Anointed With Lotions

by rustedrobot | Jun 3, 2009 | Random

I am still in more-or-less full Matt Pond PA mode. So see my post below on that. However, one thing has recently caught my eye. I am a half-fan of rock band The Decemberists. This means I really enjoy their music sometimes and other times I think it’s a cruel ruse, with its obscure, 1800’s era lyrical references. I mean, it’s a different approach and I like different, but sometimes one is too clever for their own good, a problem that I think affects more well-known bands like Wilco as well. Conan O’Brien indirectly explains much better it in this tremendous video.

Now, The Decemberists recently released a concept album (of course) and scattered throughout the hit-and-miss piece of work are some really excellent women vocalists, so naturally they’ve brought them along on tour with them. There two videos I’m going to embed here, one is from The Colbert Report, where the band rolls through “The Wanting Comes in Waves” and the other video is a live performance from St. Louis a few nights ago when the women took over and did a longtime favorite of mine, Heart’s “Crazy On You.” I don’t like ANY other Heart songs, but this one always did something for me. The sound on the Heart cover is a little tinny because it’s shot by a fan, but it’s still excellent. I’m thinking maybe The Decemberists should have these ladies be the lead singers all the time. They make the band much better!

….and here’s the fan-shot “Crazy On You.”