#7: Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
If I could go back in time, I would have gotten into Death Cab for Cutie much sooner. Instead, they were a band I had always heard of, but never heard. It wasn't until my freshman year of college, when I was living with one of the people I had heard of them from, that Ben Gibbard's voice started coming through the speakers in my house. (Which you can read more about at the end of this post).
Then, all of a sudden "Soul Meets Body" got on the alternative radio I listen to. I remember the roommate and I were at FYE in our college-town mall and I saw this cd, thought "what the hell" and picked it up.
I want to say that I went home and was mesmerized, that it completely took hold of me. But I can't, because it didn't. I read a piece on the website for Alternative Press recently where he was talking about not appreciating a Radiohead album till years after he obtained it. He said he had to be ready to hear it, and that's how I felt about Plans.
As depressing as this might sound, I got into a lot of music in the time during a very bad breakup that I went through. Though, when you look back at Plans, I wouldn't necessarily call it "emo." I don't know if this is a classification, but I would call it "well thought out" music.
What Plans did for me was introduced an appreciation for the piano. The opening track "Marching Bands of Manhattan" and "Summer Skin" are two good examples, but without a doubt the songs that I keep coming back to are the back-to-back masterpieces of "What Sarah Said" and "Brothers on A Hotel Bed."
While my major was journalism, I also graduated with a minor in psychology. One of the classes I took was called "Psychology of Aging" and we given an assignment to analyze a song or movie - anything that tells a story of growing older or the struggles elderly people face. I actually submitted a piece on "Brothers on a Hotel Bed" and received an A.
But it's not just the piano-background, there is also some cool tracks like the already mentioned "Soul Meets Body" and the classic "I Will Follow You Into The Dark." However, if I were to list my favorite tracks from this cd, in the top three would have to be "Crooked Teeth." I just love how it gives a sort-of bouncy vibe to an otherwise deep cd.
I love this album so much. I could put it on to fall asleep to, to relax to and when I'm tired of jamming on road trips, to channel reflection mode.
BONUS
The good thing about music is that even if you miss out, it will always be there. I mean, how many Beatles fans do we have today? It's because their music is timeless. Because of this aspect, I was able to go back to the time I missed out on and I have to also include Transatlantacism to my favorite cds as well. As mentioned before, I went through a pretty rough breakup and there were certain songs that spoke to me. "Tiny Vessels" was one of those tracks.
I don't actually own this full album, BUT I love Crooked Teeth. My favourite line - which reminds me of my early 20s is "You're so cute when you're slurring your speech, but they're closing the bar and they want us to leave."
ReplyDelete"I Will Follow You Into The Dark" makes me think of my friends wedding - it was their first dance song.
Love this week's inclusion :)
Dude. The fact that you have this cd on your countdown this week when it's all I've been listening to this weekend is freaky. That... and I'm feeling down about Lenny and him getting put down tomorrow (I blogged it tonight) so obviously I've got my What Sarah Said playing. You know it's one of my favorite songs ever. Summer Skin is probably my 2nd favorite off that cd. And I do love Brothers on a Hotel Bed. And because of YOUR mix you gave me.. I got Transatlanticism and I love that. Hey- do you have their 5 song EP? I do... and I would share... :)
ReplyDeleteI think Death Cab has such a unique sound and I really adore this album as a whole- Transatlanticism is a favorite of mine as well. :) I love how a lot of the different tracks tend to tell a continuous story. :)
ReplyDeleteI kind of hate that they get the "emo" label a lot from critics though, mostly because I can't stand that term or anything related to that stereotype!
Good choice. :)
I'm glad you mentioned this album Matt. I have a similar relationship with it: I didn't appreciate it until it had been out a while. When "Soul Meets Body" came out, I was already in love with "Transatlanticism," and I wasn't too impressed. "Plans" took me off guard because it was so accessible, and because Death Cab's previous album was such heady music. It's silly, but I was worried that the music was too simple, too straight forward, too...to the point.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I've grown since then, because "Plans" is a majestic album. It was one of the first records I ever owned that lead with piano lines, not guitar riffs, and I think it's cool that we both grew to appreciate it. It's definitely a record that deserves to be cherished.
@Allison:
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that we both have a stand out track that we mutually admire :)
@Sara:
I was thinking about the timing of this spot as well. Before all your events, I was like "I know Sara is gonna like this one." Though they added an extra letter, I bet it's cool to have a song with your name in it
@Lisa:
It's hard to be unique these days, but Death Cab pulls it off nicely. And yea, the "emo" term gets thrown around inappropriately sometimes, glad you can catch that. I'm happy you liked this one, as I only know one more for sure that you will like...
@Mike:
i like that, too to the point. I think that's what I was trying to say that the beauty was almost in its simplicity, especially coming from a band that has been so heavy. And there was some heaviness on plans, I think what makes it so great is that it was one of those rare releases that made you take notice on its own account. It's cool to have someone else relate to me story, thanks for your comment
Fun fact: I was named after the Fleetwood Mac song, "Sara". ;)
ReplyDeleteok i'm gonna go there. please don't hate. i like death cab & the postal service.i was the girl making discs of their music & passing it on to whoever i thought would appreciate. i was super excited to see them in concert summer of 08. well i was bored! yes bored. it could have been the fact that i was in the nosebleed section, but still. i was like are you kidding me people? music can be mellow & relaxing & still be fun, right? when he did i will follow you.. acoustically, very nice, but you would think i was at a ballet or something. people were sitting in their seats clapping politely. of course i still bought the t-shirt & have worn it so much it has holes. & i do adore long division, the song not the math.
ReplyDelete