Feb 5: D is for The Decemberists

An alphabet of bands and artists as a series for February. These were selected by the Spotify algorithm.

I first came across the Decemberists when I used to download music from Pirate Bay back in the day before streaming started. Remember that?

There were a few songs that caught my eye. One of them was 'Grace Cathedral Hill'. This is a cathedral located in San Francisco.

And the world may be long for you
But it'll never belong to you
But on a motorbike when all the city lights blind your eyes tonight
Are you feeling better now?

The lyrics were complex and included unusual words that you don't normally get in songs, such as concubine.

The first real album I bought, thanks to the extended title song was 'The Crane Wife', released in 2006.

I saw them playing live at Cambridge Junction back in 2007 where this song and some other staples were in the set list. 

It was a crowded and sweaty night. Here's my ticket stub still tucked into my CD of 'The Crane Wife'.

Here's Colin Meloy from the band performing the title track.

The original Decemberists (spelt Decembrists) were part of a Russian insurrection and a failed coup against the Russian Empire which took place on Boxing Day in 1825 in St. Petersburg.

Image source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decembrist_revolt#/media/File:Georg_Wilhelm_Timm_-_Dekabristen-Aufstand.jpg 

They were exiled to Siberia or executed. 

This Wikipedia article describes their influence even in exile...

In their settlements, Decembrists were fierce advocates of education, and founded many schools for natives, the first of which opened at Nerchinsk. Schools were also founded for women, and soon exceeded capacity. Decembrists contributed greatly to the field of agriculture, introducing previously unknown crops such as vegetables, tobacco, rye, buckwheat, and barley, and advanced agricultural methods such as hothouse cultivation. Trained doctors among the political exiles promoted and organized medical aid. The homes of prominent exiles like Prince Sergei Volkonsky and Prince Sergei Trubetskoi became social centers of their locales. All throughout Siberia, the Decembrists sparked an intellectual awakening: literary writings, propaganda, newspapers, and books from European Russia began to circulate the eastern provinces, the local population developing a capacity for critical political observation.

Over the years, the Decemberists have evolved their sound, and collaborated with others such as the Offa Rex album.

They also contributed a really entertaining and very sweary contribution to 'Hamilton' which isn't in the actual show but in an accompanying CD, and is about Benjamin Franklin. 

Perhaps start with The Hazards of Love, which is really representative of their style and very coherent as an album.

Here's a live performance of the whole album featuring guest artists...

Discography

What 'D' band comes up on your algorithm? 

Please let me know in the comments... along with any memories of The Decemberists and their music.