Death Cab began as a solo project of Ben Gibbard, now the band's vocalist and guitarist. Gibbard took the band name from the satirical song Death Cab for Cutie, performed by The Bonzo Dog Band in The Beatles' 1967 experimental film Magical Mystery Tour. As Death Cab for Cutie, Gibbard released a cassette titled You Can Play These Songs with Chords; the release was surprisingly successful, and Gibbard decided to expand the band into a complete project. He recruited Chris Walla (who had also worked on the cassette) as an electric guitarist, Nick Harmer as bass guitarist, and Nathan Good to play drums.
The four released the LP Something About Airplanes on August 18th 1998. The album was favorably reviewed in the independent music scene, and in 2000 the band released We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes. Nathan Good left the band at some point during this album's production. His playing on “The Employment Pages” and “Company Calls Epilogue” were kept, but Gibbard played drums on all other songs.
Michael Schorr would first appear on The Forbidden Love E.P., released on October 24, 2000. In 2001, another LP was released, entitled The Photo Album. Limited editions of this album contained three bonus tracks, which were later released separately as The Stability EP.
In 2003, there was another change of drummer, with Jason McGerr of Eureka Farm replacing Schorr. McGerr would play drums on the next release, Transatlanticism.
Transatlanticism was released in October of 2003. It received critical praise and also became the band's top-selling album, with 225,000 copies sold during its first year out.
In spring of 2004, the band recorded a live E.P. titled The John Byrd E.P., named for their sound engineer. The E.P. was released on Barsuk Records in March 2004.
In November of 2004, Death Cab for Cutie signed a “long-term worldwide deal” with Atlantic Records, leaving their long-time label Barsuk Records. Gibbard stated on the official website www.deathcabforcutie.com that nothing would change except that “Next to the picture of Barsuk holding a 7", there will be the letter "A" on both the spine and back of our upcoming albums.” This was a marked change from Gibbard's earlier views on major-label relations, which he said “are set up to fuck you and take all your money.”. After signing to Atlantic, the band was still nervous about corporate economics, and encouraged fans to download its songs from the Internet.
The first and second singles off the band's Atlantic Record release Plans were “Soul Meets Body” and “Crooked Teeth”, respectively. The full album was released in August of 2005. Plans was somewhat well-acclaimed by critics and fans, and received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album of 2005. It achieved Gold Status in 2006 after charting on Billboard for 47 consecutive weeks.
The band released a touring DVD titled Drive Well, Sleep Carefully in 2005. Known for their contributions to animal rights, the band is supporting the activist group PETA in giving away copies of the DVD to promote animal rights.
In early 2006, the band announced the upcoming release of Directions, eleven short films inspired by songs from the Plans album, each directed by a different person. The videos were posted one at a time at the band's website and the DVD went on sale April 11, 2006.
On May 12, 2008 their album, Narrow Stairs, was released and was well received by both critics and fans. It was their first album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200. The album contains the singles "I Will Possess Your Heart", "Cath..." and "Grapevine Fires".
The band's latest released The Open Door EP, which was released on March 31, 2009. Their main styles consist of slow progressive rock with dark lyrics.
The band's seventh album, Codes and Keys, was released on May 31, 2011. The album's first single was "You Are A Tourist".
On October 11, 2013, the band reportedly began working on their eighth studio album. This was then confirmed by the group's official Instagram profile in which an image was uploaded with the caption "DCFC LP8 begins". The new album will be produced by Rich Costey and is expected to be released in early 2015. In an interview with Stereogum, Gibbard said of the new album, "I do think from start to finish it's a much better record than Codes And Keys. If that record turned anybody off, I feel pretty strongly that this one could win them back. There are threads in this one that connect back to our earliest stuff that people love." On October 29, 2013, the band released a remastered tenth-anniversary version of their 2003 album Transatlanticism. The new album included a vinyl LP and MP3 download, with demos for all the songs from the album.
As part of the 2014 Record Store Day, the band released its first live album, a vinyl-only double LP recorded during various 2012 tour dates with Magik*Magik Orchestra. Included within the packaging was a code for a digital download of the recording.
On August 13, 2014, after 17 years as a member of Death Cab for Cutie, guitarist and songwriter Chris Walla decided to part ways with the band, with his last performance occurring on September 13, 2014 at the Rifflandia Music Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. Walla states that he plans to "...continue making music, producing records, and erring on the side of benevolence and beauty whenever possible." When asked in an interview about Walla's involvement in the eighth album, McGerr confirmed that Walla "played on everything and has been involved all the way through, even in the mixing. Even though he's played his last show with us, he's still been involved in everything involving this record."
06 Long Division
Death Cab for Cutie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of paper buildings
And the echoes that remained
Of old friends and lovers
Their features bleeding
Together in his brain
And once it started was harder to
He was always distracted
By the very mention
Of an open door
'Cause he had sworn not to be what he'd been before
To be a remain remain remain remainder
The television was snowing softly
As she hunted for her keys
She said she never envisioned him the type of person capable of such deceit
And they carried on like long division
And it was clear with every page
That they were further away from a solution that would play
Without a remain remain remain remainder
He had sworn not to be what he'd been before
To be the remain remain remain remainder
The lyrics in Death Cab for Cutie's song "Long Division" tell the story of a man who is tormented by his own thoughts and memories. His head is a city of paper buildings, filled with echoes of old friends and lovers. These echoes constantly bleed together, making it harder for him to tell them apart. He is haunted by the past and always distracted by the mention of an open door; he had sworn not to be what he'd been before - a remainder.
As the song progresses, we see that the man's relationship with his partner is deteriorating. The couple is like a long division equation with every passing page, they're further away from a solution that would play. The television is snowing softly as the woman hunts for her keys. She says she never envisioned him capable of such deceit.
The lyrics in "Long Division" are a poignant exploration of memory, regret, and the tension that can arise in relationships when one partner is haunted by their past. The song offers a powerful reminder that our thoughts can be like a city, with buildings that echo long after their inhabitants have gone.
Line by Line Meaning
His head was a city
His mind was complex and full of many things
Of paper buildings
Filled with fragile and temporary structures that could be easily destroyed
And the echoes that remained
The memories that continued to reverberate inside his mind
Of old friends and lovers
The people from his past that still held a place in his thoughts
Their features bleeding
Their individual characteristics merging and becoming indistinct
Together in his brain
All these thoughts and memories existed side by side in his mind
And once it started was harder to
Once these thoughts began to merge, it became more difficult
Tell them apart
To differentiate and distinguish between them
He was always distracted
He was never fully present, always lost in his own thoughts
By the very mention
Just the mere suggestion or idea of something
Of an open door
The possibility of something new or unknown that could lead to change
'Cause he had sworn not to be what he'd been before
He had made a promise to himself to not fall back into old patterns or habits
To be a remain remain remain remainder
To be the leftover or unfulfilled remnants of something
The television was snowing softly
The television was flickering with static or white noise
As she hunted for her keys
As she searched for her means to escape or leave
She said she never envisioned him
She had never imagined or anticipated him
The type of person capable of such deceit
Being someone who could lie or be deceptive
And they carried on like long division
They continued in a slow and methodical process of separating and dividing
And it was clear with every page
As they continued, it became increasingly apparent
That they were further away from a solution that would play
That they were drifting apart and getting no closer to resolution
Without a remain remain remain remainder
Without any unresolved feelings or issues still lingering
He had sworn not to be what he'd been before
He had made a promise to himself to not fall back into old patterns or habits
To be the remain remain remain remainder
To be the leftover or unfulfilled remnants of something
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, CHRISTOPHER WALLA, NICHOLAS HARMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Evan Camp
This song is such a jam. Wow.
DakenSG
Are any of the other performances available in this quality?
Mark Sherman
Were supposed to see these guys at Austin City Limits next week. Damn Coronavirus!
DakenSG
@stealingophelia This is the only performance from this session I've seen in HD.
Shorty Roundly
Man I'm old bro, put me down.
Petanifer
Bass tone is on point but the guitar tone is a little thin in this clip.