These albums were all legitimately some of the best work these groups had done in years. And though they came close, they never quite surpassed that level of excellence for the rest of the decade.
“Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything is awful!!!”
That, my friends, was 2018, in all its mortifying, capricious, senseless absurdity. I can think of no better soundtrack.
The lyrics are impressionistic, aside from a clear, early reference to the victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius—a tragedy that may or may not keep coming up throughout the song and may or may not serve as a stand-in for the tragedy of 9/11. Who knows? The meaning of a dream is rarely overt. More likely, you’re left with just the feelings it inspired—and everyone you describe it to is going to have a different interpretation.
Now, my knowledge of firearms is limited at best, but I do know this: You load shotgun cartridges with rock salt, not rifles. (At least I’m pretty sure, based on 30 minutes of research and a few Tarantino movies.)
Perhaps no band’s lyrics better lend themselves to pseudo-academic analysis than those of The Decemberists. The Annotated Decemberists is an attempt to puzzle through the Portland, Oregon,…
The album is dead. Long live the album. Increasingly, my listening habits tend to revolve around individual tracks, so I tried to adjust my year-end…
I don’t know about you, but for me, 2011 was not a year of discovery. Most of the songs that bubbled their way to the…
In a category usually dominated by schmaltzy duets, it’s a pleasure to see a stompin’, southern gothic, traditionalist shit-kicker like “Barton Hollow” nominated.
Perhaps no band’s lyrics better lend themselves to pseudo-academic analysis than those of The Decemberists. The Annotated Decemberists is an attempt to puzzle through the Portland, Oregon,…
The sixth and final entry from The Decemberists’ debut EP, Five Songs. Yes, you read that right. There are six songs on Five Songs.