Griffin
  

9 a.m. Laurie Little

We try to support live music and would love more airplay for all of the following bands. Any chance that I can get to share their music with others is chalked up as a good day!

• "Little Black Angels," by Jonah Smith
  
• "Our Love," by Derek Trucks Band
  
• "Magnolia Soul," by Ozomatli
  
• "Heart Can't Tell a Lie," by Los Lonely Boys
• "Barrel House Blues," by Albert Cummings
  

11 a.m. Kevin Burke

Literary and historical inspiration for artists' lyrics.

• "Ramble On," by Led Zeppelin, based on the The Lord of the Rings;
  
• "Riddle in London Town," by State Radio, tells stories of American history;
  
• "The Crane Wife, 1 & 2," by The Decemberists; based on a Japanese folk tale;
  
• "Carolina Drama," by The Raconteurs; Jack White sings about the south as only he can;
• "Franklin's Tower," by The Grateful Dead; More literary connections in one song than many bands put in an entire album.
  

4 p.m. Corey Profit

• "Wonder," (Live) by Colin Meloy
  
• "Imitosis," by Andrew Bird
  
• "Summersong," by The Decemberists
  
• "Beautiful World," by Colin Hay
  
• "Fake Palindromes," by Andrew Bird
  

5 p.m. Grace DeWit

Isn't it all about you, anyway?

• "Bones of You," by Elbow
  
• "Pictures of You," by The Cure
  
• "Thinking of You," by Norah Jones
  
• "Anyone Else But You," by Moldy Peaches
  

6 p.m. Nick Frye

A beautiful girl walks in through the front door of the bar wearing a pair of tapered leg jeans. Her two-tone hair is pulled up in the back and her piercing green eyes are partially covered by her bangs in the front. I stand, unable to move, like a wooden soldier frozen by her enigmatic presence.

I become paranoid and overly aware that I'm just staring. I can't take my eyes off of her. It's as if this is the first day of my life. That's the story of how I met my current girlfriend. Plus, we love all of these bands and songs.

• "Taper Jean Girl," by Kings of Leon
  
• "Bangs," by They Might be Giants
  
• "Wooden Soldiers," by Person L
  
• "Paranoia in B-Flat Major," by The Avett Brothers
• "First Day of My Life," by Bright Eyes
  

Mix Tape Thursday, 3/5/09

WTMD listeners take over the airwaves with three-to-five song sets on Thursday.

The first two submissions are gearing up for The Decemberists and Andrew Bird show at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Monday, June 8th.

(Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, March 6, through Ticketmaster.com.)

And tune in at 8 p.m. as Alayna Blazakis chats with Tyler about her expanded "Bird song" mix tape, featuring tracks from Andrew Bird, Apples in Stereo, Neko Case, Stevie Wonder, Wilco, and more.

Submit your own mixtape!

6 a.m. Megan Linehan

Three songs that Colin and The Decemberists have covered to show a wide range of influences. Also, all these songs are totally awesome.

• "Mr. Blue Sky," by ELO
• "Blues Run the Game," by Jackson Frank
  
• "Everyday is Like Sunday," by Morrissey

8 a.m. John Kelly

What a time to be a music lover! A simple, random walk through the months of the year, sparked by a love of the Decemberists. I'll let you know when I've got a full 12 month cycle selected, and other WTMD listeners could try it out and see what they discover.

• "January Song," by Five Times August
  
• "Summersong," by The Decemberists
  
• "November," by Azure Ray
  
• "October is Coming," by Marc Hessenberg & The Tulips
  

10 a.m. Courtney Block

These are the songs that lift me up when a client has just done a beat down—or if I'm the recipient of some less than good news.

• "Cannonball," by The Breeders
• "Warning," by Wye Oak
  
• "No Bad News," by Patty Griffin
  
• "Starless Summer Sky," by Marshall Crenshaw
  

12 p.m. Kenny Friedman

To pay homage to the great Jewish-American artists, I have compiled this very short list. Lou Reed from the Velvet Underground is Jewish. Adam Duritz from Counting Crows is both Jewish and from Baltimore—the double whammy. And Beck is Jewish via his maternal grandmother. He's my wild card.

• "Heroin," by Velvet Underground
  
• "Fidelity," by Regina Spektor
  
• "Raining in Baltimore," by Counting Crows
  
• "New Pollution," by Beck
• "Shadrach," by Beastie Boys
  

5 p.m. Hope Ashton

Songs like these were the armor I wore in high school. And if they were books of mine, they'd be dog-eared and falling apart, as testament to my love for them. To call them nostalgic is inaccurate because they're just as relevant and alive today as they were back then.

• "Regret," by New Order
  
• "You are the Everything," by R.E.M.
• "Kiss Them for Me," by Siouxsie and the Banshees
  
• "Birthday," by The Sugarcubes
  
• "Monkey Gone to Heaven," by The Pixies
  

7 p.m. Benjamin Pillow

Sonic Youth for my '80s & early '90s upbringing; Bloc Party for the best band I saw at Virgin Fest last year; Drive by Truckers b/c I'm from S.C.; and QOTSA just rock out

• "JC," by Sonic Youth
  
• "Positive Tension," by Bloc Party
  
• "Boys from Alabama," by Drive-By Truckers
  
• "Song for the Dead," by Queens of the Stone Age
  

Colin For An Elevator

A friend of mine shared this fun little video with me, so now, I share it with you. Incidentally, Colin will be bringing his solo spring tour to the 930 Club on April 13th- minus the elevator, I'm sure. He'll be previewing his new album COLIN MELOY SINGS LIVE, which includes covers of The Smiths, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac, as well as plenty of new takes on Decemberists songs, including this one ("We Both Go Down Together").