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."
Information Travels Faste
Death Cab for Cutie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You wanted me to write you letters, but I'd rather lose your address
And forget that we'd ever met and what did or did not occur.
Sitting in the station, it's all a blur
Of dancehall hips, pretentious quips.
A boxers, bob and weave.
And here's the kicker of this whole shebang
That you can look into the mirror and objectively rank your wounds.
Sewing circles are not solely based in trades of cloth,
There's spinsters all around here taking notes, reporting on us.
As information travels faster in the modern age, in the modern age
As our days are crawling by so slowly
Information travels faster in the modern age, in the modern age
As our days are crawling by so slowly
Information travels faster in the modern age, in the modern age
As our days are crawling by so slowly
Information travels faster in the modern age, in the modern age
As our days are crawling by so slowly
"Information Travels Faster" is a melancholic track by Death Cab for Cutie that talks about how communication in the modern age can easily distort our perception of reality. The opening lines of the song reveal how the singer abandoned a lover who requested letters from him. He deliberately made his handwriting illegible and lost her address to cut all ties with her. The song suggests that the singer is struggling with a past relationship and is trying to forget about it. The verse "And forget that we'd ever met and what did or did not occur" beautifully encapsulates the singer's feeling of being stuck in the past and trying hard to move on.
The song's chorus "As information travels faster in the modern age" is a reflection of how technology can manipulate our reality. The second verse drives the message home by comparing sewing circles to people taking notes and reporting on others' lives. The modern age has given us the power to scrutinize everything around us, leading us to be more critical of ourselves and others. The last verse of the song marks the closing of the singer's struggle. The fact that "our days are crawling by so slowly" suggests the struggle is ongoing and slow, but there is a hint of acceptance towards the end.
Line by Line Meaning
I intentionally wrote it out to be an illegible mess
I purposefully made what I wrote nonsensical and difficult to read
You wanted me to write you letters, but I'd rather lose your address
You asked for correspondence, but I'd prefer to forget about you altogether
And forget that we'd ever met and what did or did not occur.
I'd like to erase any memory of us and all that happened or didn't
Sitting in the station, it's all a blur
I'm lost in thought, everything is hazy and unclear
Of dancehall hips, pretentious quips.
I'm surrounded by people trying too hard to impress with their dancing and conversation
A boxers, bob and weave.
The scene resembles a fighting match, with all the bobbing and weaving going on
And here's the kicker of this whole shebang
Now here's the real kicker, the shocking truth of it all
You're in debt and completely fooled,
You owe more than you can handle and you've been utterly deceived
That you can look into the mirror and objectively rank your wounds.
You think you can assess your own emotional injuries without bias or distortion
Sewing circles are not solely based in trades of cloth,
Groups of women who gather to sew can also talk and gossip about other people
There's spinsters all around here taking notes, reporting on us.
Old unmarried women are observing us and making records to share with others
As information travels faster in the modern age, in the modern age
In this current era, news and rumors spread at an alarming rate
As our days are crawling by so slowly
Despite this, time feels slow and uneventful
Information travels faster in the modern age, in the modern age
Again, in this modern era, information moves quickly
As our days are crawling by so slowly
Yet, we still feel as though time drags by slowly
Information travels faster in the modern age, in the modern age
Another reminder that information spreads rapidly now
As our days are crawling by so slowly
Despite this fact, our daily experiences feel slow and uneventful
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BENJAMIN GIBBARD, CHRISTOPHER WALLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TobermoryIscarabaidX
This album is sorely underrated.
@Kid_Ikaris
It's my personal favorite.
Hard to know for sure but it seems to me like the most autobiographical Ben Gibbard album.
@Thrashman-ye4cf
This is such a fall/winter song. It's almost weird to listen to it in the summer.
@21hazza
It has a very cozy vibe.
@inphanta
Weirdly, I bought this album in the summertime way back when so I associate it with that.
@thetexanhusky
I guess it makes sense, since this album was released back in October of 2001.
@modestdreamer
Such a good song. What more can you say?
@marcosjeofla
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@jeanetteperryman44
So sad that instead writing a letter ya want lose the address. Shows how much some people just don't want to love or be loved
@gemmaskate
+jeanette perryman Perhaps just in the case of that one love.