It’s 2011, and there’s so much happening. Not only are we working on our year end lists for the best songs, albums, bands and more of 2010, but we’re also prepping Advance Spins of upcoming releases from a bunch of artists and bands, ranging from Bright Eyes, Minks, The Strokes, The Decemberists, Smith Westerns and many others. In fact, January is looking to be a blockbuster month for new indie rock releases of 2011.
If you haven’t already done so, you’ll probably want to check out the Readers’ Choice playlist and poll of the top 50 No. 1 songs from 2010 – all of which were chosen by you. Now, we’re watching this poll – as many others as well – to see what will be the Top 30, 20, 10 songs all of you pick from the top 50. Once the playlist/poll closes on Jan. 13th, we’ll announce the winners in a special edition of IRC’s Best of 2010 series.
In the meantime, another Sunday is here, and we’ve got another playlist of 25 songs that we love from all decades and genres of music over the past half century. Each Sunday, we unwind to put together a playlist of of 25 fantastic tracks that is not restricted to our usual indie rock format. Since The Sunday 25 Songs Mix (aka, The S-25) started back in November, it has received a huge and enthusiastic reception from our regular readers, and tens of thousands of weekly visitors from around the world.
As with all of the other S-25 mixes, we also profile one artist or band that has made an impression on us – and others – in recent months, or even recent years. In the first five installments, the artists featured were WireTree, The Strokes, Beach House, Oberhofer and The Tallest Man on Earth.
This Sunday were stoked to focus on the music of one of the best bands to break out of Portland‘s robust indie music scene, The Decemberists. While one could make a convincing argument that The Decemberists betrayed some of their most loyal fans when the band signed with Capitol Records in 2009 for their last album, The Hazards of Love, the fact is that the band consistently releases excellent albums full of adventurous, wonderfully crafted folk rock songs. Because of this, the band have seemed to avoid, at least for the most part, the “sell-out” label that was predictably pinned on them by some die-hard indie purists. While we are definitely huge fans of their pre-Capitol recordings, The Hazards of Love still managed to make many 2009 ‘best of’ lists in the mainstream media, and especially among blogs, from Pitchfork to IGuessImFloating.
“The Rake Song” – The Decemberists from The Hazards of Love (2009)
In September, The Decemberists opened for Neko Case, who opened for Bob Dylan at the Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival in Seattle, WA. During their performance, Colin Meloy annouced that the band’s newest album, The King is Dead, would be released in January (the 18th to be precise) with R.E.M. member Peter Buck playing on three of the album’s tracks.
The first single from The King is Dead, “Down by the Water” has been released in advance of the album’s January 18th release via Capitol Records. So, even if The Decemberists are no longer considered “indie”, that’s OK with us. It doesn’t mean that we just cast them away because they “crossed over”. They’re still putting out great music. Plus, it’s not like they are so big that most ‘mainstream’ music listeners have heard of them, even with their repeated appearances on the popular Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report.
“Down By The Water” – The Decemberists from The King is Dead – Jan. 18th
We guess that someone could make a good argument that The Decemberists are not mainstream, but are instead trapped in between the ‘indie’ world and the ‘mainstream’ (semi-celeb) world. However, first we recommend listening to Picturesque and The Crane Wife.
To order any of the albums featured here, just click on the album title and you’ll be taken to the Amazon check out.
“It Looks Like Love” – Josh Rouse from Subtitulo (2006)
“Hoppipolla” – Sigur Ros from Takk… (2005)
“Kissing The Lipless” – The Shins from Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
“O Valencia!” – The Decemberists from The Crane Wife (2006)
“Chariot” – Page France from Hello, Dear Wind (2006)
“Devil Bunnies” – My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult from My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult (2006)
“Mrs. Cold” – Kings of Convenience from Declaration of Dependence (2009)
“Jumpin Jean-Luc” – We All Have Hooks For Hands from We All Have Hooks For Hands (2007)
“11th Dimension” – Juliana Casablancas
Pete Townshend of The Who was famous for his powerful guitar playing
“Let My Love Open The Door” – Pete Townshed from Empty Glass (1980)
“America” – Simon & Garfunkel from Greatest Hits (1988)
“Summersong” – The Decemberists from The Crane Wife (2006)
“Submarines of Stockholm” – AC Newman, unreleased
“Spider Cider” – Man Man from Six Demon Bag (2008)
“Strange Brew” – Cream from Greatest Hits (1999)
“Pretty in Pink” – The Psychedelic Furs from Talk Talk Talk (1981)
“Cool Jumper” – Wavves, advanced single
Don’t Miss The Other S-25 Mixtapes
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The S-25 Mix, Vol. V: Beach House, David Bowie & Queen, The Faces, AC DC, Modest Mouse, REO Speedwagon, Morrissey
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The Sunday 25 Mix, Vol. IV: The Strokes, U2, The Rolling Stones, Beirut, Mott The Hoople, The Shins, Adam Ant, Pink Floyd, Pixies
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The Sunday-25 Mix, Vol. II: Oberhofer, Belle & Sebastian, The Beatles, Dexy Midnight Runners, Yeasayer, New Order, Aerosmith
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The Sunday 25 Mix, Vol. I – Wiretree, Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, Wilco, David Bowie, The Kinks, Neutral Milk Hotel, Brian Eno, Talking Heads
“Hello, It’s Me” – Todd Rundgred from Hello It’s Me (1978)
“Love Train” –The O’Jays from Backstabbers (1973)
“Nothing But Time” – Opus Orange from Opus Orange EP (2010)
“We Both Go Down Together” – The Decemberists from Picturesque (2005)
“Four Provinces” – The Walkmen from You & Me (2008)
“Blue Sky” – Allman Brothers from Eat A Peach (1972)
The Violent Femmes were forerunners of indie rock in the 1980s
“Blister in the Sun” – The Violent Femmes from Violent Femmes (1984)
“Jackhammer” – Spinto Band from s/t debut (2008)
My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist.mp3 – The Decemberists from The Crane Wife (2006)
