Archive for the 'woxy' Category

The Long Winters

Just where have I been this last week or so? Well I’ll tell you the truth. I’ve largely been in bed, sweating through a wicked fever, and generally ignoring all things related to the interwebs. It has been atrocious, terrible, and tragic. Well maybe not quite any of those three melodramatic terms, but it was bad. But I’m feeling better now, or at least I’ve convinced myself I’m well enough to blog again, and that’s really half the battle. And for my first post back from the brink of sure death I thought I would post my all time favorite song by one of my favorite bands.

This version of The Commander Thinks Aloud can only be found over at WOXY as it was preformed live in their Lounge. I guess the argument could be made that it could now be found here, but I’m not healthy enough for arguing. The song is a sort of narrative taken from the point of view of the commander aboard the ill-fated Space Shuttle Columbia as they orbit the Earth and prepare to come home. A journey that they were never to successfully complete. It’s a blissfully simple song but there is a depth of emotion that I hear in this song that goes well beyond it’s simple composition and chord structure. By the time the repeated phrase of “the crew compartment is breaking up” is sung at the end of the song I feel as my heart has made the same journey.

mp3 : The Long Winters - The Commander Thinks Aloud (Live in the WOXY Lounge)

Although I do love the version of this song that appears on their Ultimatum EP (iTunes) I feel as if this version from WOXY says so much more without the distortion and electronica that was prevalent on that album. As I said before this is my favorite version of my favorite song by one of my favorite bands. Enjoy it for the first time if you’ve never heard it; listen to it again and remember how great The Long Winters are if this is your second time at the dance.

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The Long Winters

The Long Winters - Commander Thinks Aloud (live at WOXY)

I first heard of The Long Winters way back when they were touring with then label mates, and soon to make it huge, Death Cab for Cutie. Like most of the people at the small Indianapolis venue I was there to see Death Cab and had never heard of The Long Winters. But their opening set was amazing. I was hooked from the moment they played Cinnamon and have been following them for the last three years.

And let me say, the last three years have been a long wait. Only one LP has been dropped during that time, and that was almost two years ago now. Admittedly, it’s brilliant, but still; two years is a long time to wait for another full length. Even U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers don’t make us wait this long.

Finally this past year they released a little four song EP, Ultimatum, that is a bit lush [read: produced] when compared to their indie-darling acoustic sound they’ve carefully cultivated over the years. And yet, at the same time, John Roderick captures the heart and soul of life and everything with his witty, somewhat slippery lyrics.

And all of that is captured beautifully in this live performance of Commander Thinks Aloud. The lead off track on the EP contains Roedericks musings on the Columbia space shuttle tragedy that took place early in 2003. The song begins by capturing the giddy childlike jubilation of being an astronaut with the oft repeated line “yay! yay!” while explaining how gravity returns on the descent, and as they float above the Tropic of Capricorn the crew turns to thoughts of almost being home. The entire song is melancholic, even during the most happy and most obscure lyrics, but it’s the final repeated phrase that really pushes it over the edge.

the crew compartment is breaking up
this is all i wanted to bring home

mp3 : The Long Winters - Commander Thinks Aloud (live at WOXY)

Buy this EP : The Long Winters - Ultimatum



this is what the world forgot