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."
Clark Gable
The Postal Service Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the London Underground
When it struck me,
(When it struck me)
That I've been waiting since birth
To find a love that would look and sound
Like a movie.
So I changed my plans,
I rented a camera and a van
And then I called you.
(And then I called you)
I need you to pretend
That we are in love again
And you agreed to.
I want so badly to believe
That there is truth,
That love is real.
And I want life in every word
To the extent that it's absurd.
I greased the lens
And framed the shot
Using a friend as my stand-in.
(As my stand-in)
The script, it called for rain
But it was clear that day
So we faked it.
The marker snapped
And I yelled "Quiet on the set"
And then called "Action".
(And then called "Action")
I kissed you in a style
Clark Gable would have admired,
I thought it classic.
I want so badly to believe
That there is truth,
That love is real.
And I want life in every word
To the extent that it's absurd.
I know you're wise beyond your years
But do you ever get the fears
That your perfect verse is just a lie
You tell yourself to help you
Get by?
The Postal Service’s “Clark Gable” is a contemplation on the role of love and art in a person’s life. The song begins with the singer waiting for a train in the London underground. Suddenly, he realizes that he has been waiting since birth to find the kind of love that would look and sound like something straight out of a movie. With this realization, he decides to change his plans and rent a camera and a van so that he can film a scene with his lover. His hope is to capture a moment that would be so romantic that it could only be found in a movie. As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the singer is trying to use the magic of the movies to escape from the mundanity of his life.
The song’s chorus, “I want so badly to believe that there is truth, that love is real. And I want life in every word to the extent that it's absurd” highlights the importance of love and art in the singer’s life. He craves them both so intensely that he is willing to go to absurd lengths to achieve his vision of the perfect romantic moment. However, he is also aware that there may be something dishonest in his quest for this perfection, asking his lover if she ever fears that her “perfect verse is just a lie / You tell yourself to help you / Get by?” Ultimately, “Clark Gable” is both a celebration of the beauty of art and love and an acknowledgement that they are not always achievable in reality.
Line by Line Meaning
I was waiting for a cross-town train
I was waiting for a chance encounter with true love.
On the London Underground
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
When it struck me, (When it struck me)
When the realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
That I've been waiting since birth
That I've been searching for a love that matches my dreams for my entire life.
To find a love that would look and sound
To find love that resembles the romanticized love depicted in movies.
Like a movie.
An idealized version of love that seems too good to be true.
So I changed my plans,
So I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I rented a camera and a van
I decided to create my own version of love as it appears in the movies.
And then I called you. (And then I called you)
And then I asked you to participate in my fantasy.
I need you to pretend
I need you to act as though you love me like they do in movies.
That we are in love again
That we are in love as we once were.
And you agreed to.
And you were willing to play along.
I want so badly to believe
I want to have faith in what is possible.
That there is truth,
That love is real and not just a figment of my imagination.
That love is real.
That love exists and is attainable.
And I want life in every word
I want my experiences to be full of meaning and depth.
To the extent that it's absurd.
Even if it seems ridiculous.
I greased the lens
I made sure everything was perfect before I started filming.
And framed the shot
And set up the scene for the perfect shot.
Using a friend as my stand-in. (As my stand-in)
Using someone else as a substitute for the person I love.
The script, it called for rain
The scene required rain for dramatic effect.
But it was clear that day
But it was sunny instead of rainy.
So we faked it.
So we pretended that it was raining anyway.
The marker snapped
The marker broke during filming.
And I yelled "Quiet on the set"
I demanded silence for the perfect shot.
And then called "Action". (And then called "Action")
And then began filming the scene of our love.
I kissed you in a style
I kissed you the same way that movie stars do.
Clark Gable would have admired,
Like Clark Gable would have done in movies.
I thought it classic.
I thought it was timeless and romantic.
I know you're wise beyond your years
I know that you are very intelligent and experienced.
But do you ever get the fears
Do you ever feel afraid that what you are experiencing isn't real?
That your perfect verse is just a lie
That your storybook love isn't really true love at all.
You tell yourself to help you
You tell yourself stories to make yourself feel better.
Get by?
To make it through the tough times.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Benjamin D Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hopeforever7009
I was waiting for a cross-town train in the London Underground
When it struck me (when it struck me)
That I'd been waiting since birth to
Find a love that would look and sound
Like a movie
So I changed my plans, I rented a camera and a van
And then I called you
I need you to pretend that we are in love again
And you agreed to
I want so badly to believe
That there is truth, that love is real
And I want life in every word
To the extent that it's absurd
I grease the lens and frame the shot using a friend
As my stand-in (as my stand-in)
The script had called for rain but it was clear that day
So we faked it
The marker snapped and I yelled, "Quiet on the set!"
And then called, "Action!" (And the called action)
I kissed you in a style Clark Gable would have admired
I thought it classic
I want so badly to believe
That there is truth, that love is real
And I want life in every word
To the extent that it's absurd
I know you're wise beyond your years
But do you ever get the fear
That your perfect verse is just a lie
You tell yourself to help you get by
That you tell yourself to help you get by
That you tell yourself to help you get by
@liammgill
“I need you to pretend that we are in love again, and you agreed to” is one of the most gut-wrenching lyrics i’ve ever heard
@scareddoge9942
You should listen to Elliott Smith!
@userflyyn
And I find the line " I am finally seeing why I was the one worth leaving" from The District Sleeps Alone Tonight a total gut punch.
@sarahl9398
High school me was in love with this album and this track in particular. I'm thirty now. Thanks The Postal Service.
Edit: Finally got to see them tonight (9/19/23) for this album's 20th anniversary. It was everything.
@OffbeatLiteracy
I'm right there with you. Nostalgia is overwhelming
@sarahl9398
@WV Beer Maven thanks. Especially this year.... At least we have music to reminisce to.
@plaguerson
This reminds me of waiting in front of school after 6th period. Waiting for the rest of my friends to walk to the front of the school. And the we would chill and hand out and discuss what we were doing after .
@sarahl9398
@Kris plaguerson what I love about YouTube when it's not infested with an influx of mindless commentary is the genuine fleeting connection that comments on these older songs usually have.
@tytipp5614
I’m also thirty now and second your comment lol
@cterp911
The year is 2005. I’m coming back to my dorm room around 3am healthily buzzed. Pop my laptop open, load iTunes, and plug my earbuds in. Fade away into blissful sleep jamming to this album with no real wake up time. Take me back.