Colin Meloy
Colin Meloy
Colin Patrick Henry Meloyis an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica and percussion instruments...
ProfessionFolk Singer
Date of Birth5 October 1974
CityHelena, MT
people hustle attention
When everybody is playing at the same level, there's so much more noise. And there's less incentive for the people who should be rising above that noise to take time and invest in what they're doing. It just becomes about hustling and grabbing attention.
expectations people buying
When you get respect from the people who are buying your music and coming to your shows, there's an expectation that you have to live up to your own standards.
people lines want
I pretty much draw the line when people want you to do original music for commercials.
people lines draws
There's some things there that you just have to draw the line. Some people are just not going to like it. We would hope that everybody would like it.
attitude college people
I don't feel like we're setting ourselves up to be exclusive. I don't want to set up an attitude where we're telling people 'You can't listen to our music if you don't have a college degree.
aspect expect front last outfits people pulling rock stage theatrical ultimately wore
We actually have been toying around with a theatrical element. We even had outfits that we wore on stage for the last tour. But I think when people come to see us they ultimately expect a rock show, so we're pulling back on that aspect a bit. We do play in front of a backdrop, though.
appeals band bands both certainly female happy honestly male mirror people playing
They're like the mirror of myself - I've got both male and female counterparts. I'm really happy to be playing in a band that appeals to people who I feel I could honestly be friends with. It's a luxury, I believe, not many bands enjoy. It certainly spurs me on.
brings edwardian kurt mind nick pan pop pub roaring rock tin victorian
Meloy's balladry brings to mind vaudeville, ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, 'Sweeney Todd,' the Victorian and Edwardian eras, Kurt Weill and Nick Cave, 1960s psychedelic rock pop and roaring pub sing-alongs.
bush current decisions foreign objective policy protest resemble showing taken
It's kind of a protest song. My objective is to make sense of foreign policy decisions taken by the current Bush administration and showing how they resemble solipsistic bullying.
style upbeat pops
Pop music has always adopted the style of marrying upbeat melodies to dour lyrics.
song thinking should
I think the music should definitely underscore the sentiment of the song, and it can work for or against it.
baby kids littles
One thing about hanging out with a baby is that you can remember a little bit better what it was like to be a kid, and all the mystery that came along with it.
facts resources has-beens
It's hard for us to talk about how we disdain file-sharing when in fact it probably has been a great resource for us.
song nice relief
It was a nice relief to be able to work on individual songs.