Upon first glance, Decemberists' frontman Colin Meloy doesn't exactly look like a metalhead. In fact, with his librarian specs and swooping hairdo, he more closely resembles a record-store clerk (though those meaty muttonchops do hint at an inner hesher). But looks aren't everything.
See, on his band's new album, The Hazards Of Love, Meloy get's seriously heavy, swapping sludgy riffs with fellow guitarist Chris Funk (see, the muttonchops don't lie). It's pretty amazing ... he certainly rocks harder than most librarians I know.
But, had he made Hazards a decade ago, things probably wouldn't have turned out this way. As a slightly lanky student at the University if Montana, he didn't have the faintest clue about metal (though he was aware of a tiny band called Metallica), preferring the far more, uh, sensitive work of acts like Morrissey.
Though that would eventually change ... and Hazards is the proof. But it didn't happen overnight. To hear Meloy's tale of metal redemption, keep reading after the jump Read More...

By Jenna Talavera
Here's the thing. If you live in Los Angeles, New York, Miami or anywhere the "Real World" touches down, you're used to seeing your city on TV. But if, like me, you live in, say, Cincinnati (or, as my colleagues in New York like to call it, Cleveland), not so much.
Big Boi had himself a rather grande Thursday at South By Southwest. Early in the day, he patrolled the streets of Austin, handing out daps to rather puzzled indie kids, joking with his posse, and taking drags off a Black & Mild cigar.
[Insert generic Texas-style greeting here], folks! Welcome to Friday at South By Southwest. We're all still recovering from a rather epic Thursday night in Austin --
I might be a 
President Barack Obama's appearance on "The Tonight Show" Thursday was memorable for many reasons, including the way he compared life in Washington, D.C. to being on "American Idol" -- with everyone being Simon!