Great Book for Decemberists Fans

The saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" has never been more true. Colin Meloy's "Let It Be" is one of the earlier volumes in the 33-1/3 series, before the ground rules for these books were enforced as strictly as they are now. Or it may just be that Meloy, lead singer for the Decemberists, was given more latitude than a typical 33-1/3 author due to his status. Whatever the reason, readers beware: This entry in the series is very different than most. Meloy – very early in his musical career when he wrote the short book – uses this platform as an opportunity to tell his story, the one about a boy growing up in Montana, a bit of a music nerd, with a cool young uncle who taught him all about college rock. The story is interesting, if not too dissimilar from most music nerds growing-up story. (Any reader of this book is probably a bit of a music nerd themselves and will likely see many parallels between Meloy's story and their own.)  The book is missing one critical element though – the Replacements! Meloy mentions Let It Be several times – it was the album he loved most of the ones he listened to growing up – but that’s as far as the book goes in getting into the band. What I thought was a must-read for ‘Mats fans is actually a must-read for Decemberists fans. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a strange way to publish your memoir.