Colin Meloy is the lead singer and song writer for the Decemberists. Their first two albums, Castaways and Cutouts and Her Majesty the Decemberists, have been released to widespread critical acclaim. He lives in Portland, OR
"Willed or not, Meloy seems vulnerable in Let It Be, the 16th entry
of 33 1/3's essays on really important albums series. The books
typically boast chip-on-shoulder critical rigor; by contrast, Meloy
reduces Let It Be to a small but crucial role in his own
coming-of-age memoir. First reounting his purchase of the album as
a grade-schooler, Meloy then concentrates on his punky, homoerotic
adolescence in cornfed, homophobic Montana. In each anecdote, Let
It Be plays deus ex machina, swooping down to rescue the young
Meloy from his identity crises. These are solid short-short stories
with bona fide epiphanies that they shed light on Meloy's past only
makes them more engaging." Nick Sylvester, Village Voice,
1/11/05--Sanford Lakoff
"Growing up in cultural isolation in Montana means that whatever
creative influences you encounter are ones you found yourself. For
a young music fan, it's frustrating: no one tours there, cool
people leave, etc. So when you run into something like The
Replacements' seminal "Let It Be", it's akin to water in the
desert. If you're Meloy, leader of the Decembrists, it can change
the direction of your life. This book won't tell you much about
"Let it Be" or The Replacements, but it well conveys the grip that
something like "Sixteen Blue" can have on a person- and why. When
Paul Westerberg singe "Meet me anyplace or anywhere or anytime" in
"I Will Dare," it can resonate like a call in the dark. Meloy
recounts finding a shrine in the band at the 400 Club in
Minneapolis in 2003, and his reaction is priceless. A great record
becomes an active, emotional experience that stays with you
forever. For Meloy, it helped in setting the course of his future,
and he expresses how and why in a compelling, engaging style." "The
Big Takeover "
"Meloy is a student of fiction and his imaginative songs for The
Decemberists document just that. But here, Meloy treats his
affiliation with Let It Be as a metaphor for youth, his experience
surrounding it almost a bildungsroman-all through the use of
memoir. Meloy's voice is similar to that of David Sedaris, finding
comedy in small things, finding uplift in sadness. In Meloy's
remembrances we recall what it is to discover music, to fall in
love with it (as many of us did before we fell in love with people,
leaving the music of our youth our only true first love). This
one's a keeper. Zack Adcock, The Hub Weekly, 1/13/05
"Meloy skirts any sort of criticism or analysis of the
Replacements' Let It Be, focusing instead on how the album fueled
his love for music and performance in a memoir of his Montana
childhood guaranteeing frustration for Mats fans and glee for
Decemberists fans." Mark Baumgarten, Willamette Week, 1/5/05
"Growing up incultural isolation in Montanameans that whatever
creative influences you encounter are ones you foundyourself. For a
young music fan, it'sfrustrating: no one tours there, cool people
leave, etc. So when you run into something like TheReplacements'
seminal "Let It Be," it'sakin to water in the desert. If you're
Meloy, leader of the Decembrists, it can change the direction of
your life. This book won't tell you much about "Let it Be" or The
Replacements, but itwell conveys the grip that something like
"Sixteen Blue" can have on a person-and why. When Paul Westerberg
singe "Meetme anyplace or anywhere or anytime" in "I Will Dare," it
can resonate like acall in the dark. Meloy recounts findinga shrine
in the band at the 400 Club in Minneapolisin 2003, and his reaction
is priceless. A great record becomes an active, emotional
experience that stays withyou forever. For Meloy, it helped
insetting the course of his future, and he expresses how and why in
a compelling, engaging st
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