Episode 225, The Decemberists Discography, featuring Derrick Benitz
When Derrick Benitz joined me for Episode No. 160 (3/26/25), we were talking about a bunch of cool stuff and he said something that prompted me to mention that I'd like to have him back one day for another conversation.
Today is that day.
Or...the other day was that day, and today the episode's dropping, but you catch my drift.
Derrick's first appearance covered topics like street photography, his University of Missouri-Kansas City gig, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Dr. Dre, The Wind & the Wave, and -- last but not least -- The Decemberists. For the unfamiliar, the latter is an indie-rock outfit out of Portland, Oregon. They've released nine records, and this is a conversation rooted very loosely in an analysis of their library.
And by "very loosely," I mean very loosely.
That's not all, though; Derrick and I inadvertently talked about the slow, organic process of creating something cool that doesn't have immediate impact on society. Perhaps it never does. We talked about it anyway. He's definitely doing a version of that with his art, and he was kind and genuine enough to suggest that I might be, too, with this thing.
Even cooler: Derrick suggested we incorporate a needle-drop exercise in which we share our top-10 moments in film where a piece of music really struck us, and it was a ton of fun to do.
Can't say enough nice things about Derrick without sounding like a creep, so I'll leave it at this: I'm definitely looking forward to having him back a third time for either some Quentin Tarantino-rooted shenanigans or whatever feels right at the time. Derrick's good people.
Oh. That Decemberists catalog looks like this:
Castaways and Cutouts (2002)
Her Majesty the Decemberists (2003)
Picaresque (2005)
The Crane Wife (2006)
The Hazards of Love (2009)
The King Is Dead (2011)
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (2015)
I'll Be Your Girl (2018)
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (2024)
Many thanks to Derrick for the time, consideration, effort, energy, and great conversation, and thank you to all of you that support the show.
copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips contained within this episode. They are snippets from a Smashing Pumpkins tune called, "Drown." You can find it on their Rotten Apples: Greatest Hits record from 2001, but it initially came out on Singles (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) in 1992, c/o Sony BMG Music Entertainment.