The band started life as a side project for singer Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie and producer Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, Headset and Figurine. The group formed, in 2001, after Gibbard contributed vocals for a song on Dntel's album Life Is Full Of Possibilities called (This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan.
The band released their debut album Give Up on 18 February 2003 on the Sub Pop label. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and is the second best-selling record in the history of Sub Pop Records after Bleach by Nirvana.
Several songs on this album feature guest vocals from Jenny Lewis, the lead singer of Rilo Kiley, a band which was once on the same label as Death Cab (Barsuk Records) and vocals from Jen Wood, an indie rock solo artist. Chris Walla recorded some of the songs and played the piano on Nothing Better. Lewis' membership in the band was unclear during the "Give Up"-era, although she appeared with Tamberello and Gibbard in the music video for "We Will Become Silhouettes". By the time of their 2013 reunion, Lewis had become a permanent third member of the group.
The group's name comes from the manner in which their songs were written, due to the fact that the two of them lived too far away to be able to work together in person. Tamborello would create beats and mail them to singer and lyricist Gibbard, who would then edit them and put his melodies over the tracks and mail them back. Gibbard didn't write any of the lyrics until the tracks were completely finished.
In August 2003, the United States Postal Service sent the band a cease and desist letter, citing its trademark on the phrase "postal service". After negotiations, the USPS relented, allowing the band use of the trademark in exchange for promotional efforts on behalf of the USPS and a performance at its annual National Executive Conference. Additionally, at one point the USPS website sold the band's CDs. In 2007, "Such Great Heights" appeared in the background of the "Whiteboard" advertising campaign for one of the federal establishment's private competitors, the United Parcel Service.
The album's most notable single was Such Great Heights that has been featured in various television commercials, series, and movie trailers also remixed by John Tejada.
The Postal Service contributed a cover of Against All Odds to the soundtrack to the 2004 motion picture Wicker Park, and the band has worked on several remixes of other artists, including Do You Realize?? (Postal Service remix) (from Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots) and Little Girl Blue (Postal Service remix) (from Verve Remixed 3) and Mushaboom (Postal Service remix). Gibbard doesn't sing on these remixes (except for Feist's Mushaboom), and it is likely that he granted Jimmy Tamborello permission to work alone under the name The Postal Service.
Second album
On June 22, 2007, it was revealed that The Postal Service had begun work on a new album, though the specifics of the release date were ambiguous. Gibbard stated, "We're slowly starting. We're crawling right now, and whether that crawl turns into a walk remains to be seen. But we'll know more towards the end of the year. I've just been touring so much and trying to find time to make it happen and make our schedules line up." Tamborello added, "We're talking about wanting to finish an album by sometime next year, because we have to work with Death Cab's schedule and stuff. I definitely want to do another one."
On February 29, 2008, Spinner released an article stating that The Postal Service may not release a new album. Ben Gibbard stated, "Jimmy and I are still throwing ideas back and forth, but as time goes on, we find ourselves busy with our own music. ... We have some stuff, but it's been difficult to find the time and the drive to do the record. I'd love to finish it at some point and maybe even do some performances. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
In a December 2008 interview with Rolling Stone, Gibbard laughed off suggestions that The Postal Service's long overdue follow-up to their 2003 hit Give Up is an indie version of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy. Gibbard said that both he and Tamborello do not see it as a priority in light of their main projects, Death Cab for Cutie and Dntel. He said, "The anticipation of the second record has been a far bigger deal for everybody except the two of us... I don't know about it being the indie-rock Chinese Democracy, but now that Chinese Democracy has come out, I guess it just becomes the second Postal Service record that will never come out. There never really was a plan to do a second album. We work from time to time together but we have other things that take up all of our time."
2013 Reunion
As of November 2012, Ben Gibbard posted on his Twitter account that there are "no plans" to produce another Postal Service record. He did not cite any specific reason for this statement, other than the fact that multiple fans questioned if there was going to be a second album.
In January 2013 Postal Service updated their website to read "The Postal Service 2013," reigniting speculation that the band would play shows, or possibly release a new album. It was later confirmed that the image on the band's site portended that the band's debut, Give Up, would receive a ten year anniversary re-issue featuring a 15-song disc of rarities, including two new songs with Jenny Lewis.
In February 2013, The Postal Service announced it would officially reunite for twelve tour dates including the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, the Primavera Sound Festival 2013 in Barcelona, Sasquatch! Festival in Washington, and Lollapalooza 2013 in Chicago. The band played a Lollapalooza aftershow on August 4, 2013 to 1,200 people at Wrigleyville's Metro, in which Ben Gibbard prefaced the night's second rendition of "Such Great Heights" by saying "not only is this the last song of the tour, this is the last show we will ever do." At the song's conclusion, Gibbard stated that "The Postal Service is closed."
In 2023, the band reunited once again to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of "Give Up" in a co-headlining tour with Death Cab for Cutie for the 20th Anniversary of "Transatlanticism."
A Tattered Line of String
The Postal Service Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the lower east side
And you failed to catch the train back to Queens
So you came to my room
We did some things that we knew not to do
In the glow of the night's golden hue
You've got a tattered line of string
That you want to call your own
But it never seems to hold
When we woke, we agreed
That we would not ever speak
Of this night to anyone that we both knew
And you said, "Every time we kissed
I felt something that couldn't exist"
And I confessed that I thought I felt it too
I've got a tattered line of string
And I tied around everything
That I want to call my own
But it never seems to hold
I've got a tattered line of string
And I tied around everything
That I want to call my own
But it never seems to hold
Everything
Everything
Never seems to hold
Never seems to hold
You've got a tattered line of string
And you tied around everything
That you want to call your own
But it never seems to hold
I've got a tattered line of string
And I tied around everything
That I want to call my own
But it never seems to hold
The Postal Service's song "A Tattered Line of String" depicts a night where two people engage in activities that they know they should not be doing, hinting that they are both in committed relationships with other people. The first verse implies that they went out to bars in the lower east side of New York City and missed a train back home, which leads to one of them staying overnight at the other's apartment. In the second verse, they agree to keep the encounter a secret from the people they know, indicating that their actions were not just a one-time thing but rather an ongoing affair. They both reveal that they felt something that they have never felt before, an emotional connection that neither of them expects to continue.
Line by Line Meaning
We drained every dive
We explored every bar and club in the lower east side
And you failed to catch the train back to Queens
You missed your train home to Queens
So you came to my room
You ended up coming to my room instead of going home
We did some things that we knew not to do
We engaged in activities that we knew were not wise or advisable
In the glow of the night's golden hue
Under the warm glow of the night sky
You've got a tattered line of string
You have a worn and frayed string
And you tied around everything
You use it to tie around everything that you want to claim as your own
That you want to call your own
Things you want to possess
But it never seems to hold
However, it always seems to fail and come undone
When we woke, we agreed
After we slept, we made an agreement
That we would not ever speak
We promised each other never to mention
Of this night to anyone that we both knew
To anyone in our shared social circle
And you said, “Every time we kissed
You then spoke about your feelings during our actions
I felt something that couldn't exist”
You felt emotions that you believed were impossible
And I confessed that I thought I felt it too
I admitted that I too felt an indescribable emotion
I've got a tattered line of string
I also have a worn and frayed string
And I tied around everything
I use it to tie around everything that I want to claim as my own
Everything
All the things that we want to possess
Everything
All the things that we want to possess
Never seems to hold
However, all our attempts always seem to fail and come undone
Never seems to hold
However, all our attempts always seem to fail and come undone
You've got a tattered line of string
You still have that worn and frayed string
And you tied around everything
You still use it to tie around everything that you want to claim as your own
I've got a tattered line of string
I still have that worn and frayed string
And I tied around everything
I still use it to tie around everything that I want to claim as my own
That I want to call my own
All the things that I want to possess
But it never seems to hold
However, it always seems to fail and come undone
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Benjamin D Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TokyoFashionOfficial
Love The Postal Service! If only there was a new album.
@slhs1992
Give Up. :D
@mitchsmith9833
on the postal service website it says they are officially 'close for business'. I guess this is the last new song we will ever hear from the postal service :(
@nibblynobbler7064
never say never say never say never.
@user-xb4pu4gr3q
well if it is it's one hell of a banger
@louieo.blevinsmusic4197
If either one goes broke I guarantee ya they’ll release another. 40% of every 12-21 year old from 2003 to 2008 would buy and then some.
@thegreatscott88
Hello. I'm here from the future. Death cab will be performing all of Give Up and Transatlanticism. I've never wanted to go to a concert more
@pastproject4932
@@thegreatscott88im from the farther future this tour is really sick
@defundthepolicejohnson6929
Well, my mind is officially blown. Goodbye frontal lobe! Have fun wherever you flew of to in space!
@amydube9234
Love the idea of the clothes staying still and the world spinning around it. I wish the speed picked up and he and the whole laundry mat kept spinning and smashing into each other with some crazy hot winds thrown into the mix!