Colin Meloy - The Crane Wife, Parts 1, 2 & 3 (Live on KEXP)

[ltaIicsmine]

this is amazingly fantastic

[TheRafagarcia18]

This may be my favorite YouTube vid...

except for the Nicolas Cage Losing his Sh*t vid, of course.

[cotilliontherope]

to some ppl below: liking the decemberists and colin meloy doesn't make you a hipster at all. every work of art can speak to any number of disparate people or groups, regardless of the sad, paradoxical attempts of some to assert their individuality by identifying with a collective label like "hipster." turds.

[arfurlife]

Amazing. I cannot praise this artist or this performance enough. i always keep looking for something exciting and original to stir my musical passions and Colin Meloy and his band keep hitting the bullseye on an alarming regular basis. Not many performers could pull this song off even on a writing basis ( the concept and lyrics are superb ) let alone solo peformance. he s a musical God and not of this world. Feel the love from the UK.

If you like solo acoustic guitar music check my vids.

[GoodTimeFunBunch]

Why doesn't he sing with this much expression on the albums? This is way better than the passionless shit that he releases.

[kovoCode]

@GoodTimeFunBunch Part of it might be recording for a long time and having to experience it continuously makes it kind of numb. Not to mention, he connects with the audience and feeds off them, that's what makes it so beautiful. I wouldn't call his releases passionless, just slightly sanitised... Just my take.

[riseuplikeangels]

And on the eighth day, God made Colin Meloy and the hipsters rejoiced.

[xxshotxx1]

@riseuplikeangels i find "hispter" to be derogatory. i prefer "people with great taste in music".

[caredmon]

I would only assume he talks down to people. But not in a mean spirited sort of way, he's just on a different mental plane. It would be like calling Einstein arrogant. Not that Colin is an Einstein necessarily, but you know what I mean.

[jnvrmind789]

I find myself back at this video often.It's just perfect really and by request :)

[Welihy]

Colin Meloy: Fantastic. Epic. Dorky. A bit arrogant.

[MuckyGhost]

@Welihy i don't think he's arrogant, when i saw them they were stupid and danced about doing improvisational blues songs and colin meloy rode the pedal steel guitar like a horse. i get the impression that although his music's clever (sometimes a bit too clever), he has a sense of humor about what he does. he seems like a pretty decent guy :)

[Welihy]

3 people have NO taste! Granted, his voice is a little shaky and uneven, but this is nonetheless beautiful.

[joopwoop]

Fantastic

[TheAntiMainstream]

Crane Wife 3 is one of the most the most beautiful songs ever written...

[OLIVERGREEN89]

Epic just epic

[twelvestepcorky]

What a dick.

[Welihy]

@twelvestepcorky I can't help but agree...I've met him and he is rather unpleasant and a bit arrogant...but still talented.

[TheColoroutofSpace]

@Welihy How? What did he do?

[Welihy]

@TheColoroutofSpace Oh, just his demeanor. He had an "I'm Better Than You" air about himself, and the way he sort of talked down to you. At one point he said "You're lucky I agreed to come here." But Chris Funk is nice. Plus, Colin is still an amazing singer.

[TheColoroutofSpace]

@Welihy That makes me really sad... I was hoping he'd be cooler than that. :(

[fabiolio]

@dANT3ify me gusta...

[Wizzzowski]

"Rakes at my heart." Once he hit that section. Fuck... Just fuck.

[Kefka0630]

Should'a done The Tain. lol, beautiful performance, stunning quality. Fantastic!

[Geronamo33]

Good lord he is so effing AMAZING! <3

[Talkingwthstrangers]

This video just made me realize I do not listen to The Decemberists nearly enough

[chinesefood19]

the only thing i dont like about him is that he jerks his head up everytime he sings

[GodofReapers]

@chinesefood19 Just because we were taught not to do it in choir, it works for him so why bother with it?

[chinesefood19]

@GodofReapers just my opinion.

[DolphinHeadbutts]

@chinesefood19 it's actually good for your voice to have as little stress in your neck, i.e. raising your chin. At least, this is what I'm learning in post secondary for voice.

[riseuplikeangels]

Only Colin Meloy could pull the entire fifteen-minute Crane Wife out of his ass just because someone requested it.

[dannyleg91]

16:05 andddddd i just replayed it

[Hazzer1991]

Just to add to what MrDarkside said, the crane wife and hazards of love have created a lot of change in my life, those songs have opened up imaginations and creative thoughts, they have given me a new perspective to cultures and meaning. I have never seen Colin and the others live but nevertheless I am listening to you guys everyday learning from the music. Fav song has to be marinas revenge =D thank you Decemberists!

[unseen370]

All under the bows unbowed... Oh god yes ^_^

[GodofReapers]

@unseen370 boughs* They're trees.

[BazookaChipmunk]

In my place, I would have asked him to start on two, then do three, and then part one. See what happens.

[MrDarksidematter]

This album helped me through some really tough times when I was living overseas. Because of this The Crane Wife is my favourite album ever. Hazards of Love is amazing too. A very underrated band me thinks. Decemberists - I LOVE YOU. xxx

[2nevergiveup]

Its good to know music still has feelings.

[EvanPogue]

Y'all I'm currently reading Colin's book Wildwood and it is FANTASTIC! EVERYONE GET IT! :D

[lamuto]

Amazing acoustic guitar work!

Got to play it on parties and get awesome!

[SqueeLumkins]

I love that he's a little taken aback "The Crane Wife? All of it?" and then delivers without any issue because he's fantastic like that <3

[Mouldytone]

Sublime. But what else do you expect from Mr Meloy. Thanks to kexpradio. What you do is wonderful.

Tony

[theRockabillyRhino]

He really is perfection.

[themightytacohead]

I love that man. His voice sounds good no matter what, even live.

[Nooter13]

"That was awesome." - Chris Farley

[BlueGorillaGoes2Camp]

i don't know what to play. Oh, a fifteen minute ballad? okay. let's do that one.

[joshmichaelwilliams]

Colin Meloy needs to have a performance of an acoustic, solo version of Hazards of Love IV: The Drowned. In San Diego.

[dannystrongstrong]

top 5 videos on YouTube.

[lazyatthedisco]

ok Colin, now I would like to hear The Hazards of Love. With interludes included if you don't mind.

[benglassman]

this dude is legit... great artist. His lyrical imagery is serious...... only his career stamina will keep me from comparing him to Elvis Costello

[DeliriousReBel24]

My favorite is definitely Pt. 3. He just puts so much more emotion into it.

[unseen370]

this is the best song sequence i'v ever heard

decemberists forever

[CelloRocks2]

'Like' is not a very strong word, and it's certainly not my response to this song. Can somebody please direct me to the 'love' button? I can't seem to find it tonight. Maybe I'm just tired...

[TessieTee]

I cannot stop listening to this.

[daveydaveb]

I think Crane Wife 2 is my favourite of the three but to hear them all back to back like this is truly amazing. I've nothing but admiration for the consistently wonderful music The Decemberists continue to share with us.

[august20091]

I can't decide which part is my favorite- 1, 2, or 3....Nobody else can make music and deliver it like this..........

[Pher5]

Will Colin's label be releasing this as a purchasable file since the time has run out on KEXP's?

[poisedpeacock]

a modern pioneer. there is no alternative to the music colin & co produce.

[jakzfilms]

one of my favorite songs and this version is awesome!!

[gallantemu]

Goosebumps!

[Dawnzeel]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM­MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM­MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM­MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM­MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM i love colin



[leruud]

I love every single second of this.

[shizznugget]

awsome



[RobObedoza]

does anyone have the original podcast download? post a link or shoot me a message please!

[Pannenberg]

SETI should stop their search for aliens...because clearly the 3 people who disliked this video are not human

[thestudlybudly]

the transition into part 3 is probably the most epic thing ever

[brandonedwardnorth]

@thestudlybudly Jesus christ, dont i know it.

[RenGreer]

Beautiful.

[TheGrantkaminski]

1 question: how could 3 people dislike this!?

[twoheadedgirl]

this was beautifully filmed. props.

[AttilaShield]

youtube to mp3 converter douche <cthom5uy

[callawaymagicsyrup]

I have now seen this a good million times.

[Terilamour]

What a Doll...what's a girl suppose to do...good looks...talent...very intelligent....wow..whats a girl to do....

[omgafilangi]

shivers....and I've heard all three parts a million times. This performance though....it's like hearing them for the first time all over again.

[litamamita]

so beautiful :) i didn't know music like this still existed. Thank God it does!!!

[bigmattk]

Saw them in Pitt. Played this. Got shivers b/c I was first introduced to this band on the album in 06.

[BaconRouge]

AND ALL THE STARS CAME CRASHING ROUND CUZ I LAID EYES ON WHAT I FOUND. FUCK YA!!!

[dlquinton]

Three people hate Cranes

[danceswithwollves]

amazing



[AmplifiedGravity]

I cried halfway through part two, because I already knew the ending :'|

[FOXGEAR92]

It is an utter joy watching Colin play. He is one of the biggest musical inspirations in my life. I love you, Colin!

[nickcunningham22490]

win forever. all three parts in order? YES

[bbqwhaaat]

Whoever in the audience requested this, I want to go down on them.

[terri898]

This is fabulous. I've been waiting for a live version for ages!

[CrashieBashie]

Holy Cow! I Iove how he smoothly transitions from one song to the other. This is amazingly beautiful <3

[cthom5uy]

Is there anyway to get this recording?? I love watching him sing, but I wanna be able to take it on the road with me :)

[cbehrer3]

@cthom5uy perhaps (probably) not legal but I'm told that if you google youtube to mp3 there are numerous websites where you can input the youtube url and it will give you a downloadable mp3. But again, probably not legal so I'm not endorsing that option.

[kexpradio]

@cthom5uy, this is available legally as one of our Live Performances podcasts, which you can subscribe to or download from KEXP{dot}ORG. It won't be available for much longer, so get it now!

[cthom5uy]

@kexpradio Thank you so much!! I got the whole podcast :) Thanks for introducing me to this podcast site as well, I'll use it in the future.

[Dothoobler]

@kexpradio I'm a total photo-nerd as well as a Decemberists fan. Would you have any information on who made this video/how? It looks like it's HD video from a dSLR, but I'm not quite sure.

[kexpradio]

@Dothoobler, we used three DSLR cameras. Probably a 5D and a couple of T2is.

[Dothoobler]

@kexpradio I'm a total photo-nerd as well as a Decemberists fan. Would you have any information on who made this video/how? It looks like it's HD video from a dSLR, but I'm not quite sure.

[tcbaxley]

@kexpradio Make this performance available for download again. Please.

[kexpradio]

@tcbaxley, I wish we could, but according to our agreement with Colin's label, we could only offer it for a limited time. They were generous, though, to allow us that. Hopefully, one of your friends downloaded it!

[ApocalypticEcstasy]

@tcbaxley I don't know how legal it would be, but it's possible to download directly from youtube. Just google "youtube downloader plugin" or something.

[tcbaxley]

@kexpradio Please make this whole session available for download again.

[OhMeOhMy4]

i'm so in love with this <3

[OhMeOhMy4]

<3

[dANT3ify]

@cthom5uy download dvdvideosoft then you just get it, its so simple!

[whalestail1955]

He takes a request from the audience and immediately delivers the Crane Wife Opera. This blows my mind.Colin is a magical creature sent here to teach us the messages from the stars. No less.

[syrianida]

OMG this was sent from heaven ...

[chevroletofissaquah]

the worst part of this whole video is that only 23,000 people have seen it.

[TheSloanski]

Eargasm!

[maynard666]

gced's best combo yet

[NeonFoxLetsPlays]

saw them live last month. was a little disappointed they didn't play any of the Crane Wife. those are my three favorite songs!

[adwolfe12]

@NeonFoxLetsPlays Damn, I am seeing them in April and they better play at least on Crane Wife song.

[NeonFoxLetsPlays]

@adwolfe12 even if they don't you'll love the concert. just make sure they play "The Mariner's Revenge Song" it's so awesome.

[mcrlvr10]

@NeonFoxLetsPlays Any show isn't complete without The Mariner's Revenge. That 9 minutes or so is the greatest thing I've ever experienced live. Luckily at this last show I got all three Crane Wife parts AND Mariner's Revenge. It was fantastic.

[Nadrim]

@adwolfe12 They didn't play it at the concert I went to. But even still, it was the most amazing night of my life.

[cosmo835]

April 23rd Columbus, OH!!!!

[Zfender67]

You can tell by the expressions on his face how passionate he is about his music, he's freakin awesome.

[cincokatet]

Incredible. Have seen them 4X and don't /won't miss a show when they're home. So much emotion and memories associated with times listening to this song. So much emotion IN this song. Hail the storytellers and bards and the ridiculous talent that is Colin Meloy and The Decemberists.

[SunnyShine43]

Comment removed.

[RockstarShar]

Part 2 is the best :)

[slicedbread08]

This man keeps my faith in the music industry alive.

[ittycar]

@slicedbread08, yes. Thank you for writing that.

[ittycar]

@slicedbread08, thank you so much for posting this. It's so true for so many of us, I think.

[kc42291]

of these 15,694 views, I have probably contributed 4,000.

Colin Meloy, you are the greatest. 

[oxygenslave]

breathtaking. just out of this world.

[woxycarrie]

Colin Meloy <3

[lunarducks]

Fucking incredible. no other words necessary.

[07foxmulder]

hold your head high!

that was awesome lol

[feasible]

Wow. That was incredible. Colin commanded that space and the viewer's attention.

[Carex09]

Fascinating, one of my favorite traditional myths. But in the version I heard it was an emperor or king that was greedy and wanted her to weave more- the husband just looks in on his crane wife because he was worried about her health. This version is more depressing and full of self blame.

[HollyAVB]

@Carex09 ... cause this one isn't. It's all means to an end, and the end is the same!

[dmoney2022]

only two words can describe the beauty and power of these songs... fucking amazing

[cboblo]

Saw you in Nov 2006 before I knew what you were all about, and on my way to Royal Oak on Feb 2, 2011.....a HUGE fan ever since!

You are a musical genius, Colin....amazing!

If you are watching this, and haven't yet read the history behind The Crane Wife album, go now...you'll be hooked!

[FYSlytherin]

Soooo excited to see the Decemberists Tomorrow!!!

[quicklikerodly33]

absolutely amazing

[d2god09]

There needs to be more comments about how difficult it is to perform 3 parts of a song straight without making a single mistake. Goddamn Professional right there.

[SoulForHire1]

God! I want to marry this man! He's absolutely brilliant!

[NationalBoxingDay]

does anyone have a decent tab for this?

[boonetip00]

@NationalBoxingDay just watch him play it. its actually pretty easy. the crane wife 1 is just G, C, and D. the crane wife 2 you'll just have to watch and listen, its pretty easy to pick up. the crane wife 3 is just D, A, and C

[ChasHolling]

@boonetip00 Crane Wife 3 is D, A and G, not C.

[boonetip00]

@ChasHolling hahaha sorry, i always say C instead of G when im talking or yping fast, but you're definately right.

[LongbowGirl]

Colin really puts to shame all these other acts that have been frequenting KEXP as of late with their ultra- hipster wannabe noise.

What an incredible talent this man is.

[vacantbass]

fucking awesome... dear god hahaha amazing voice

[mattburnside]

3 people seriously have no ears! Fantastic performance.

[TheRive6440]

the guitar had some off bits, but wow. His voice is amazing, and he will always be my favorite song writer. :)

[booklover1217]

The Crane Wife 3 was the first song I learned on guitar. :)

[booklover1217]

iudjahdfklkjdlja love this so much.

[maddlesnakes]

Anyone know what kind of guitar he plays here? Sounds amazing.

[Browncoat1138]

@maddlesnakes Looks like a Martin, but other than it being a dreadnought style body, I don't know exactly what type. And this is incredible. They're coming to Chicago! But I have the first night of full rehearsal for a play that night... So I can't make the show. Grrr...

[Fulldre]

@Browncoat1138 aww, im actually going to head to the chicago show, closest one to southern indiana

[dragonman223344]

@Fulldre Yoooo, I just ordered tickets to the KC show.

[jenikat]

@dragonman223344 Woo hoo... I'm going to that show, too! Driving up from Dallas!

[insertmynameofficial]

I Gotta love the Decemberists when they're all together, But this is Absolutely Brilliant :)

[SelfFromAfar]

Agreed long live KEXP! Unbelievable performance. Makes you believe in beautiful things.

[dangle456]

Tabs please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bantha17]

wow. what a lovely performance

[CarrieDAway12]

This is wonderful beyond words.

[cominguproses22]

God, I love this man. The three parts combined like this is breathtaking.

[moniquegee]

<3

[Drumby]

3 thumbs down must have been Bieber fans!

[superbond2]

@Drumby FUCK YOU.

[Drumby]

@superbond2 Guess you're one of the Bieber fans!

[superbond2]

@Drumby The only thing I hate more than Justin Beiber is this series of stupid fucking comments that correlate with dislikes. It's unoriginal and stupid.

[rspw2000]

Come to more stops in Canada with the new album!

[LordMalconian]

Oh hell yes

[LordMalconian]

Oh hell yes

[dpoche1]

Those people attending must be a bunch of prunes! I would have given my left arm, right arm and both legs to have just been in the room with the genius that is Colin Meloy.

[WatchMeSkateboard]

This is absolutely amazing!

Even if you take away how soulful his voice and playing are, you've got to respect the fact that he played for 15 minutes straight without making any errors

[nomentero]

@WatchMeSkateboard huh.. 7:25.. 

[chippeddiamonds]

@TerryToon17 and long live KEXP!

[TerryToon17]

@chippeddiamonds Agreed!