The definitive ranking of The Decemberists’ discography

I love The Decemberists. So much. It’s been four years since their last studio album and I could not be more excited for the new album to release on Tuesday. As such, I re-listened to all of their studio releases to reacquaint myself with the albums and develop my ranking of least to most favorite. There are definitely worse things I could do to my ears 🙂

6. Castaways and Cutouts

The Decemberists’ first studio album, it’s not as strong as their other releases. There are a few standout tracks – A Cautionary Song is a three-minute long “yo mama” joke that I enjoy very, very much – but the rest aren’t anything to brag about. Granted, the “worst” Decemberists album is still far above a lot of other musical choices.

5. Her Majesty the Decemberists

I promise my rankings aren’t just the order of the discography. One of my favorite Decemberists songs ever – Red Right Ankle – is featured on the album. The songs are a little catchier and the album flows better, not dragging as much as the previous one. On Her Majesty the Decemberists, the band really develops and establishes the sound that flows through the next three releases.

4. The King is Dead

A lot of people have gripes with this album. It’s not my favorite album by the band but it’s definitely not my least favorite. It has a different sound than the others as it ventures into a more folk country vibe.  It was a new experiment for the band but I think it works. And I have a lot of respect for a band that takes risks with their sound.

3. The Crane Wife

Admittedly, these last three albums were very difficult to rank. I tried listening to the attached EPs/bonus tracks to help decide and it still didn’t work. But this is what I landed on.

The Crane Wife is beautiful and its out-of-order story tracks make this a dedicated listening experience. This one tends to be a favorite of die-hard Decemberists fans and it is certainly a favorite of mine, but it’s just not quite there for me. It doesn’t hold my attention quite as deeply as the next two. Also, I included any bonus tracks in my judgment of these albums, and while After the Bombs and Culling of the Fold are so good they deserve to be on the album proper, The Perfect Crime #1 is a boring 15 minutes compared to the rest of the tracks.

2. The Hazards of Love

This was my first introduction to the band (I know, I’m late to the game) and it remains a favorite. It’s a concept album and an excellent one at that. I get lost in its story every time I listen to it. Colin Meloy took the concept of his interweaving stories from The Crane Wife and made an album-long rock opera.

There aren’t a lot of “singles” as a result but an album is ultimately an experience. The Hazards of Love provides an excellent experience.

1. Picaresque

In 2009, I bought pizza for a small party at a friend’s house. One of my friends didn’t have cash on hand to pay me back but promised he would shortly. The next time I saw him, he handed me a used CD copy of this album as payment. I think I owe him change.

Picaresque is packed with amazing stand alone tracks that flow well together into one cohesive album. It doesn’t take as much dedication as other Decemberists albums but still contains the unique sound the band is so well-known for. And is there anything better than The Mariner’s Revenge Song?

I am eager to see what What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World has to offer to the band’s discography. Based on their existing repertoire, I have high expectations.

Red Weather 2014 available online!

I just received my complimentary copy of Red Weather this weekend, and I am so excited to dive in and see the work my fellow Dragons have produced! If you’d like to check out my poems and all the other amazing written and visual art, check it out here.

Of course the first thing I did was find my name and see it in print. While doing so, I noticed I accidentally made a typo on my poem “The Weekend Ritual” – “small” should be “smell” in the second to last line. Even someone who edits written work for a living can make a mistake and miss it! 😉

Red Weather recently announced two exciting changes for their annual journal: the first is that it will now be biannual! Their first 2015 issue is currently accepting submissions for speculative fiction, poetry, and art (i.e. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, etc.). The second is that MSUM is now opening their submission window to a larger global community. They believe they are ready for a broader audience, and so do I. I am very excited for my alma mater and this new opportunity. If you have any speculative pieces you would like published, submit to them before September 15!

Hooray literature!

I promise I will blog about more than Red Weather updates. I recently started a fashion blog with my friend Melissa and getting it running has taken most of my free time. Plus life. Take a look over there while I cook up some more ideas for this blog!

In the meantime, here is a photo of Luna being a weirdo:

Red Weather Acceptions!

I heard back from Red Weather: they accepted three of my poems – the most work of mine they have published in one issue! I am so excited and honored. The one poem I thought for certain they would accept was not chosen but upon further review it could use a second look. I think it has some potential. If you’re interested in workshopping with me sometime, let me know!

Poems accepted:

1. Donna’s Tattoo

2. Tea is Instant Wisdom

3. The Weekend Ritual

 

Red Weather submissions due soon!

My alma mater’s literary journal, Red Weather, is closing its submission window soon. This journal is an excellent sampling of the talent Minnesota State University – Moorhead is producing and has produced in the past. As an alumnus, I love supporting my former English department and look forward to seeing what they publish. I have a couple poems to submit this year, one of which I am actually very proud. Fingers crossed!

While I finish my submission packet and wait with bated breath for a response, check out the 2013 issue (I am featured on pages 47 and 49 of the online file).

What’s in my cup: Dark rose tea

It has been quite chilly in Minnesota as of late. Who would have guessed we’d be hit with negative temperatures well into the double digits in January? In an attempt to keep my core temperature up and my heart happy, I have been drinking tea by the cupful. I’ve been trying some new teas, thanks to a lovely sampler from my brother-in-law for Christmas. One of these is a kind of tea completely new to me: dark tea.

I’ve heard of this tea before but have never given it a chance until now. According to TeaSource owner Bill Waddington, dark tea is classified as such because A) it is aged as a part of its manufacturing, and b) micro-organisms enter the tea leaves and change the chemistry of the leaf through fermentation.

The sampler came with Dark Rose tea

The packaging suggested I brew the tea at 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit for four to six minutes, so I set my water temperature to an even 200.

Aww, it’s a heart!

Almost too adorable to brew. Almost.

I am unsure whether dark tea is supposed to taste dark, but boy did it! I found this to be very robust, similar to a cup of coffee. It was a little too robust for my personal taste. Admittedly, I may have brewed the tea a minute longer than I should have because I ignored my timer, so let that be a lesson to you tea drinkers!

Halfway through, I ended up adding milk and rock sugar. After that point, it tasted like a strongly-brewed cup of English Breakfast. The description says the tea has rose petals, and the floral notes are definitely present in the flavor. It is strong, but it goes down smoothly.

I brewed the tea like I brewed the blooming tea, not realizing how much it would break apart. The time it took me to scoop out the leaves likely didn’t help with the strong flavor.

But boy, did it look cool.

This makes me excited to try dark teas in the future, but I will be more diligent when it comes to removing the leaves next time 🙂

Update on 2/21/14: I definitely made this tea wrong last time! I was looking at the package today and I saw the back listed four to six minutes for brew time (which looks like a standard label for dark teas), but the front suggests using one of those hearts for one minute in a mug and two to three minutes in a pot. My bad!

I brewed another cup today at only one minute, and it’s not nearly as robust. It’s still a dark tea but I am enjoying it without milk and sugar much more than I did last time. I am detecting a very subtle nutty flavor as well. Mmm!