Stephen Colbert Gracefully Allows The Decemberists Back On His Show
Remember back in fall 2006, when Stephen called out The Decemberists for stealing his Green Screen Challenge idea and then somehow, like nine shows later, it devolved into a guitar shredding contest called The ShredDown judged by, among others, Eliot Spitzer and Henry Kissinger? Everyone was so young! Last night, Stephen had Decemberists Colin Meloy and Chris Funk back on the show to make fun of them about their 19th Century obsession ("Which came first, these side burns or your interest in that time period?") and for the band to play a song about "a shape-shifting creature and a woodland princess."
The interview: "What sort of reference books do I need to understand these lyrics?":
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Decemberists | ||||
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The Decemberists perform "The Wanting Comes in Waves" from their new album, The Hazards Of Love. (Or as Stephen thinks the album should be called, "You're Beautiful, Honey!"):
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Decemberists - The Wanting Comes in Waves | ||||
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And if you're wondering if Colin Meloy Twittered about not being able to Twitter from the show because of a suspicious but sensible cellphone lockdown...he totally did!
Posted by Lindsay at 11:00 AM in Interviews, Late Night, Music Related Content
Tags: Chris Funk | Colin Meloy | Stephen Colbert | The Colbert Report | The Decemberists
I imagine that performance will do a lot to offset whatever sales they lost from that lukewarm p4k review they received for the album...
Score = 0
You bet. The Colbert bump > P4k
Score = 9
I'm gonna be "that guy" right now but fuck Pitchfork. They think they're the definitive word on what's good or not. The Hazards of Love is one of the best albums of the year and really made for true Decemberists fans. Done being "that guy" now....
Score = 11
Dude, I will join you in being That Guy. Pitchfork is the absolute worst, and it's not the Decemberists' fault that they're not Vampire Weekend or Dan Deacon or whatever the fuck flavor-of-the-week Pitchfork is obsessed with.
Score = 3
Agreed. Some of those guitar riffs are amazing - the second half of "The Wanting Comes in Waves" (or "Repaid" on the album) is incredible.
Score = 2
Guys, Pitchfork is just a music site. Overly influential music site but that isn't their fault. Sometimes their opinion will disagree with yours. It is not there to tell you what's good, it there to tell you what they think is good, the rest is up to you. Also comments bashing Pitchfork just because the article focuses on an indie artist is so 2005.
I'm biased cause yesterday Pitchfork put my favourite new band in best new music and think the new Decemberists isn't as good as they have been.
Score = 10
Shara Worden is the sexiest beast on the planet. She can fucking wail -- I was bummed they didn't do the whole song.
Score = 13
I'm seeing them in June and am seriously considering wearing a shirt that says "SHARA WORDEN I LOVE YOU AND MY GIRLFRIEND IS MOSTLY OKAY WITH THAT". Related: I'm going with my girlfriend.
Score = 5
Also, how weirdly bashful was Colin Meloy in that interview? For a guy egotistical enough to refer to himself as the "benevolent dictator" of his band, he looked blanched and terrified. It looked like it was all he could do not to start biting his nails.
Score = 4
listening to the Decemberists gives me diarrhea
Score = -9
I watched this last night.
At first I was like man, this song totally SUCKS. This band is THE WORST...but then, all the sudden, at 1:42, I was like, whoa, this song totally ROCKS. I LOVE this band!!
Score = 2
Who was the guy in the audience who helped introduce them?
Score = 2
I think Stephen called him the guy from the Sonic ads during the interview.
Score = 0
Anybody notice that this was mixed considerably better than most late-night live performances?
I mean.... it wasn't perfect, but it's a huge step above what SNL usually does (and they have musical guests every week. IIRC, this is Colbert's second time having a musical guest)
Score = 1
Naw schmod. He's had Willie Nelson, John Legend, Carole King, Toby Keith, Barry Manilow, Tony Bennett, Jackson Browne, Kris Kristofferson, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Neil Young, TV on the Radio, Feist, R.E.M., Rush, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Nas, Brian Eno, Apples in Stereo, The Roots, Peter Frampton, Paul Simon, and John Mellencamp........I think.
Score = 1
That was Peter Grosz, AKA the Sonic Guy, and also one of the writers for the Colbert Report.
Score = 1
i don' know why those decemberists fan got so mad at p4k, i mean
TMT, SPIN, EW, and other magazine's reviews were harsh as well.
(ironically RS put 4 stars)
Score = 2