Terry Gross interviewed Colin Meloy of The Decemberists on Fresh Air today. I’ve read some good interviews with him before and think he’s an interesting guy but he wasn’t very engaging on the show. Gross’ best interviews are when her guests’ answers lead to other avenues of discussion. With Meloy it seemed like she’d toss him a question and he’d dutifully answer it, but in such a way that it closed the topic. Next question, please. Not that he came across as aloof or anything. He just wasn’t a very good conversationalist. The interview also felt really padded with song samples and an extended clip from The Colbert Report (in reference to the recent “Rock and Awe: Countdown to Guitarmageddon” episode.)
You can listen to the interview here.