A sense of authenticity is what most people want today in a world blessed with iPhone culture. A polaroid photograph seems to be the hot ticket. Writes rock band The Decemberists of their ‘authentic’ way of selling box edition album sets:
“One night on Pendarvis Farm, whilst merrily roasting tofu dogs over an open campfire, we Decemberists, along with our esteemed Management Representatives and a certain Missus Autumn de Wilde, photographer superieur, hatched a plan wherein Mizz de Wilde would document the making of The King is Dead on Polaroid film, a full 2500 photos to be exact, and we would then include one of those unique photographs individually in each of the DELUXE BOX EDITION of the record. Naturally, this is the sort of cockamamy scheme that lodges itself in the minds of perfectly sane adults while under the influence of a bucolic, Arcadian Oregon summer; the expense was deemed too great. This is where The Impossible Project came in; they are a group devoted to the survival of Polaroid films of all sorts and collect or manufacture this ever-rarified breed of film in order to sell or donate it to photographers worldwide. They liked our idea; they donated us the film. And so here we are, this dream fulfilled. Ms. de Wilde followed us Decemberists around all summer, snapping Polaroids; we posed obligingly. And one of those photos could be yours. -Colin
Several The King is Dead listening parties will take place this week and weekend across the country. The first ten fans at each location will receive a poster featuring a selection of the Autumn de Wilde polaroids and all attendees will be entered in a raffle to win a Deluxe Box Edition of The King is Dead and a pair of tickets for a Decemberists show. It’s free to attend. Here’s a full list of events:
| Date | City | Location | Time |
| 1/13 | Cambridge, MA | 1369 Coffee House 757 Massachussetts Ave | 6-8pm |
| 1/13 | Pasadena, CA | Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea 55 E. Colorado Blvd. | 7-9pm |
| 1/13 | Chicago, IL | The Whistler 2421 North Milwaukee Ave | 7-9pm |
| 1/13 | Philadelphia, PA | Kraftwork 541 East Girard Ave | 5-7pm |
| 1/14 | Seattle, WA | Remedy Teahouse 345 15th Ave East | 6-8pm |
| 1/15 | Minneapolis, MN | Uncommon Grounds Coffeehouse 2809 Hennepin Ave | 7-9pm |
| 1/15 | St. Louis, MO | The Shaved Duck 2900 Virginia Ave | 9:30-11pm |
| 1/16 | Portland, OR | Heart Roasters 2211 E. Burnside | 7-9pm |
| 1/16 | San Francisco, CA | Philz Coffee 3101 24th St (at Folsom) |
12-2pm
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