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."
Underwater!
Death Cab for Cutie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Attack the holy land
And you were that interstate
That I would roll my tanks down
And color my stunned
And wake the children when I'm done
And put the details in a jar
And bury them underwater
I came to see these battlegrounds (lost battle sounds)
And drove to the outskirts
With cars on blocks and houses run down
And color my stunned
And wake the children when I'm done
And put the details in a jar
And bury them underwater
We'll gather up the family now
Display our diseased organs
We'll call it pride; we'll celebrate tonight
Tax-free and always under priced
And color my stunned
And wake the children when I'm done
And put the details in a jar
And bury them underwater
The lyrics of Death Cab for Cutie's song "Underwater!" appear to describe a sense of control and dominating a certain land, with the singer talking about their army and how they would "attack the holy land." The vivid imagery of rolling tanks down an interstate further emphasizes this notion of power and control. The lines "And color my stunned / And wake the children when I'm done / And put the details in a jar / And bury them underwater" can be interpreted in a few ways, but the most likely is that the singer desires to leave a significant impact on this piece of land they wish to conquer, and will take no prisoners in doing so. The final line of the stanza, "And bury them underwater," could serve as a metaphor for submerging all negative details about the rebellion or bring harsh consequences under the sea, never to be found or talked about again.
The second verse of the song shifts the focus away from the prospective battle and instead to the setting. With "lost battle sounds" playing in the background, the singer visits a rundown area, with "cars on blocks and houses run down." It's possible that this is the same area the singer plans to conquer, or more likely, it's a place of importance to him/her, and the disrepair is disappointing. The chorus repeats with the same themes of drowning the negative aspects of a place underwater, with lines such as "put the details in a jar and bury them underwater" being repeated in both verses.
The final stanza detailing the family gathering and the display of diseased organs is possibly a commentary on how society tends to hide their true selves and their problems, yet still celebrates their achievements. The final lines seem to imply that their pride will always be cheap, and they won't have to pay the price in taxes. Overall, the song tells a story of ambition and control, but at the same time, highlights the human tendency to cover up their flaws and focus solely on achievements.
Line by Line Meaning
You were my army and I would command
You were always there for me and I could rely on you to do as I ask.
Attack the holy land
Together, we would conquere and claim what was considered to be most important to us.
And you were that interstate / That I would roll my tanks down
You enabled me to move forward, and pave my way to 'success'.
And color my stunned / And wake the children when I'm done / And put the details in a jar / And bury them underwater
I enjoyed doing whatever I wanted, no matter who it affected, and nobody could speak out against me or my actions.
I came to see these battlegrounds (lost battle sounds) / And drove to the outskirts / With cars on blocks and houses run down
I'm trying to make sense of everything that's happened, and I'm left seeing the aftermath of the destruction I've caused.
We'll gather up the family now / Display our diseased organs / We'll call it pride; we'll celebrate tonight / Tax-free and always under priced
Despite everything that's happened, we'll still put up a facade of success, and continue to do things that aren't morally right.
Contributed by Kaitlyn A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
PollyLWorld
"Why is this song missing Spotify? Huh? WHY IS IT MISSING?" But Honestly Thank you, I listened to this song so much back in the day and I am happy to know it's not just my memory playing tricks on me.
suethatswho
There's an acoustic version on Spotify from his early solo project All-Time Quarterback
SamO
Seven years later and this is still one of my favorite songs of all time! Holy nostalgia!
Johnny Felcher
This is in my top 3 Death Cab songs. Along with Photobooth and My Mirror Speaks. All-Time Quarterback version is good, also.
Drew Corcoran
Johnny Felcher Wow, that’s my exact same top three as well!
Wynn
Coming at you from almost 7 years after you posted this. Hope you're doing well wherever you may be
Ninaki
still to this day probably my favorite dcfc song and nobody even knows it ;-; -cries- they're missing out.
Jonah Anema
Love this song ❤
Gardenghrost
This song. This song. THIS SONG. It's so beautiful.. I don't see how people think that all the other popular mainstream sellout artists are great. I mean listen to this, it's Love. This is what Love sounds like. Although their just vibrations in the air, it makes us feel wonderful emotions. ok im done.
LucidDream
One of the first songs I heard from them...fell in love. Still one of my favs.