The post details the creative journey behind 'Down by the Water,' examining its lyrical roots, influences, and the challenges faced during its development and recording.
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Colin Meloy is a singer, songwriter, and author with interests in music and literature, sharing his creative process and works from his farm-based studio.
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The post chronicles the evolution of 'Days of Elaine,' highlighting its long journey from concept to recording and the creative decisions involved.
Colin Meloy reflects on the Decemberists' West Coast Symphony Tour, sharing insights from performances in Portland and San Francisco. He discusses the challenges of rehearsing with a large orchestra, particularly the difficulty of...
The Decemberists’ 5th LP, The Hazards of Love, began as an experiment to create a cohesive story using archetypes from British and Irish folk songs, initially intended to be composed entirely in the key of D. The author reflects o...
5.6Lost Songs: In Listvyanka
2025-09-18 • reflection travel nostalgia songwriting
The post reflects on the author's long-standing song, 'In Listvyanka,' which was inspired by a visit to the town of Listvyanka in Russia in 2001. The author shares the journey of rediscovering the song from a journal, its initial ...
5.3Letter From Home
2026-02-28 • music reflection history art resilience
Colin Meloy connects his great grandmother's struggles on a Montana ranch in the 1940s to modern challenges, finding solace in music and literature amidst adversity.
The author discovers a website that assigns albums from the '1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die' list for daily listening. They reflect on their experiences with ZZ Top's 'Tres Hombres' and Prince's 'Purple Rain,' sharing pe...
Colin Meloy shares his experiences on a recent tour, detailing moments from various locations including Hammondsport, Cleveland, and Madison. He describes the band's activities, including swimming in a lake, performing at venues, ...
4.7A July July! Tour Diary
2025-07-24 • music portland colin meloy travel diary halifax
Colin Meloy shares his experiences while touring with his band, reflecting on their performance at the Halifax Jazz Festival and their subsequent travels to Portland, Maine. He describes the charm of Halifax, the challenges of set...
Colin Meloy shares his experiences while on a short tour through NE Canada and the eastern/midwestern US. He reflects on the challenges of leaving home, the excitement of touring, and the dynamics of traveling with his band. The p...
4.4My Favorite Things 2025
2025-12-30 • reflection creativity art baking literary fiction
Colin Meloy shares his reflections on 2025, exploring personal projects, cultural experiences, and the joy of creativity through writing, baking, and art.
The author recounts their experience of waking up early to travel to San Francisco for a rehearsal with the San Francisco Symphony, marking the Decemberists' first orchestral concert in nearly 20 years. They reflect on a previous ...
The author recounts a morning experience involving their cat Misha and an ocular migraine, which leads to a dream about being interviewed in a helicopter. In the dream, the author lists their favorite bands from San Francisco, ult...
The author reflects on a New York Times article that encourages readers to memorize a poem over a week. This prompts a personal memory from their freshman year of high school, where they memorized Romeo's soliloquy in hopes of imp...
4From the Farm
2025-08-18 • music documentary live events colin meloy
Colin Meloy shares a personal update on his life, including family activities in Vermont and reflections on his music career. He discusses his admiration for the rock documentary 'Dig! XX,' which chronicles the contrasting paths o...
Colin Meloy announces new book releases, upcoming events, and a theatrical adaptation of 'Wildwood', along with his solo music shows in the coming months.
3.3Live with Colin Meloy
2025-07-14 • music podcast colin meloy live cover
Colin Meloy shares an impromptu live cover set with his audience, expressing gratitude for their participation and hinting at future live sessions. He encourages listeners to subscribe for more content and mentions the podcast as ...
Colin Meloy announces two solo shows in Los Angeles on December 19th and 20th at the Masonic Lodge in Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He mentions a limited pre-sale on September 17 and a general sale on September 19. Meloy plans to pe...
The post urges people to call their senators to oppose the selling of public lands to pay for billionaires' tax breaks, highlighting the negative impact on the federal deficit, access to healthcare, and wealth disparity. It emphas...
The author discusses the differences between writing books and songs, comparing book-writing to manual labor and songwriting to unemployment. He also reflects on the grief and hazing experienced by Metallica after the death of the...
0Astoria Solo Shows: 2nd show added
2025-05-28 •
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The author talks about a busy year in 2004 when he quit his day job at a bookstore and his band was touring and recording relentlessly. He recalls writing the song Eli the Barrow Boy during this time and buying a Gibson J-185 guit...
Colin Meloy announces a solo show at the Liberty Theater in Astoria, Oregon, on August 30th. He will be playing solo acoustic and offering songs from his back catalogue. Tickets go on sale on May 9th.
0Picaresque, My Picaresque
2025-04-30 •
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