Too Cool For What's Popular

Well I started writing a post about the Decemberists last week, got distracted and never finished. I promised I'd finish it up and post today, but decided I just did the "yay I love Man Man" post, so didn't really want to do the same thing for these guys (although I really only love half their stuff...the other half I usually just skip).

Anyway, the point is that instead of just saying why I love songs like "July, July" and "I was Meant for the Stage", I'd like to use the Decemberists as a reason to discuss that horrible feeling I get when a band I feel is all my own crosses the horrible line into mainstream popularity. I am afraid the Decemberists might be about to cross that line...that which once crossed allows you to walk into a CD store and see copies of their newest release, the Crane Wife, next to Justin Timberlake trying his best to bring sexy back.

Now, I'm all for the artists I love making money and not having to live in their parents' basement, but I'd really love to see Death Cab in the back of a bar in Hoboken with the 30 fans in the area that have loved them forever and know every song instead of sitting 100 rows away surrounded by 16 year old girls screaming at the top of their lungs and singing along only to the few songs that have made it to the radio (m and i actually had such a horrible experience last year, although death cab still puts on an amazing show)

The Decemberists have not been a little known band for quite some time now, but I knew I might really be in trouble when I first heard Steven Colbert mention them. Now, I'm a pretty big fan of the Colbert Report, so I was genuienly VERY excited when I heard Steven say that he was challenging the Decemberists to a guitar challenge. If you missed this, definitely check out the video on the show's website ASAP...especially the guy from 60 minutes doing the intro...completelly ridiculous.

Once the challenge had ended and I had fininshed telling everyone who would listen all about it, I started to hear about the Decemberists EVERYWHERE (I'm sure it was not entirely related, but that's about when it happened)....i started to have nightmares about them playing in football stadiums while young girls all dressed in pink Decemberists T-Shirts (which would replace their recently cast aside Death Cab Shirts) screamed "i love you" while trying to mumble along to the lyrics because they had never listened to a band that used so many words they didn't understand (okay maybe that's a little harsh...)

I'm pretty sure they'll never actually make it to Giants Stadium, but I'd still rather not hear them mixed in with Fergie and Jay-Z on anyone's playlist. I also must note that I am not opposed to listening to music from bands that are super popular...half of my favorite country singers are the same ones that every country fan will list, but the difference is that when I knew them, they were always pretty popular...I never was the first to know about them and never got to see them in some little bar with a few of my closest cowboy friends.

Anyway, the question is...how do you feel when a cool, little unknown band you really like hits it big...are you mature enough to be happy for them? Or are you selfish like me and try to wish them back into the time when you could see them for $10 and impress people with your knowledge of this amazing band no one had heard of? ...And of course, how ridiculous was the Colbert episode and what do you think about the Decemberists??