Do The Decemberists have people fooled?

Because I was blown away to see that they are actually listed in the archives. Now, I'm not sure what makes a band folk-prog, but I have seen a couple of their live performances, and I saw nothing progressive. I saw a band trying to be progressive, and failing. I remember the performance from the Colbert Report, where they discussed how their music had 18th century influences. Very interesting, I thought, and then discovered those "18th century" influences were based on the song beginning with a keyboard programmed to sound like a harpsicord, and then it turned into a rather mundane rock song, with a poor Janis Joplin impersonater thrown in.

From what I can tell, the only thing progressive about these guys is the lyrical content, which I admit is interesting, but nothing amazing.

*resists the urge to say anything*

This will end badly; I can see it now. All I'll say is: listen to their music more carefully, particularly their latest release.

If the Decemberists are prog, then evolution is true.

And we all know evolution is made up by science.

I'm waiting until December to try them...

Well I'm the one who added them, so I may be the biggest fool 

Admittedly their first couple of albums are more like artsy pop-folk with very mild prog influences, particularly on keyboards, and there are valid comparisons to be made to bands like R.E.M. and Let's Active, along with groups like the Baghdaddies and plenty of modern klezmer music on the folksy side.  And there are other bands like Rev. Glasseye and the Handsome Family who pen similar campy and morbidly dark character sketches.  So the various pieces are nothing new individually.  And I will say there was reluctance by some collaborators to add them.

But IMHO 'The Crane Wife' and, more significantly, 'The Tain' and 'The Hazards of Love' have proven Colin Meloy and Company are also serious fans of both folk and prog rock.  At the same time they know how to entertain, and with the last two albums have managed to do so without compromising their music despite being signed by a major label.  Sure, they appeared on Letterman, the Colbert Report, NPR and the like, but who cares really - I grew up in a time when bands could be both popular and progressive, so I don't see a problem there.  

The Decemberists aren't Yes or ELP, but they don't pretend to be either, and those TV appearances don't do justice to their live concerts.  Check out their current tour if you can, or look for clips on youTube at least, and check out their DVD 'A Practical Handbook'.  There's more than a little Peter Gabriel mixed in with the  Michael Stipe and Freddy Mercury showmanship on that thing.

Prog Folk is about as accurate a label as 'world music' when it comes to describing the bands who are listed under that tagon this site.  Most if not all the bands under the Prog Folk heading have three things in common:

- plenty of acoustic and ethnic instrumentation;
- a strong emphasis on lyrics, mostly in the form of story-telling; and
- clear cultural contexts, often based on regional history, mythology, religion or ethnic themes.

We used to have a definition of prog rock on this site that included the description "ambitious, eclectic, and often grandiose style of rock music" (not sure if that's still written anywhere here - I think it may have been changed when Art Rock morphed into Crossover.  Anyway, that fits the Decemberists IMHO, so that's good enough for me 

I pretty much agree, they're a folky indie band with certain songs that have characteristics of prog, so maybe crossover would be better for them... I don't know, I might need to listen to them more too.

Edited by King Crimson776 - June 13 2009 at 00:59

First off what they played on the Colbert Report was an edited version of one of the most bad-ass, awesome parts from their 50 something minute song which is their latest album. I mean, they weren't always a prog band, and don't stay that way in every song. In fact, it is the fact that they blend so many genres that makes them so progressive. If you are worried about them not being over the top enough, trust me, their live show really is a theatric spectacle, specifically performing Hazards. If you need to be convinced of their progressiveness, The Crane Wife would probably be the best place to start, there are clear influences from bands such as Strawbs, Jethro Tull, and even King Crimson.

The perfect the perfect the perfect the the perfect perfect the PERFECT THE PERFECT THE PERFECT the perfect CRIME!

moreitsythanyou wrote: Oh and the Ice Queen, your so called "poor Janis Joplin impersonator" is not in the band and is  FING AWESOME

"Do The Decemberists have people fooled?"

No. Did they have any part in being included here? I don't think so. Several collabs listened to their music and came to the conclusion that they could be included here. I don't really think the band cares whether they're listed here - my guess is that they would not call their music "Prog Folk", and neither would I - but their later albums are surely progressive. I guess that long time fans of Jethro Tull's key albums from the 70s should get used to the idea that not every folk related band has to sound like a JT clone, with a slightly weird flute player (standing on one foot while playing -> extra points).