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. 

Death Cab to Release New Album

                 

In case it got past you, Death Cab for Cutie Instrgramed a row of guitars with the caption "Paintbrushes. #inthestudio #deathcab." According to Billboard, sources confirmed that they are indeed are in the studio and not just toying with our emotions. Stay tuned.

Five Reasons 'Transatlanticism' is the Best Death Cab Album

It's been a full decade since Death Cab for Cutie released Transatlanticism. I wrote this piece for Consequence of Sound based on a recurring conversation I've had with friends. We hold an ongoing debate as to which Death Cab album is the best. I'd like to think I won this round since I've shouted it from the highest point possible. One surprising turn has been that I received zero blowback via Twitter. I was totally prepared for a little hate mail– not that I'm complaining. Anyhoodle, check it out.


Read more...

Cleaning House for the New Year

This post is going to be something of a catch all for a few things that I neglected to mention in 2012 and  will just stink to high Heaven a week from now.

+ New Years Eve music: I was going to do a whole post on it, but then I decided I didn't care enough. As far as I'm concerned, there are two songs about New Years– "What Are You Doing New Years Eve" and "The New Year" by Death Cab for Cutie. If there was ever a time of the year to be depressive, I think it's New Years.

+ Some Nights by fun.: A lot got by me this year while in grad school, including the sophomore album of band fun.While I heard the album's singles on the radio in passing, it wasn't until about a month ago that I heard the title track with seemingly new ears and flat out fell for the album. It's youthful and exuberant and lead singer Nate Reuss's voice is bananas. The whole thing is so perfectly stitched together, and most of all, thematically it really makes sense to me right now. That, I consider to be a gift from the musical gods. There are albums you like and albums to get. I also suspect that many feel that way about it. For me the love started with the opening lines of the title tracks, blasting though my headphones. The fullness of the sound is irresistible. More recently, "Stars," which pulls from other moments on the album (like the "come on"s from "Some Nights") and ties everything up so well, might just be my favorite track.   

+ The State of the Independent Musician by Paste Magazine:  Paste had a pretty interesting cover story a week ago by this name and I recommend it. Always good to step back and document.

+ Everyone's depressed: Well, not really. However, holy smokes did TMI's Most Depressing Christmas Songs of All Time get a lot of hits.

Anyway, I might tack on a few other things later, but for now that's all.

Tiny Desk Concert with Ben Gibbard

In case your pre-holiday work week is slowing down and you're watching dust dance in the tedium of the afternoon, here's a great NPR Tiny Desk Concert. It's Ben Gibbard and his Gibson performing three songs, one of which being Death Cab for Cutie's "St. Peter's Cathedral." We also get to hear about Gibbard's stint "working" in a lab.

Death Cab for Cutie Returns to the Ryman

By Erin Carson | Created with cinemagr.am

When Ben Gibbard took the stage of the Ryman Auditorium and immediately launched into "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," we knew to expect a different kind of Death Cab for Cutie show. Gibbard played the popular song, which typically surfaces late-show in acoustic form, without his bandmates and without most of its usual moodiness. The performance set the tone for a concert that, while pulling songs from all their albums, leaned mostly on older tunes and deeper cuts, with a very light smattering of the year-old Codes and Keys.

For anyone who caught Death Cab's 2009 Ryman appearance, last night's show felt like a completion. Instead of go-tos like "The Sound of Settling" or an epic rendition of "Transatlanticism," we got "Technicolor Girls," "Amputations," and "Lowell, MA." That's not to say the band ignored favorites– nothing sounded as sweet as the entire Ryman erupting in "ba da"'s for "Soul Meets Body," but the show had a different type of depth to it.

And Death Cab pulled off that deep cut-heavy set list thanks in part to an unusually warm and responsive Nashville crowd. When the band turned "We Looked like Giants" into the extended, momentous, tightly-played masterpiece of the night, the crowd stayed with them every second, and even threatened to out sing Gibbard on songs like "Marching Bands of Manhattan."

It felt good to be at the Ryman last night. When Death Cab took finals bows, there was a rare sincerity between them and the audience. If they were happy to be there, the crowd was happy to have them.

Falling Out of Love with Bands

Seriously, what is the deal with that hat? 

There's something tragic about not caring. I was thinking about this recently while listening to the radio in the car. John Mayer's new song "Queen of California"came on and I couldn't help but think about how weird it was that I'd made no plans to buy the album, or even worse, how that though really didn't bother me.

A mere few years ago, I would have snapped up Born and Raised. Mayer was even the subject of one of my earliest blog posts here when I made my peace with his teen idol status because he could play guitar so well. I almost want to be sad about it, but I'm not.

What makes you fall out of love with a band or artist? Do you grow out of them like you do shoes? Or is it just like that friend you used to find hilarious and now you find annoying? God knows John Mayer is annoying. But up until that piece of ridiculousness Battle Studies, I could make exception.

In other cases, I think you move out of phases of your life where the music makes sense for you. It's damn near impossible to get that back, but at the same time, you find something else. In other cases, I think you have a break with the artist. Example: I was all about "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks in the wake of their Bush-comment-fiasco, but when the entire rest of the album turned out to be laments and references to betrayal, strife, and bad treatment, I just couldn't do it.

Anyway, here's my list of the top 5 bands I've fallen out of love with and tracks that really did us in (mostly):

01. John Mayer : "Assassin" : A thinly veiled metaphor. I'm still convinced this album was a joke.



02. Coldplay : "Princess of China ft. Rhianna" : As if including the lyrics "hurts like heaven" on the album was not enough of an insult. Rhianna. Really.



03. Death Cab or Cutie : "Some Boys" : What can I say? How many people are still with their high school sweethearts?



04. Dixie Chicks : "Bitter End" : Indeed.



05. Maroon 5 : "Misery" : I don't hate the song. I just got sick of Adam Levine.

Death Cab For Cutie Release "Underneath the Sycamore" Video

I wasn't crazy about the last Death Cab for Cutie release Codes and Keys, partly because many of the songs were pretty forgettable. Despite that, I will say that Death Cab continues to make pretty decent music videos.

Take their latest for "Underneath the Sycamore." It's a animated film noir in the style of the "Grapevine Fires" video. Walter Robot directs this tale of a PI looking for a missing woman. Check it out.

Stay Young Go Dancing : Death Cab for Cutie

What better advice could there be? Check out this lovely video for "Stay Young Go Dancing," the final track on DCfC's May album Codes and Keys. It's not your typical Death Cab fare. No one's having their chest cut open, running from flames or committing to a loveless marriage. Nope, to quote Ben Gibbard, life is sweet. And so is the video which follows a field-traipsing couple backward in time.

For me, it's a wonderful song because it makes me think of going dancing with some good friends shortly before moving this summer, and how really sweet it was to be in a park at night under paper lanterns, twirling around in good weather. If that won't keep you young, I don't know what would.

Fond memories, folks. This is definitely a fuzzier, friendlier Death Cab. Enjoy.

NPR, DCfC, Sasquatch and Other Strange Letters

In honor of the release of Death Cab for Cutie's Codes and Keys, out today, I thought I'd remind you that NPR is posting live recordings from the Sasquatch Music Festival like it's their job. (Wha?)

That said, here's Death Cab for Cutie, live in concert, courtesy of NPR. Enjoy.

Codes and Keys : Death Cab for Cutie

File this under "Erin Elsewhere." It's my review of Death Cab for Cutie's latest effort, Codes and Keys, out May 31.

Video; Music and Streaming

Two noteworthy items today:

+ This Tuesday, NPR will be live streaming a Fleet Foxes concert from Stubb's Barbecue in Austin, TX. The show starts at 8 p.m. central. This is exciting because despite the fact that TMI can't make it to their show this Friday at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashvegas, at least there will be some amount of Fleet Foxes concert-viewing happening this week.

+ Death Cab for Cutie released the music video for "Home is a Fire" off their forthcoming album Codes and Keys. It's reminiscent of the video for "Little Bribes" in terms of the lyrics being written out in various places, but still cool. Bassist Nick Harmer directs and that dude who made the Obama posters (you know the ones) contributes his stellar design skills. Check it out above.

New Songs by Death Cab

Interested in hearing a couple tunes from the forthcoming Death Cab for Cutie album Codes and Keys? Today Paste tweeted a link to a Tumblr entitled F**k Yeah Death Cab for Cutie.

There are two songs posted, one called (well,) "Codes and Keys" and the other "When the Sun Goes Down on Your Street." The quality is not great, but hey– all sneak previews are welcome. Have at it.

Catch Up: Not Just for Burgers

I've seen so many interesting items pop up on my Google Reader over the last couple of weeks, I can't even describe the agony it's been to not write them up. Fortunately, I am back in town and steeling a few minutes to pass some opinion on the highlights.

+ Avett Brothers to release new album - My favorite North Carolinian band of brothers is back in the studio working on a follow up to their stellar 2009 album, I and Love and You. Scott Avett told Paste that they'd already finished one session of recording. Money line: "Avett did not offer a specific timeline for the release, but did say that the band hopes to have “something done” by mid-2011." Sweet.

+ White Stripes call it quits - After two years of releasing no new music, the Detroit duo announced they'd broken up. Nashville native Erin Carson yawned. But really, what will Meg White do without the hype machine that is Jack White? TMI has no idea, but wishes her the best of luck. I did get to thinking though, so many fans had panic attacks when the news came out, what would have happened if they never announced anything but just never released anything else?

+ Death Cab for Cutie set release date for new album - Codes and Keys just might be the most perfectly Death Cab-tastic name for an album. Key points: 1. Less strumming, more synth and reverb 2. It's out May 31st 3. Guitarist Chris Walla said the first single will probably be "You are a Tourist." 4. There is a punctuation mistake on their website.

+ The Travelling Band are giving away free tracks - If you don't know who these guys are, then familiarize yourself. To start, check out my review of their debut album Under the Pavement from way back when in 2009. They're a terrific band from Manchester and for the price of an email address, you can download four new tracks. The new stuff has a feel that's little less sentimental and dreamy (except the live version of "Only Waiting" off the Under the Pavement), but it's still solid. Also, I am happy to know these guys are still in business.

+ Radiohead is sneaky - Last week we found out that the much anticipated follow up to 2007's In Rainbows was all of three days away. Yes. No more dodgy projections for release, just a ambush version of a release. Then, it apparently came out a day early. It's titled The King of Limbs and they're calling it a "newspaper album." I'm going to be really honest. I do not know what that means. So long as that doesn't mean it will turn my hand gross and inky, I will be purchasing it when the physical copy comes out March 29.

The Sound of Settling : Death Cab for Cutie

As obvious as it may sound, the older I get, the more certain bands, albums or songs make sense to me. The National is a good example. Boxer is one of my favorite albums. I know I appreciate it more than I did as a freshly-graduated high schooler and I know I'll appreciate it even more when I'm 30. There can hardly be a better occurrence than a band that grows up with you.

Death Cab for Cutie works that way for me too, but maybe in a different way. Lord knows I've written about them ad nauseum, but its hard not to after repeated realizations that there's a line in a song that sums up perfectly what I'm thinking. (And no, I could not really use a wish right now.)

Example: These days whenever one of my friends get engaged, (and man, are they getting engaged) I like to have a ceremonial playing of "I Was Once A Loyal Lover," chiefly for the lines that say "All my friends are forward thinking, getting hitched and quitting drinking. I can feel them pulling away as I'm resigned to stay the same." Cheers, right? It's great stuff.

Today I figured out that a thought I'd been trying to condense into a tidy phrase was already hanging out in Death Cab's "The Sound of Settling." Partly, I think it's a testament to the songwriter. While the lyrics v. music debate rages on, I think I'll continue to put put my faith in words.

In any case, check out the video. 1:55 is probably the best part of any given music video I've ever seen.

Nashville and The National

Forgive the silence. Things have been a bit crazy here in Nashvegas. The heavens opened up two weeks ago and damn near drowned us. Mercifully we had an abundance of good folks to volunteer and start to get the city back into shape. We definitely did not have an abundance of media coverage, but to quote one of the many rallying cries in these parts as of late, we're handling it ourselves.

All this Nashvegaslove reminded me of "Nashville Cats," by the Loving Spoonful, a song that my dad put on a cassette for me back in the day. It has John Sebastian's characteristic, ultra mellow vocals, plus the springy, steady galloping guitar work that you don't really hear much anymore in country music.



Coming from a very different place in the musical spectrum, The National preformed with Sufjan Stevens on Letterman the other night. (Tip via Aaron Dethrage) Mostly, I'm just proud that three years after I first wrote about their network debut on Letterman, they're still going strong and sounding as classy and melancholy as ever. If you haven't picked up High Violet, definitely give it a try. It's no great evolution from Boxer, but why should it be?



And finally, back on the 25th, NME reported that Death Cab for Cutie will be hitting the studio in June and aiming for a Spring 2011 release. This corresponds with my 2011 release... from college.

Peace.

EP Season

Here in Nashvegas the weather has finally gotten consistently warm and sunny. The days are longer and attention spans are shorter. That said, it's what I like to call "EP Season."

If you're anything like me, the good weather hits and I'm far less likely to commit to a 45-minute album, yet I'm still looking for the continuity and cohesion an LP can offer. The answer? EPs.

Here are three currently rattling around my iPod.


The Open Door : Death Cab for Cutie - The follow up EP to their '08 release, Narrow Stairs, came out last April, but it's got such a great indie pop/rock lightness that it's sure to be a Springtime perennial.

Bobby Thompson Reels, Vol. 1 : De Novo Dahl - Here's a little taste of Nashville's non country side. The EP is built off samples from said Bobby Thompson, a banjo and guitar player who logged some serious hours playing with some really famous folks. He also happened to be the uncle of one of the guys in De Novo Dahl. Anyway, the EP is sort of a departure from their usual energetic, fizzy indie rock. Think spoken samples against cool, oddly-bluesy-for-being-electronic grooves. You can even download it for free courtesy of the band's site.

Harmonia Macrocosmica, Vol. 1 : Sunfold - This one actually came in late last night thanks to my friend Aaron. It's a side project from the Annuals, apparently. I liked it immediately-- that's rare. The sound is rich and while it's pretty etc. you get a dash of something else sitting under the surface. Darker on the back end is usually intriguing. At least that's my impression so far! There are many more sun-drenched afternoon listens on the way.

The Musically Inclined's Top Albums of the Decade

Several weeks ago, every music publication and their mother('s publication?) started putting out "best of the decade" lists. Of course, until that moment I hadn't actually thought about the fact that the decade was ending until Bob Boilen was waxing nostalgic about OutKast or whatever.

That said, if everybody's doing it (always solid justification to do anything), TMI would be remiss not to throw together a completely subjective list of albums from this first decade of the millennium, in the effort to celebrate (and to impress the reader-- more solid justification) the finer points of the past ten years.

Criteria: Must own album.

Note: I got 99 albums and Jay-Z ain't on one. Or Bon Iver. Or any White Stripes before 2006. Never bought the Arctic Monkeys album. Refused to buy anything by Arcade Fire. No, Wilco is not on this list either.

So here, not truly grounded in anything but my mood this afternoon, are The Musically Inclined's Top Albums of the Decade.

Send your eye-rolling grievances to
themusicallyinclined@gmail.com.

Much love,

Erin

Greetings from Michigan : Sufjan Stevens : 2003

Everyone always raves about Come on Feel the Illinoise, but Greetings from Michigan was the album TMI was interested in. It was partly due to my undying love for states that look like articles of clothing, but mostly it was because when I heard it, I knew Stevens hit Michigan on the head. Things have been rough up there, but there's a lot of natural beauty when you get past the economically depressed cities. Stevens managed to balance some of the grim realities of Michigan, with a sound that matched icicles on tree branches and the gorgeousness that is the Upper Peninsula. Plus, TMI first heard "For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" on The O.C. in the Spring of '06. It felt significant.

Tranatlanticism : Death Cab for Cutie : 2003

Still the best Death Cab for Cutie album to date. More refined than their way early sound on Something About Airplanes, yet these were the edgier days before computers took over on Plans. Transatlanticism is Death Cab for Cutie at its best. Of course, this is not to say that TMI wasn't crazy about Plans... in fact, TMI would probably buy a box set of the band tuning their guitars, but really. Just about every song on Transatlanticism is a winner - "The Sound of Settling," "Expo '86," "Title and Registration," "Passenger Seat"-- this is the place to start if you haven't already.

Home : Dixie Chicks : 2003

Random country album? Maybe. Back in the day before The Dixie Chicks wrote mildly bitter songs about being wronged, they decided to go acoustic on their (in their current line up) third album, Home. It was ridiculously good-- a reprieve form that glitzy glossy commercial crap that passes for country these days. It was a little bit rootsy, a little bit folksy, but mostly just really solid. From "Long Time Gone," to the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," to "Lil' Jack Slade," to the super powerful "Top of the World," The Dixie Chicks laid down the direction that country music should have gone in-- "More Love," less Miley.

American Idiot : Green Day : 2004

It was like those angsty kids in middle school grew up a (little) bit and made a somewhat serious statement. Who knew? Between "Give Me Novacaine," "Tales of a Broken Home," and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," we started to get a grim picture of a generation raised by the media and popular culture. Or you could just sing along and pretend like you're angry. That's fun too.

Continuum : John Mayer : 2006

Room for Squares was an album for lusty teenage girls. Heavier Things spoke of potential. Continuum was the product of not a teen heart throb or one more drippy, sensitive singer, but of a highly talented guitarist and lyricist. Continuum was bluesy and soulful in a manner we didn't think Mayer was capable of, and it put him on track for "guitar great" status. Continuum is so rich, I only like to listen to it on occasion-- don't want to take it for granted. I also treat mangoes that way, but that's a separate issue.

In Rainbows : Radiohead : 2007

Maybe it's that I'd never listened to Radiohead seriously before. Maybe it's their avant garde marketing strategy. Maybe it's the way "15 Steps" is some strange breed of entrancing and infectious. "Videotape," "House of Cards"-- being classified as "un-radio friendly" never sounded so appealing.

Wincing the Night Away : The Shins : 2007

I bought this album after hearing the Garden State soundtrack for the first time a few years back (and who didn't?!). "Australia" is my most-played song on iTunes-- which is funny because I can never remember specific times when I've listened to this album. It's like an unconscious instinct pulls me back to Wincing the Night Away and I gladly follow. Cryptic, catchy, lightly sprinkled with 60's Brit pop, TMI eagerly awaits whatever James Mercer (and whomever he's wrangled for the line up) releases next.

Boxer : The National : 2007

Describing The National as "orchestral pop" does not do the band justice. Sophisticated sounds back the uncertainty of drifting into an oblivion of adulthood. Beautiful, often poignant imagery almost makes you want to be 30, if only for the drama and doomed romance of blue blazers, swanky apartment parties, and friends you can barely recognize anymore. Also, there seems to be a critical consensus that front man Matt Berninger's voice sounds like a variety of liquors. How could they go wrong?

Which albums made your list?

TMI Turns Two

Well, it seems that another year has gone by, and we're still here. In the past few months TMI had some pretty cool posts, if I don't say so myself. Here are a few highlights.

The Musically Inclined...

• Conference called with Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla (Vision article here)


• Found a cool band called Their Hearts Were Full Spring


• Saw Andrew Bird at Grimeys


• Joined the fight to save Paste Magazine


• Wrote about Grammy posters (You wouldn't believe the number of hits TMI got)
  
• Covered Rites of Spring


• Found a pocket of Jesus-friendly hip hop behind a coffee house


• Reviewed a ton of albums for Twisted Ear


• Made derisive remarks about Jack White

As you can see, it's been a good time and this next year, hopefully, will be even better. Thanks for reading and stay tuned, kids!

Peace,

Erin

DCfC on the Tonight Show

Props to mi padre for the heads up that "my guys" were perforoming on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien last night. Check out the video of Death Cab performing "Little Bribes" off their recent EP, The Open Door, and if you missed my earlier post about their new music video for "Little Bribes," check that biusiness out here.