The Decemberists - Long Live The King

Long Live The King was released
Nov 1, 2011 on Capitol Records.

The Decemberists are one of the Northwest's indie-rock success stories, though not to the degree or with the expeditiousness of Death Cab for Cutie. Unlike their contemporary, The Decemberists have managed to make an entire career's worth of work that finds itself unflinchingly literate, overwhelmingly emotional, and, ultimately, infinitely re-listenable. That all combines to make the release of "Long Live The King" a somewhat bittersweet EP. Capping off the band's nine year career thusfar before a multi-year hiatus and coming on the heels of the band's most commercially successful album, "The King is Dead," the EP stands as a testament to the creative consciousness of the band.

Composed of castaways and cut-outs from "The King is Dead," the EP keeps with the Americana-tinged direction the band found itself heading in. While I will say it was somewhat disheartening at first, to see The Decemberists move from their Victorian dramatics to the traditional American sound of their previous album, I see it now less as a departure and more of an evolution. If they have actually evolved into a more perfect version of themselves, then the six tracks offered on "Long Live the King" are the bones of the ground sloths.

Myxem Live | Driftwood

Driftwood are (l to r) Jon Doll, Claire Byrne,
Joe Kollar and Dan Forsyth.

For the very first installment of our Myxem Live series, wherein we capture intimate performances of artists on the rise, we present to you, live from their campsite at Shakori Hills, Driftwood. My (mostly) misguided allegiance to all things Binghamton, NY gave the rest of the camp cause to hesitate when I mentioned the band, but these natives of the frozen north continually amazed us all weekend with their high energy Americana.

Whether they were busting out songs from their upcoming album or, as in the video, redesigning a Kris Kristofferson classic, the band's astonishing energy was enough to move even the heaviest of feet and, as we saw time and time again that weekend, get people moving. Combining elements of bluegrass with every imaginable element of Americana, the band resides comfortably where overwhelming talent meets affable stage presence. You can see what I'm talking about for yourself, as Driftwood is currently on tour throughout the northeast, supporting their soon to be released new album.

Watch the band perform live from Shakori Hills after the jump.

Tonight: Beavis and Butt-head Return

Mike Judge, creator of Beavis and Butt-hea

Tonight, a challenger returns to take a swipe at FX's Thursday comedy domination. The inept, undereducated Beavis and Butt-head, after being off the air for more than a decade, return tonight to MTV. From the information available, it seems that this is not cheap gimmickry; the "reboot" phenomenon can't touch something as classic as Beavis and Butt-head. No, this is genuine hilarity, with Mike Judge as creative and hilarious as he was for the first run of the series, as well as his other projects, Office Space, King of the Hill, and Extract (among others).


In 22 minutes this evening, "Werewolves of Highland" and "Crying" will air. "Werewolves of Highland," according to available information, will be our intrepid duo's lambasting of the Twilight saga and its unreasonable effect on pop-culture at large. The latter episode, "Crying," finds Beavis unable to live down a few tears he shed during a viewing of The Bachelor. Be sure to watch! Thurs 10/27 @ 10pm on MTV. Videos after the jump.

Fitz & the Tantrums, Walk the Moon at Cat's Cradle

Fitz and the Tantrums (top) and Walk the Moon (bottom)
will be at Chapel Hill, NC's Cat's Cradle.
Click above for ticket information.

Walk the Moon have been perennial favorites on Myxem since the self-release of their infectious electro-pop masterpiece I Want! I Want!. At Bonnaroo, I made it a special point to catch their high energy set. Any chance to see them live, from heretofore, is a chance I will gladly accept. So when you combine Walk the Moon with soul/indie pop powerhouse Fitz and The Tantrums, you have a set made of solid gold. On November 4^th, that's exactly what's happening: Fitz and The Tantrums w/Walk the Moon at the legendary Chapel Hill, NC haunt Cat's Cradle.