The OCD Chronicles: Death Cab For Cutie - "Photobooth"

Death Cab For Cutie takes the Shoe Leather Express

You might be able to tell through my words, thoughts, and endless reminiscing that my heart is full of flawed romanticism. Certain actions from years ago still haunt me and I’m very aware that I cannot change things that I’ve done to others, or choices that I may have made.

This includes a list of women that I could not communicate effectively with or provide the type of relationship that they may (or may not) have been trying to achieve. And while my choices-those flawed and those that were correct-have led me to the place that I am at today, I cannot help but wish the path to my current happiness was a bit more honest, efficient, and completely aware of how love may be life’s only true fulfilling thing. These feelings of regret are brought to light through songs.

After all, it’s the soundtrack to our lives, right?

And there’s probably one band in particular that is led by another man with a full heart, who’s catalog is filled with glances in life’s rear view mirror, constantly re-evaluating scenes in his head and roads he could have taken instead.

Christ, even their name is stuck in a reference from yesterday: Death Cab For Cutie.

I’m tired of talking about this band’s rise and fall in my own playlist, but I cannot ignore how there are songs in their catalog that serve as triggers. Because, let’s face it, part of becoming completely enamored with a band’s music often depends on how closely it relates to your own life. There may be themes or topics that appear in their songs that are so close to a personal experience or event that you’re almost certain that the lyricist has been snooping around in your journal, emails, or even worse-your mind, to come up with a few lines of prose for a fucking pop song.

And you love them all the more for it.

Like I said, I’ve fallen out of love with Ben Gibbard, but admittedly this may having more to do with no longer being such a fanboy that I don’t have a proper reference to his most recent work. All I have is the moment where our relationship ended, and the fond memories that he created with Death Cab For Cutie before our falling out.

One snapshot is the appropriately titled “Photobooth” from their 2000 e.p. Forbidden Love.

 The extended play is for completists only. Casual fans can stay away because short of half the songs on the five track e.p. are mere alternate takes or acoustic versions of songs that already appeared in their much better full length offerings. Two other songs are leftovers and they sound it.

That leaves one truly good track, which stands out in my mind as “great” because of the aforementioned connotations to my own memories which also seem to reflect Gibbard’s.

“Photobooth”

“I remember when the days were long” Gibbard begins “And our nights when the living room was on the lawn.” Usually, as we get older and more responsible, we tend to forget those times when our vehicles were the ticket to freedom. It was a time when an act like being able to simply hang out with a member of the opposite sex required traveling a short distance, and often the grass of a park, or cemetery, or beach, or whatever, became our refuge and our furniture. After all, how can you discover each other through thought or touch when your parents or roomates are within earshot in another part of the house?

“Constant quarreling, the childish fits/And our clothes in a pile on the ottoman” It must have been the hormones, because when the fuck did so little turn into so much drama? It is moments like this when I look back and realize how much time was wasted on trivial things, preventing us from enjoying what Queen referred to as this “crazy little thing called love.”

Those moments are precious, and to squander them now seems wasteful, but during your younger years, I’m willing to bet that most relationships are spent creating and dealing with petty bullshit instead of enjoying the moments you have with someone else to the fullest. Particularly in the summer.

Did you ever find love at the beginning of the season, work like hell to get them in the sack and then realize when it was all over that there was no chance of the relationship ever moving beyond that one moment? By the time the leaves on the trees begin to change, so does your attraction.

 Gibbard’s next line is where “Photobooth” really stands next to copyright infringement for me:

“Well I lost track and those words were said
You took the wheel and you steered us into my bed
Soon we woke and I walked you home
And it was pretty clear that it was hardly love”

When you finally get “permission” to advance, when it becomes clear that everything you have worked for the entire season to achieve is finally becoming a reality, it’s only afterwards that you figure out how maybe the other person isn’t the complete package that you’d hoped for. Maybe the sex wasn’t that good. Maybe you’re plagued with the guilt of saying things you didn’t actually mean and now you’re faced with the reality of having to distance yourself away. Maybe it’s the regret of opening the present before Christmas morning. 

The temperature in Iowa at this moment has literally dropped over twenty degrees in the course of one or two days. The hint of fall is approaching, and the memories of all of the things that didn’t get done are clearly in front of me.

Yet, my mind wanders as it often does, to a time when the only honey do list was to change direction with the season, on that seemingly endless quest to connect with someone. To finally get it right. To build a more permanent memory than some immediate snapshot taken in the photobooth of some dingy bar of a relationship that was extinct before the machine dished out the evidence of another example of wasted time.

Not necessarily wasted on the other person, but maybe the time spent with that person was riddled with pointless exercises that prevented you from taking the next step, or stepping away to look for a connection in a different direction.

May the cool air push your hard heart forward.

Postal Service Give Up...And Then Try Again, 10 Years Later

The fact that the Postal Service's Give Up is now 10 year's old is almost as amazing that it is now Sub Pop Record's second largest selling record of all time.

Second only to some olde tyme grunge rockers name Nirvana.

To be honest, the record never resonated with me the way it did with so many others. I found the record to be lacking in emotional honesty during points, but that may be because Give Up is part of a divorce playlist that is littered with bad decisions.

Be that as it may, some may find the following record company mass email of interest.

Some may just feel ten years older.

Sub Pop is thrilled to share the news that The Postal Service, the much-beloved, long-distance collaboration between Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello, will reunite this spring to celebrate the 10th anniversary and deluxe edition reissue of their universally acclaimed release, Give Up.  The Give Up Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition will include the original 10-track album along with 15 bonus tracks (including the 2 brand new songs "Turn Around" and "A Tattered Line of String," a previously unreleased live recording, and every other official recording the band has ever released--as well as cover versions of Postal Service classics by The Shins and Iron & Wine) and was mastered by Grammy nominated engineers Emily Lazar and Joe Laporte. Give Up Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition will be available as a 2xCD, 3xLP and digitally on April 8 in the UK and Europe and April 9 in North America via Sub Pop. A very limited “Loser” edition of the 3xLP will be pressed on colored vinyl. Please find a complete tracklisting below.

 

The release of the Give Up Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition will also be commemorated by the first live Postal Service dates in a decade. Shows will be announced as they are confirmed. Check http://www.postalservicemusic.net/ for further details as they become available.

 

Give Up was certified platinum last year just shy of 10 years from its original February 9, 2003 release. Led by the single "Such Great Heights,” the landmark album peaked at #114 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and has sold 1,067, 087 copies in the US to date. After Nirvana’s Bleach, Give Up is the second-biggest selling album in Sub Pop’s nearly 25-year history.

 

Give Up, which Entertainment Weekly called a "near-perfect" album, is the first and only full-length by The Postal Service. The album received 2003 year-end praise from an array of publications, including SPIN, Rolling Stone and the Village Voice “Pazz & Jop” critics’ poll. Give Up also earned "Best of the Decade" status from Pitchfork, NPR, Complex, Paste, Under the Radar, and more. 

 

Both Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello (as Dntel) recorded albums in 2012: Gibbard's solo outing, Former Lives, was released via Barsuk Records last October; Dntel's Aimlessness was released this past June on Pampa Records.

 

About The Postal Service:

You can spend all the time and money in the world trying to craft the perfect pop-music scenario, but sometimes the stars have to align all by themselves. Even though early on the members of The Postal Service jokingly referred to “Such Great Heights” as “the hit” on their debut album, Give Up, there’s no way anyone could have predicted the eventual impact made by a mail-order album designed in a pair of West Coast bedrooms. It’s been 10 years since the little project that could from Seattelite Ben Gibbard (also known as Death Cab For Cutie’s frontman) and Angeleno Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel, Figurine) emerged from seemingly nowhere and began to burrow its way into the ears of anyone who came into contact with the band’s infectious electro-pop (read more at Sub Pop).

 

Tracklisting:

Disc 1 (Original Album):

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

Such Great Heights

Sleeping In

Nothing Better

Recycled Air

Clark Gable

We Will Become Silhouettes

This Place Is a Prison

Brand New Colony

Natural Anthem

 

Disc 2 (New Tracks, Rarities, B-Sides, Remixes, Cover Versions, etc.):

Turn Around

A Tattered Line of String

Be Still My Heart

There’s Never Enough Time

Suddenly Everything Has Changed

Against All Odds (Take a Look At Me Now)

Grow Old With Me

Such Great Heights (John Tejada Remix)

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (DJ Downfall Persistent Beat Mix)

Be Still My Heart (Nobody Remix)

We Will Become Silhouettes (Matthew Dear Remix)

Nothing Better (Styrofoam Remix)

Recycled Air (Live on KEXP)

We Will Become Silhouettes (Performed by The Shins)

Such Great Heights (Performed by Iron and Wine)

Sub Pop Records Is Really Happy That The Postal Service Album Went Platinum

I supposed it's a big deal when a record label sells a million copies of something...particularly in this era!

But for Sub Pop Records-who's last platinum record came with Nirvana's Bleach-they got all sentimental when the Postal Service's Give Up release went Platinum last month. Good for them.

For me, this record is permanently embedded in the soundtrack to my divorce, "Such Great Heights" a cruel reminder of the lows that a person can face.

The announcement also reminds me that there were a million of others like me, wallowing in this spotty electronic album that permanently altered by perception of Ben Gibbard and Death Cab For Cutie.

Like they give a shit! There was 999,999 in back of me to make Give Up such a success.

Here's Sub Pop's Press Release:


"We at Seattle’s Sub Pop Records feel a profound sense of self-satisfaction in announcing that The Postal Service's universally acclaimed 2003 album, Give Up, is now a certified platinum record. It is only our second ever; please forgive us for the excitement. Released on February 9, 2003, the landmark album, led by the single "Such Great Heights,” peaked at #114 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and has sold 1,067, 087 copies in the US to date. After Nirvana’s Bleach, Give Up is the second-biggest selling album in Sub Pop’s 24-year history.

The Postal Service is a long-distance collaboration between Ben Gibbard (singer/guitarist from Death Cab for Cutie) and Jimmy Tamborello (who also records under the names James Figurine and Dntel). Ben and Jimmy sent music back and forth, between California and Washington, each adding new elements until the record was complete. The result is a sweetly charming, largely electronic album with warmth not typically associated with the clicks-and-beeps set. As an added bonus, additional vocals on the record were provided by Jen Wood and Jenny Lewis.

Give Up, which Entertainment Weekly called a "near-perfect" album, is the first and only full-length by The Postal Service. And the album received 2003 year-end praise from an array of publications, including SPIN, Rolling Stone and the Village Voice “Pazz & Jop” critics’ poll. The album also earned "Best of the Decade" status from Pitchfork, NPR, Complex, Paste, Under the Radar, and more. Both Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello (as Dntel) recorded albums this year: Gibbard's solo outing, Former Lives, was released via Barsuk Records earlier this month; Dntel's Aimlessness was released this past June on Pampa Records. We’re exceedingly proud of our association with The Postal Service and Give Up is a true high point in Sub Pop’s catalog (and admittedly somewhat checkered past).

Congratulations, you guys.

Ben Gibbard Grows Facial Hair In Preparation For Upcoming Solo Tour

"I've packed a change of clothes and it's time to move on."

Perhaps it’s all those years of vegan eating with Zooey Deschanel, but Ben Gibbard looks like he’s supporting about a 28 inch waist and a frame that’s thin enough where he could have auditioned for her stunt double in (500) Days Of Summer.

Thank goodness that Ben is supplanting his emaciated body with facial hair to at least give the appearance that he’s healthy enough to rock your balls off on his recently announced solo tour.

The tour is a mere 13 dates long-as two weeks of shows would surely drain the remaining bodily fluids left in his body to cause dehydration.

In the press release below, Gibbard makes an underhanded attempt at redeeming some of his manhood by professing his love for the Seattle Mariners and penning a theme song for Ichiro Suzuki, who’s now a fucking Yankee.

That bid for additional testosterone points is then cancelled out by Ben who decides to donate all the proceeds from that song about the former-Mariner to a community program sponsored by the Seattle team.

Next up, Ben plans to write a song about the Seattle Supersonics with proceeds going to an old coffee shop Gibbard used to visit that is now in danger of closing.

[Tuesday, August 14, 2012, Seattle, WA] This fall Death Cab for Cutie frontman Benjamin Gibbard will release his first solo record and embark on a 13-date North American tour. The album, Former Lives (Barsuk), is set for an October 16^th release and the album art is available now. The tour begins October 14^th in Toronto, ON. "Along the way Gibbard will hit Chicago, New York, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles and more with the tour wrapping up in mid-November with soon to be announced shows in the songwriter’s native Pacific Northwest."  Advance Base and Damien Jurado will be joining him in opening slots. A complete list of tour dates is available below.

Recently the singer has been in the news for penning “Ichiro’s Theme”, a tribute to long-time Seattle Mariners’ outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who was recently traded to the New York Yankees. “I wrote "Ichiro's Theme" in 2010 while living in LA and missing The Mariners.  I had always loved Ichiro and decided he needed a theme song that didn't suck.  Hopefully, I achieved this goal." “Ichiro’s Theme” is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon, All sales proceeds will benefit the Seattle Mariners Refuse to Abuse Program.

In addition, Gibbard is the first contributor to a new initiative called “90 Days, 90 Reasons” launched by Dave Eggers and McSweeney’s. This is an effort to remind voters that there’s an election fast approaching and that President Obama deserves another term. Every day on this new website a concrete reason to vote for Obama will be given, with a cultural figure such as Judd Apatow, Win Butler, Roger Ebert, Aimee Mann and others detailing the reason. Reason  #1 by Ben Gibbard: “Obama is the first president in U.S. history to acknowledge the right of gay couples to marry and enjoy the full benefits of marriage in the eyes of the law. “

BENJAMIN GIBBARD FALL 2012 TOUR DATES & TICKET INFORMATION:
Pre-sale tickets for this tour are being held exclusively for the Death Cab for Cutie fan club beginning Wednesday, August 15 at 12 noon local venue time.

Please visit www.dcfcunion.com for more information on becoming a member of the DCFC Union Local #1138, or to log in to your account and gain access to the pre-sale. By buying tickets through our pre-sale, you will be able to get your tickets before anyone as well as save money on service charges.

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, August 3. For further ticketing information, please visit Ben Gibbard's website.

Wed Sep 26 - Big Sur CA @ Henry Miller Library

Sun Oct 14 - Toronto ON @ The Danforth Music Hall

Thu Nov 01 - Minneapolis MN @ Assembly Hall at The Women's Club w/ Advance Base

Fri Nov 02 - Chicago IL @ Athenaeum Theatre w/ Advance Base

Sun Nov 04 - Somerville MA @ Somerville Theater w/ Advance Base

Mon Nov 05 - New York NY @ Town Hall w/ Advance Base

Wed Nov 07 - Glenside PA @ Keswick Theatre w/ Advance Base

Thu Nov 08 - Washington DC @ Sixth & I Historic Synagogue w/ Advance Base

Sat Nov 10 - Saxapahaw NC @ The Haw River Ballroom  w/ Advance Base

Sun Nov 11 - Atlanta GA @ Variety Playhouse w/ Advance Base

Tue Nov 13 - San Francisco CA @ Palace of Fine Arts Theatre  w/ Damien Jurado

Wed Nov 14 - Los Angeles CA @ Wilshire Ebell w/ Damien Jurado 

In Case You Were Wondering, Ben Gibbard Will Be Voting For Obama In 2012

The cocktail politics and obscure details.

Our weeklong coverage of Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard continues with a lengthy announcement at how Ben would like you to consider Barack Obama for re-election this November.

The funny thing is, other than slowly placing Mr. Gibbard into a category of “irritating indie rock hipster,” I don’t think that I gave two shits about the political leanings of the frontman for Death Cab For Cutie. For me, it ranks right up there in the eye-rolling category as Dave Mustaine blaming Obama for the shootings in Aurora, Colorado or Ted Nugent whenever he opens his big fucking mouth.

Ok, maybe he’s not on the same irritant level as the Nuge, but you get the idea.

And to be fair, the idea that we even have Ben Gibbard spouting about the merits of another 4-years of Obama isn’t even his idea, even if he could have easily said no to the contribution.

No, it’s the brainchild of two Chicagoans who looked around and noticed that their peers weren’t impressed with the first four years of the Obama presidency and, as a result, weren’t opening up their pocketbooks as much as they did in ’08. To which I say, “You’re damn right, Cutie!” as the only check that Obama will get from me is the one on the absentee voter ballot that I just ordered last week. And the only reason he’s getting that from me is because there’s the very good possibility that the victor this November will have a say in shaping the direction of the Supreme Court.

But enough about my political bent; you undoubtedly want to hear more about “90 Days, 90 Reasons” and how their first day is devoted to why Ben Gibbard is supporting Barack Obama this election year.

Never mind a simple Tweet from Ben stating, “I’m voting for Barack Obama this year because he supports gay marriage” would be enough.

Ooops! Spoiler alert!

"90 Days, 90 Reasons is an independent initiative unaffiliated with Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. 90 Days, 90 Reasons was conceived by two guys originally from Chicago, Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland. In late July, they looked around and saw that many of Obama’s voters and donors from 2008 needed to be reminded of all he has accomplished, and all he will do if given another term. They asked a wide range of cultural figures to explain why they’re voting for Obama in 2012, in the hopes that this might re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place. Every day, a new reason will be posted — in short, Twitter form, with a longer essay available here. Please spread the word."

REASON 01: OBAMA IS THE FIRST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE RIGHT OF GAY COUPLES TO MARRYAND ENJOY THE FULL BENEFITS OF MARRAIGE IN THE EYES OF THE LAW.

My sister Megan is married to one of the most wonderful women I have ever met. Her name is Amber. They courted for years before tying the knot here in Seattle 3 years ago. They have two dogs named JoJo and Franco. They will undoubtedly grow very old and very wrinkled together.

When they are very old and very wrinkled they will tell their grandchildren what life was like at the turn of the century. It will be difficult for these kids to comprehend a time before people could view the Internet on the inside of their eyelids. Or that people once used GAS to power their flying cars. Or how when their Grandmas got married, the Government wouldn't recognize them as wife and wife. All of this will sound very strange.

Their grandkids will be too young for the details on how gay marriage was eventually legalized across the country but this is how it unfolded:

In Washington State, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage passed the Legislature and was signed by Governor Christine Gregoire in February 2012. Same-sex marriages were to be performed starting in June 2012 but that was delayed as opponents gathered enough signatures to force a voter referendum on the legislation. This was known as Referendum 74. A number of bigoted organizations tried their best to squash Ref. 74 but the voters of Washington State decided it was time to afford equal rights to all. It passed! Washington became the first state to approve marriage equality by a popular vote after 32 others had tried and failed. The rest of the country saw what Washington had done and decided they wanted to get some of that equality, too. Gay marriage started getting legalized all over the place. It was great. It was the right thing to do.

A lot of credit also had to go to our President, Barack Obama. In May of 2012, he went on national TV and expressed his support for gay marriage. It may be hard to believe but at the time, this was quite a controversial position to some people. He said he had "gone through an evolution" on the matter and felt it was time to share this view with the country (Vice President Biden also kind of forced his hand on the timing of this announcement but hey, who cares now?). He was the first U.S. president to voice support for marriage equality. His support continued through his second term and helped us get to where we are today: Gay couples that choose to get married receive the same rights and recognitions as straight ones.

I am voting for Barack Obama this fall because I want a president who recognizes that gay or straight, the rights of married couples should be equal. Marriage equality is undoubtedly the most important civil rights issue of our generation. We must elect a leader committed to being on the correct side of history. Please vote for Barack Obama this November.

—Benjamin Gibbard
 Seattle, Washington

You Are Two Months Away From A New Ben Gibbard Solo Record

It's official: we're now two months away from the new Ben Gibbard solo record. The details:

Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard is set to release his debut solo record in fall of 2012. Former Lives will be released on October 15^th in the UK/Europe (City Slang) and October 16^th in North America (Barsuk). The 12 tracks were written over the course of eight years but didn’t find their fully realized form until the songwriter moved from his native Seattle down to Los Angeles. The album was recorded at longtime pal Aaron Espinoza’s (Earlimart) studio, The Ship. Limited touring will follow the release of the album.  

Low Opening For Death Cab For Cutie On Spring Tour

I like the band Low for many reasons, but I will share a couple of the most obscure ones.

For one: Mim and Alan Sparhawk are Mormons, which is a religion that I've actually spent some time with. Not in the church itself, but in researching in as I used to live minutes away from Nauvoo, Illinois, so it's a part of my own history in some respects. I even had the rare privilege of being allow in one of their newly completed temples once, which is something that even some members of the church never get to do.

Without getting too sidetrack, the Mormon history is very strange, and to have a couple of its members in a band like Low is equally strange.

I like that aspect of them.

The second reason is that they are neighbors to the north of us here in Iowa, which means that they must deal with the same-even harsher winters than we do and they are part of the Midwest polite conglomerate is reassuring.

I'm tired of Chicago, Minneapolis, hell even Omaha getting all the attention when it comes to hip alternative nation bands.

Give Duluth some!

True story: I once had a dream where I booked Low for a concert in Nauvoo, Illinois and only about 50 people came. I felt bad for them, but had excellent visibility.

Speaking of Low in concert:

"Beginning April 10th, Sub Pop recording artists Low will serve as main support for the first 12 dates of Death Cab for Cutie’s upcoming North American spring tour. These dates will bring the bands to intimate venues and historic theaters across much of the United States, as Death Cab for Cutie performs with San Francisco’s innovative Magik*Magik Orchestra. Low was specially selected by Death Cab for Cutie as main support for these dates.

Low are touring in support of their 2011 release, C’mon, which was recorded in an old church in Duluth, MN and mixed in Hollywood, CA with producer Matt Beckley working alongside the band. C’mon received warm accolades from such places as: SPIN, Blurt, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, Washington Post, and NPR, who had this to say about their latest release:

Lush and beautiful in its simplicity…Longtime fans who've lived with Low will no doubt appreciate the return to form, while newcomers ought to fall in love with these songs and want to dig into the rest of the band's 18 years of passionate restraint.

Alan Sparhawk describes C’mon simply as: “Warm, pretty, large like Nashville without the country. Mim and I are talking to each other in the lyrics, sometimes it's not pretty, but it's as honest as love.”

See below for a full list of tour dates. For more information on Low please visit here."

w/ Death Cab for Cutie:

04/10/12 Denver CO @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House
04/11/12 Omaha NE @ Omaha Music Hall
04/13/12 Louisville KY @ Louisville Palace
04/14/12 Grand Rapids MI @ Covenant Fine Arts Center / Calvin College
04/15/12 Milwaukee WI @ Riverside Theatre
04/16/12 Chicago IL @ Chicago Theatre
04/19/12 Toronto ON @ Massey Hall
04/20/12 Montreal QC @ St Jean Baptiste Church
04/21/12 Boston MA @ Citi Performing Arts Center / Wang Theatre
04/23/12 Providence RI @ Veterans Memorial Auditorium
04/24/12 Buffalo NY @ Kleinhan's Music Hall
04/25/12 Philadelphia PA @ Tower Theatre

The Lonely Forest - Arrows

Picking up where they left off with their self-titled e.p., The Lonely Forest return with their full-length debut for Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla’s boutique label for Atlantic, Arrows.

With most of the material from that aforementioned e.p. found here on the full-length, Arrows renders it redundant somewhat, while also managing to enlighten the promise it displayed in its brevity.

It’s easy to hear why Walla was drawn to the band and became an early supporter. They draw from the same emotive pool as DCFC, and Walla treats his younger bros to an impeccable production that’s angular and expansive.

He uses the “Company Calls” technique during Arrows’ most ornate song, “Tunnels.” Beginning with a bit of moody atmospheres, it transitions into a full gallop before tacking the track “Ramshackle House” (which had its own track listing for the e.p.) in the middle verse before returning to a rousing rock stomp at the end of the cut.

In short, Walla’s provided The Lonely Forest with a gripping backdrop for such a young band his affection for them is obvious. They return the favor with a passionate performance and a level of perfection that many bands with double the tenure would be envious of.

Of course, there has to be a bit of talent outside the control room to make the Lonely Forest’s attraction even possible, and frontman John Van Deusen certainly has a way of sweetening his mope and fey swells with a good goddamn amount of memorable pop.

Arrows shows The Lonely Forest in a manner that all the ladies arriving early for the Death Cab shows this summer will be pleased with the opening band, assuming that we’ll be seeing John and company taking advantage of the enviable slot.

“Now this melancholy boy is gonna shine!” Van Deusen declares on the title track, and Arrows confirms that he does exactly that.

Kuyahoga Music Festival-Live Review

Kuyahoga Music Festival
Hold Steady
Sonic Youth
Death Cab For Cutie
Flaming Lips
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
8/3/2006

With so many festivals this year (Lollapalooza, Pitchfork, Bonnaroo, etc.), it’s easy to overlook a few. So you’re forgiven if you’ve heard of “Intonation” before “Kuyahoga (sic) Music Festival.” I’d never heard of it either. All I knew is that I was faced with choosing between a “reunited” Germs concert and Billy Idol (with Gary Numan opening, I would have been more excited to see him, actually) during a visit to Cleveland. The trouble was: a Germs “reunion” is kind of hard considering the state of Darby Crash these days, and Billy Idol cried “More! More! More” with his $55 ticket price. So I got my own whiplash smile when I noticed, literally a few days before I left for Ohio, that a concert featuring Death Cab For Cutie, Sonic Youth and The Flaming Lips would be in effect during my stay. And from what I could tell, there were tickets available, unlike most festivals that I had heard about.
So what of this Kuyahoga Music Festival? I’m not really sure and I think the promoters are still trying to figure out an identity other than “we’ll have three stages, some beer, and a few vendor booths (including one for the Marines) around this amphitheatre in central Ohio.” That’s fine, actually, because the Blossom Music Center is a fine location with excellent acoustics in the pavilion area and plenty of “cheap seats” lawn area to stretch out on whenever your favorite jam bands decide to pass through. No sir, I came for two things: Sonic Youth and The Flaming Lips, two bands that I had seen before and had no hesitation about seeing again.
Let me show my age by saying that Ohio was unbearably hot for much of the time I was there and on the day of the show the heat gave way to showers which meant that there was no way I would be dragging my ass around to see a few second stage acts. The rain and 45 degree angle incline saw to it that I found my reserved seating in front of the main stage (the show was nicely attended, but far from sold out) and stayed there for the duration. I’m sure the acts on the other stages were just fine, and I probably would have seen a few of them in more suitable conditions, but remember kids; you’ll get to be middle aged too someday.
The Hold Steady. Well, we arrived later than expected and we missed them. I’m actually kind of bummed about that.
Sonic Youth. Here we go! It’d been nearly twenty years since I saw them last and I’m happy to report that both Kim and Thurston look about the same as when I saw them last. What’s funny is that twenty years ago, I remember thinking “Man, Kim looks really old.” And now my reaction was “Wow, Kim looks really good!” Whereas before she looked really pissed off to be playing in another shitty punk club (ah, Gabes!), tonight she looked happy to be playing an outdoor music festival sponsored by 92.3 K-Rock. She jumped around and danced, which may explain S.Y.’s decision to have a touring bassist. I have no idea who he was but I am positive that he wasn’t Jim O’Rourke, which means the dude was pretty cool in my book.
Lots of material from “Rather Ripped” which is fine, because that album totally rules. What’s changed in the past twenty years is that S.Y.’s punk roots were very apparent then, but they’ve changed into an almost alternative tuning jam-band, which is fine, because jam bands totally rule.
Now, before I lead you to believe that they played “I Know You Rider” or “Dark Star,” there were several moments of distorted bliss and, indeed, by the time they were into their third or fourth song in the set, Thurston found himself falling into the crowd, with guitar in tow, while a gray-haired Lee Renaldo performed six-stringed exorcisms on stage.
Steve Shelly remains as one of the most understated and competent drummers working in rock today. It would be so easy for a band like Sonic Youth to have a heavy-handed drummer, but they made a brilliant choice with Shelly’s propelling rhythms. They’re subtle, effective, and criminally overlooked.
They played “Schizophrenia,” just like they did twenty years ago. And I smiled again, just like when I was 21.
Death Cab For Cutie were up next, and I was fairly underwhelmed about seeing them a second time this year. The ladies, as usual, did not share my lack of enthusiasm, and they danced to “When Soul Meets Body” and all of the other “hits” in the D.C.F.C. arsenal. Admittedly, I may be a little bit harsh on the fellas, but admittedly, their set hasn’t changed that much in the past five months. A few things deleted, a few things added, all performed like a good major label artist would.
Then, a surprise.
Wayne Coyne stepped on stage and performed a song with the band that had been running through my head the entire day: a note-for-note cover of R.E.M.’s “Cuyahoga.” I gave in a sang with the remaining Death Cab set along with the thousands of young ladies in attendance.

Which leads us to the band that I’ve been particularly harsh with as of late: The Flaming Lips. Oh sure, I think “At War With The Mystics” is a fine album and I would encourage each and every one of you to witness a Flaming Lips show at some point in your life. For me, the crux of the problem remains that I have seen them more than any other band in my life and I was growing tired of the band’s lack of spontaneity. It’s been a few years and a few lifetimes since I’d seen them last and I was in need of another Lips experience to bring me up. They delivered in spades. I’m sure the set didn’t deviate much from the last stop, but then, I’m not on a mission to follow them like I was during “The Soft Bulletin” or “Yoshimi.” I’m content with this one stop until the next album hits and I think that’s the key. Sure, there was the obligatory “Race For The Prize” and “She Don’t Use Jelly” and a lot of the same stage tomfoolery was used. But given the current state of the world and dismal outlook of some performers, it was a joy to see others experience the spectacle firsthand, including the special lady friend.
There was a heavy anti-war element present, but not to the point of self-righteousness. Wayne delivered sermons that, paraphrasing here, simply asked people to put the drama of their lives and the world at the gate, and focus on transcending the issues they arrived with through music. It’s a simple message and in the hands of a cynical person, could be seen as a tad hokey. But Wayne Coyne is far from hokey; he has a tremendous work ethic and a very admirable outlook on life: this is all we have, so let’s make the most of it for the next 90 minutes. And for 90 minutes, Santa danced, confetti fell, people danced, and faces smiled.
The spontaneity factor was addressed at the first an only encore, a stunning rendition of Sabbath’s “War Pigs” delivered true to the roots and close to the bone as static images of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld were projected on the screen. I wondered how the boys in the Marine information booth were handling such an obvious rejection of their profession.
The contemplative moment was cut short with the reality that, because this was a festival, we had to make the obligatory trek to search for the rental car that, from what we last remembered, was parked on grass somewhere well outside of the amphitheater. As we walked, refrains of “War Pigs” were heard from the walking, along with updated lyrics to “Do You Realize?” (‘do you realize, that we can’t find the car”). It struck me that the Kuyahoga Music Festival may not have been the first on the minds of rock fans this summer, but for those that attended, it was one of the best ways to end the season.

Death Cab For Cutie-Live Review

Death Cab For Cutie
The Pageant, St. Louis, Missouri
4/4/06

So you’re in St. Louis on a Tuesday night and you don’t want to hang out in the Northwestern suburb hotel all evening. You look up what’s happening downtown and notice that one of your favorite bands at one time is playing live. Decisions, decisions. First of all, there’s a part of you that feels like you’ve outgrown Death Cab For Cutie; you can only take so many albums of sensitive meanderings and, frankly, you didn’t buy their last album “Plans” (their first major label release) because it wasn’t as good as the album before it, “Transatlanticism,” which was most awesome. Secondly, you saw “Drive Well, Sleep Carefully” and determined that not only were Death Cab For Cutie pretty boring fellows, but their live performances were not filled with any elements that would make you say “They were great live.” Thirdly, the venue is, like, 45 minutes from your hotel and why fight traffic to go see a band that isn’t known for memorable live performances. Fourthly, the show is sold out.
Fuck it, you drive in your car through some pretty unsavory neighborhoods with a back-up plan to grab a decent dinner and do some record shopping at a store you had good luck with before (read: a used copy of Alexander Spence’s “Oar”). You walk down to the venue and you’re greeted by a black man who offers you a salutation of “Tickets.” You buy them. And then you’re in line to go see Death Cab For Cutie.
Let me back up and vent a little bit about the current state of ticket pricing, thanks in large part to our friends at Ticketmaster. General admission tickets for this show were $25. Ticketmaster adds another $5 for their “convenience charge.” They add another $1 for a “venue” fee. They charge for postage. In total, if I actually bought these tickets through Ticketmaster, I would be looking at least $38 for them; I paid $30 for my ticket. We live in a time where I can actually buy a ticket to a sold out show from a scalper for less than what I could have gotten them legitimately.
The first thing I noticed about the show was the audience. Death Cab For Cutie is an alternative rock band for chicks. The crowd was made up of about 60% chicks, which made me feel like a pansy considering that I related so much to albums like “We Have The Facts And Are Voting Yes” and “Transatlanticism” and think the world of songs like “Movie Script Ending” and “Photo Booth.” These chicks apparently really liked “Plans” they sang every song from that album and had multiple orgasms when Ben came out during the first song of the encore by himself and sang “I Will Follow You Into The Dark”. They sang the words, called up their girlfriends and held their cell phones up in the air to provide them with a taste of the sensitive boy onstage with an acoustic guitar.
But I didn’t go out of my way to people watch at the DCFC show; I came here for the music. All told, they played plenty of my favorites and less of the ones I didn’t care about. What that means is they featured a lot of material from “Transatlanticism” and “The Photo Album,” and if you’re familiar with those albums, you’ll understand there was a lot of drama that DCFC had to sell on a Tuesday night. Here’s the thing: it dawned on me that those albums are now several years old and, I’d imagine, that some of the emotional connection behind them have been tapped clean. This is assuming that the subject matter of the songs are based on Ben’s own real life events. Can a person deliver first sexual awakenings (“We Looked Like Giants”), deadbeat Fathers (“Styrofoam Plates”) and finding old pictures of lost loves in glove compartments (“Title & Registration”)? That’s questionable. But it didn’t stop me from realizing what a kick-ass song it ultimately was.
The crowd was most responsive to the “Plans” material, in which case, it was strange that they didn’t perform more from it. Like I said before, it’s not my favorite album by them so I’m not complaining. But for the chicks who voice approval during the first drum beats of “Soul Meets Body,” I’m sure they would have liked to continue playing the role of Jenny Lewis a few more times than what the band offered.
Ben played his retarded electronic drum pads and the road crew brought out a little drum kit so that he could play it for, no shit, about a minute and a half at the end of “We Looked Like Giants. A little retarded, especially considering that the band has found real talent in their existing skin-pounder, Jason McGerr
Overall, the music was non-threatening, perfectly suited for non-threatening white chicks. The band was mixed in a very pedestrian fashion; guitar’s rarely got to a level of distortion and Gibbard’s voice was always high in the mix. Interplay was kept to a minimum, with the exception of the aforementioned “drum duo” during “Giants” and the obligatory extended ending of “Transatlanticism.” The rest of the material didn’t deviate too much from the album versions, aside from a couple of changes in vocal inflections here and there. Ben and guitarist Chris Walla demonstrated their “multi-instrumentalist” titles by frequenting the keyboards on most songs. That’s the problem for me: leave the keyboards for the occasional textural treatments and for Postal Service releases. For me, one of the intriguing thing about DCFC was the guitar interplay underneath Gibbard’s knack for writing good melancholy. Now I understand that Postal Service moved 500,000 units and that “guitar interplay” doesn’t always translate into commercial success, but it’s certainly a lot more interesting than replicating synth-filled tales of love lost. “Interesting” is subjective, of course, and judging from those in attendance, they were more interested in tales of love lost than how it was presented.
Setlist:
Marching Bands
New Year
Live Here
Title and Reg.
President
Crooked Teeth
Differen Names
Movie Script
Company Calls
Photobooth
Styrofoam Plates
What Sarah Said
Soul Meets Body
Expo '86
Giants
Settling
Encore:
I Will Follow You Into The Dark
Title Track
Transatlanticism

Death Cab For Cutie-Drive Well, Sleep Carefully

As if signing to Atlantic Records wasn’t bad enough, rock stalwarts Death Cab For Cutie greenlighted a full-length documentary that reminds other rock stalwarts to wait until they have a story before greenlighting a full-length documentary. In both cases, major label signing and celluloid images, a fan like me begs the question: “Why?”
I’m not losing a lot of sleep over the signing; I don’t see Death Cab poised for much more than the fervent fan base that indie Barsuk has provided them already. But I’ll be damned if I’ll sit by and expect a mutual fan shell out $20 on a film that provides no real insight in their creative process or highlights their musical prowess. Of course some will and, out of those, most may take any sort of negative feedback like mine as somehow attacking the performers. So let me again state my love for “We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes” and “Transatlanticism” before panning their documentary film “Drive Well, Sleep Carefully.”

It states early on how the film is essentially an anatomy of a band touring. Unfortunately, the band pretty much sums their feelings about touring (it sucks) and this admission really does nothing for promoting the idea of having this be the premise for the movie. They’re polite and downright boring behind the scenes. Instead of any semblance of decadence, we find out that watching reruns of “The Office” keeps them going. It does for me too, but you don’t see a film crew following my boring ass around town.
In addition to wanting bassist Nick Harmer to shut the hell up, I wanted these guys to start drinking heavily in a big way. The behind the scenes glimpses showed a group of hard working guys that, after 7 years of touring, finally understand that it doesn’t get any easier. Guitarist Chris Walla at one point whines about having to do 27 shows in a row, which completely falls on deaf ears with me; I’ve heard Black Flag stories that make statements like this seem downright silly. Unlike the Flag, however, Death Cab isn’t a punk band. As a matter of fact, by their own admission, the closest thing to punk they are is in being “punctual.” Hardly an arc worth exploring let alone filming.
If you’re looking for a glimpse in the monotony of touring, you’ll get dialogue about it, but no real visual sense of it. The interviews are set in rooms and location sites, not in buses. The shows are filmed in similar fashion, so you do get a sense of the venues blending in to each other, but no feel of the “What state are we in?” phenomenon. To top it off, the band doesn’t really lend themselves to memorable live performances. Album cuts that sounded sure and momentous sound tired and mundane live. When we hear the original version of “Transatlanticism,” Gibbard’s line “So come on! Come on!” sound like a desparate plea. On stage, it’s a plea for them to get the thing over with.
Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Ben Gibbard is a very well spoken and fairly interesting subject. The insight he provides is nice fodder for fans, but little more. Guitarist/producer Walla also provides the viewer with some fans-only trivia, but we’re never in a position to see him creating soundscapes or studio magic. Instead, we see him returning to the band’s studio to essentially install a piece of hardware to the mixing board.
I understand that not every tour documentary needs to come off like a Kiss concert, and I don’t necessarily need to have a band work the camera for my amusement. The film’s producer also had a hand in the wonderful Wilco documentary “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” so expectations for this film may be a little lofty. I’m a little miffed why the filmmakers didn’t hand out a little longer and examine the band’s decision to move to a major and document the origins of their first Atlantic Records release. It is, by most accounts, a move to a new musical direction too and I think some fans would have an interest in this and the timing of it. On the other hand, we already have an hour and a half of relatively boring footage. Why add to it with negotiations and discussions on the merit of “artistic freedom.” This same freedom ok’d the release of “Drive Well, Sleep Carefully” and fans are better suited to freely save their money with this non-essential dvd. Arguing about whether the band “sold out” by signing to a major label is a helluva lot more exciting than this release.