When is a Band Not Itself Anymore?

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Bummer news today– Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla announced he'll be leaving the band after their current North American tour.

Walla is a founding member of the 17-year-old band, and has produced all their albums, with the exception of their 8th, untitled record which is slated for early 2015, according to Atlantic Records.

This got me thinking about what DCfC might be without him, and when a band is no longer itself anymore. On one hand, you can look at a case like the Shins, where frontman James Mercer essentially cut lose the original lineup in 2011 and still put out an album that sounded like the Shins.

Though, in instances of significant departures or personnel changes with limited impact, there seems to be one central figure who you realize is basically the band, whether it's James Mercer or John Fogerty.

Or, you wind up with a situation where the band is comprised of parts that function to maintain what was, more than will ever be– if you ever catch the Temptations, you'll be paying to see one original member and four other guys lacking in any cultural currency. You might have a good, time, but you're not really seeing The Temptations.

Death Cab's situation is tricky, though, because Walla shares the bulk of the creative weight with frontman Ben Gibbard. If you listen to Gibbard's solo album Former Lives, it's easy to see the aesthetic composition of the group– on his own, Gibbard is a great songwriter, but far folkier and far quirkier than that quintessential indie rock sound that made Death Cab one of the most important bands of the '00s.

None of this is to say that all hope is lost, as a friend pointed out on Facebook today, but it is undoubtedly a signal that Death Cab won't quite be Death Cab anymore. Whether they'll be better or worse off is about as pointless and counter-productive a speculation as talking about whether Gibbard is miserable enough to write a proper DCfC record.

Of course, in 17 years, who can say what a "proper" Death Cab record is? Just because Narrow Stairs didn't sound anything like the more stark indie rock of We Have the Facts and Are Voting Yes, didn't mean that anyone would reject it as part of their discography. Walla's not even the first member to split the band.

And yet– there's that pang of worry, the reluctance to say goodbye, the impulse to pour one out as if they flat out broke up.

The biggest fear, in my mind, especially for those of us who grew up with them, is to hear Death Cab without Walla, and run into the very sentiment Gibbard wrote about in "You are a Tourist," the sensation of being somewhere that should be familiar, and still feeling like you don't know it at all.

Bonus round: Here's that one time in 2008 when I was an uber spunky college journalist fresh from getting to conference call with Chris Walla. 

Chris Walla to Release Record Store Day Single

Death Cab for Cutie producer and all around solid musician Chris Walla is releasing a single called "Never Give Up" on 7" vinyl for Record Store Day. While that smells vaguely like Rick Roll, Stereogum premiered the tracks on Soundcloud– we're safe, folks. Walla's last solo outing was 2008's Field Manual. If you missed that, essential listening is track "Sing Again."

The 7" will be out via Walla's imprint Trans Records and feature label signee Sombear's track "Incredibly Still" on the B-side.

Check out the tracks below.

The Musically Inclined's Top 10 Discoveries of 2008

Well, here we are again at the end of another year. 2008 definitely got some mixed reviews music-wise, but from TMI's standpoint, it did alright for itself-- nothing too mind-blowing, but not a write-off either. After all, last year there was The National, The Shins and Radiohead, to name a few reasons why 2007 was a good year to launch a music blog. Not the easiest acts to follow. On the flip side, this year gave us new bands like Fleet Foxes, Death Cab's sixth release, and tons of backlash controversy to last us all a few decades (or weeks in the music world). But enough of that, the 2007 ship has long sailed and 2008 is pulling out of the harbor as we speak.

The songs that made it on this list have some mix of uniqueness, substance and addictive appeal, which ultimately meant surviving the shuffle of new music at TMI, but this year, we're doing things slightly different. Top 10 Discoveries formerly covered anything that had been (wait for it) discovered that year regardless of release date, but this time around the list is pure 2008. So then, what does "discoveries" have to do with it if it's just one more "best of" list? Glad you asked. All the artists on this list were previously unheard of, or rather, un-listened to before Jan. 08.

Crafty, yes? So crafty, I wound up shafting some of my own staple bands/artists who had releases this year like Death Cab for Cutie and Coldplay, plus neglecting the new finds from years past, like "Grace Kelly" by Mika. That said, let's take a moment to silently pay our respects.........awesome, thanks.

Moving on, some of these have yet to be mentioned on these lovely virtual pages, but that doesn't mean those write ups aren't on their way-- so, no worries.

Here now are The Musically Inclined's Top 10 Discoveries of 2008.

1. A Question of Trust : Their Hearts Were Full of Spring

Hands down, the best find of the year. This little indie band from the U.K. features some of the prettiest sounds you'll hear-- romantic and sprightly, but hearty and sincere. Though technically, this is their anti-Tony Blair statement, there's no bitterness there, only verbally and musically articulated warning while managing to radiate upbeat vibes. Listen


2. Use Somebody : Kings of Leon

2008 saw a bit of a revival in southern rock. MMJ is cool, but Jim James' vocals just don't do it for me. Kings of Leon, on the other hand, have the right amount of gruffness and grit. "Use Somebody" takes you to a moment on the brink of something just out of reach, amid wistful "ooh woa"s that fly by like blurred headlights. These guys are further proof that there's more to Nashville than tired commercial country. Listen


3. He Didn't Know Why : Fleet Foxes

The overall sound of Fleet Foxes is an intriguing blend of ethereal and rustic. "He Didn't Know Why" exemplifies a certain quality in their music that is so difficult to pinpoint. Piano, drums, guitars, and those mid-range vocals have a clarity to them making Fleet Foxes possibly the earthiest new band of the year. Listen


4. It's You : Pictures and Sound

Think Jack Johnson's lyrical sensibilities and Mat Kearney's vocals, but with slicker, more stylized instrumentation. This song specifically, is a really great groove plus a good balance of bass and lighter, flickering, stringed sounds. Listen


5. Fragments of Green : The Travelling Band

The accordion alone is enough to grab anyone by the heart, but then the harmonies kick in, the song builds in the repetition of the chorus and you're just finished. It's a great way to spend five minutes. The Travelling Band sounds like the tussle that would ensue if Nickel Creek and The Shins got tangled up in a wheat field. Vaguely retro, just a bit rootsy, but ultimately timeless. Listen


6. Electric Feel : MGMT

MGMT captures a 60s psychedelic rock vibe with shuffling, uninhibited, primal pulses accented with clear, flute-like synth. Plus, it weathers successive listens well. "Electric Feel" 's biggest offense has nothing to do with what the pair (Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser) might have been smoking while recording it, but more to do with how it never seems to last long enough. Listen


7. A-Punk : Vampire Weekend

Quirky and spunky, Vampire Weekend had some of the freshest sounds to emanate from the predictable college music machine in a long time. Never mind if you can hardly understand a word lead singer Ezra Koenig says, between "oh"s and zippy guitar riffs, "A-Punk" is pretty catchy. More prep than you can stand? Never. Listen


8. Buildings and Mountains : Republic Tigers

Spin called these guys "glossy electro-folk" and I'll second that description. Seems I've had a penchant for dashes of ethereal in music this year. In any case, the song flows in hypnotic, computer generated waves, making for an enjoyable and atmospheric tune. Listen


9. Sing Again : Chris Walla

There's a simplicity to "Sing Again," not only in the mild instrumentation and airy vocals, but in the call for engagement in one's world. "A life packed full of mindless joy, is not easy to enjoy." Hard to argue with that. Listen


10. Skinny Love : Bon Iver

Bon Iver has been one of the bigger breakouts of 2008, it seems. Lord knows, For Emma, Forever Ago has been on just about every "best of" list I've seen so far. Again, the simplicity is highly appealing. Iver shifts from the high vocals down to the forcefulness of the chorus and its effect is mildly jarring, but jarring in a deliberate way. Plus, the banjo adds a compelling shade to the song. Listen



Happy listening.

Erin

100th Post and Other Happenings

Yay! This is officially the 100th post of The Musically Inclined. Sounds like a good reason for a party, but really the purpose of this post is a little update about things around here...just some house keeping.

1. My Chris Walla/Ultimate College Bowl article is here if you want to read what that lovable, politically concerned, vegetarian had to say. After several hours of fine crafting, I have to say, I'm pretty happy with it.

2. Totally forgot to say that the Killers album, Day and Age, comes out November 25th-- right in the prime of Christmas shopping season. This should be interesting. Look for a review at least by New Years. Hey, I've got a Christmas list too, you know.

3. Another review to look out for came about when a band called Heavy Jack gave me a  shout out a few weeks ago and sent me a copy of their album Multiply. So far so good, there's definitely skill there. So, keep an eye out for that as well.

4. I've got two more reviews for Twisted Ear on the way, Max Tundra and Juana Molina. Those were fun.

5. Lastly, even though it has nothing to do with music, TMI is quite sad about the passing of Paul Newman. Cool Hand Luke is an excellent movie. Rent it.

Well, that's all I've got for now on this fine Sunday morning. Stay tuned, kids.

Peace

*Note: Those are not my cupcakes. I do not have that kind of time.

Conference Calling with Chris Walla

I've got a little story to tell, but before I get into it, I've got to explain a few things. In case it got past you, I'm a college kid. I'm also a journalist and I write for my university's paper, in fact, I'm Assistant Online Editor. That said, I woke up this morning half reluctantly because I didn't have class until 2:00 but somehow sleeping in on a week day feels wrong. Most of the time I can't afford to given my workload. Today was no exception. 9:15 I was up and sitting at my computer in my pajamas tweaking some things on the web site. 10:00 I was reading an email from my editor marked "time sensitive" that contained the words "conference call," "11:00," and "Death Cab for Cutie." Oh man, I thought I was dreaming. So, I emailed her back immediately and got the whole scoop.

Death Cab is involved with a voter registration drive called Ultimate College Bowl which is a contest awarding a Death Cab concert to the school with the highest number of registered students and given the ranking of my school percentage wise, we got in on this call.

That's when the flurry began. 10:08 I was on the phone with one of the organizers asking the golden question, "so, is this something we're just listening in to or can we ask questions?" All of a sudden what had started off as a little write up of maybe some recorded DCFC message turned into an hour-long press type conference call with Chris Walla.

After getting off the phone I realized I couldn't do it from my cell phone and I had no idea if my room phone would work. 10:22 I threw on some jeans and went sprinting down the hall and down five flights of stairs, trying to think of questions and praying that the Residence Director was at the desk because I couldn't find my freaking Res. Life manual. Well, I guess one of us got to sleep in because she wasn't there I went racing back up said five flights of stairs, without answers and without a single question to ask.

Luckily I found buried on the school's website that 800 numbers are free, no calling cards required. That left me about twenty minutes to regain my cool and get my head around the situation.

On a side note, I like to keep TMI as professional as possible-- no fan girl crap, no free passes, no gushing-- just honest, opinion and the desire to post well written, mature entries on anything music related. That's my norm. This is different.

The journalist portion of my brain was thinking that this is a rare opportunity. Talking to someone like Chris Walla only comes with a job at Rolling Stone or something. I can really turn this into a great piece.

The Death Cab fan portion of my brain is still in utter disbelief. One degree to Chris Walla. They're my favorite contemporary band, coming in 2nd to the Beatles in the "all time" category. Had I known Tuesday night, I would not have slept. I feel slightly ridiculous about how hyped I was but at the same time, if you can't get stoked about talking to someone from one of your favorite bands in the world, what can you get excited about? You're probably a major wet blanket...or a robot. I'm not too cool to be proportionately expressive.

Okay, 10:57 I had my pens lined up, my laptop open to various helpful websites, my notebook open, and my phones ready in case something went screwy. I called in, punched in the code, and joined a buttload of other college journalists. We all introduced ourselves and a few minutes later Chris Walla was on the line.

It was great. A whole hour of listening to a really nice, incredibly articulate guy field questions without the tiniest bit of annoyance or arrogance. He talked about why DCFC got involved, what voting means to him, why they think it's important for young people to vote, and whatever else we threw at him. I even asked him a question midway through. The idea of not saying anything was not an option. I'd never forgive myself.

Some reporters got off topic really fast, some really had no idea who exactly he was. One called him "Ben" (as in Gibbard, the lead singer). I just asked how they got involved in the first place, which I thought was a fairly important and obvious detail. It was a fantastic experience. All through he was very humble and genuine. It was refreshing and he even extended the call by about ten minutes.

It was over by 12:00 and in all the rush, I barely have had time to process it. When I tell my friends I get an eye bulge, jaw drop, and "how did this happen?!" as a typical reaction. I'm glad they think it's as cool as I do. I suppose part of my excitement has been that this is one more really cool thing I get to do as a journalist and the prospect of a career as unpredictable and random as it has been so far keeps me up at night with a shameless grin on my face. One day I'm talking to the Director of Residential Life, the next it's Chris Walla. Or, I go from reviewing an album to talking to someone who makes them.

My article is due before the weekend but I hope to have it finished by tomorrow night. I've got to do some serious organizing work, but I can't wait to write it.

Well, that's all I've got folks. It's been quite the day and I now plan on sleeping until my alarm goes off at 7:00 tomorrow morning and I drag my butt to class. I think I will never complain again. Life is pretty great.

Peace