As election day nears, the hyper-literate indie quartet The Decemberists has been staging get-out-the-vote performances at college campuses around the country.

The band also just wrapped recording songs for their upcoming fifth studio album, Hazards of Love. Terry Gross talked to lead singer Colin Meloy last year about The Decemberists' penchant for "10-dollar words" and the detailed character studies that emerge in their songs.

This interview was originally broadcast on Jan. 29, 2007.

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