Win A Date With Ben Gibbard
Ben Gibbard flies solo next week, and we want one of you to go on a date with him. But that's not gonna happen. So instead, we've arranged for a Stereogum reader to sit in proximity to the Death Cab For Cutie frontman for at least an hour.
It's a busy Q1 for the Sixth Place Indie Rock Hottie. (The hat cost you votes, Ben ... at least according to Mrs. Stereogum & friends.)
On 1/14, DCFC visit SNL with hostess Scarlett Johansson (NSFW Lost In Translation grab). Next month, Death Cab competes with Arcade Fire, Beck, Franz, and White Stripes for Best Alternative Album Grammy. Rumor has it if Kanye doesn't win via some loophole, we gonna have a problem.
Oh, and Austin City Limits with My Morning Jacket! Tivo that 2/11.
Anyway, Ben's got a sold-out acoustic gig at NYC's Bowery Ballroom next Tuesday 1/10. Matt from Nada Surf and Andrew from American Analog Set round out the bill. Expect a baker's dozen cover songs. I bought tickets and hope it's as awesome as this scalper implies.
OK, HERE'S THE CONTEST
On the Sunday before the concert, Ben & bandmate Nick Harmer sit for a public Q&A moderated by fanboy journo Jon Pareles. It's part of NY Times Arts & Leisure weekend. Pareles cited We Have The Facts as one of 2000's most overlooked CDs ("Benjamin Gibbard's voice seems fragile, but his wiry songs aren't as uncertain as their lyrics pretend to be..." -12/28/00). Transatlanticism ("Eleven impeccable songs about lovers just out of reach" -10/22/04) was one of his '03 faves. Don't expect a brawl, just dangling conversation from three audiophiles.
Stereogum has what appears to be one of the best seats in the 200ish capacity theater. We're giving the ticket to one of you.
The catch (aside from handing off 1 ticket, not 2) is that you have to report on the event for this site: take notes, snap photos, ask questions, give Ben a hug and get kicked out, give Jon a hug and get kicked out, etc...
Sunday Jan. 8, 2006
Play With Chords: Ben Gibbard & Nick Harmer of Death Cab For Cutie
CUNY Graduate Center's Elebash Recital Hall
365 5th Ave NYC8:00 PM to 9:15 PM (Arrive early)
Row/Seat: A/11
HOW TO WIN
Post in the comments why YOU should win. We want to pick a fan. If you write well that's a plus. If you blog, of course we'll pimp your URL.
Presumably Ben will discuss last year's Plans and this year's Directions. And maybe the Giant Village people.
Pareles is slated to open the forum to audience Q&A toward the end. Ask questions! Whatever you want. What DCFC song would Ben want on Kidz Bop 10?. How was Nick's ComiCon adventure? Whatevs. Just hand in your homework on time (by 1/10). (Dioramas will be accepted for extra credit.)
THE CONTEST ENDS FRIDAY 1/6 AT 11:00 AM. YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PICK UP THE TICKET IN TIMES SQUARE BY 7 PM THAT EVENING.
Posted at 8:00 AM in Contest
Tags: Jon Pareles
Is this thing on?
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For Alex's benefit, I should mention that you can "add" to your original comment by posting a second time. (Let's keep it at two, though, or picking a winner will drive us nuts.)
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Because I don't live in NYC and wouldn't be able to go so one of you guys could use the ticket, while feeling generous and philathropic by announcing a contest winner.
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Because I've been dying for a chance to pelt Ben Gibbard with rotten fruit.
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because i've been dying to eat fresh fruit with ben gibbard.
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because i've been dying to eat fresh fruit from ben gibbard's butt.
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because i'm dying.
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I've never seen Death Cab in the 5 or so years I've been listening and it would be so awesome to see Gibbard solo!!! Oh yeah, I have a (recently neglected) blog as well. It's listed under my url. OMG PLZ PIK ME LOLARZ!!!!!
for serious
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yeah, im retarded and just read it all, but i still want to report
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I'd like to go see Ben Gibbard because I'd like to ask him why he didn't play "Coney Island" when I saw them at Siren Fest on Coney Island. I've been pissed about that for two years. Also, because I agree with Pareles comment about We Have the Facts. Also, I have stomach cancer and not long to live, and I love Death Cab. And because Glorious Noise (.com) loves Stereogum (.com)!
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Because I've always wanted to ask Ben if "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" was about me. (oh, and I'm majoring in music journalism at NYU and need something to do).
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You should pick me for two reasons. 1: at least five of my friends would be sOoOoOoOO jealous! and 2: i saw them like 5 or 6 years ago on the Death and Dismemberment Tour with Dismemberment Plan and it sucked and I want my $21 worth!
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Everybody knows that the king of all Ben Gibbard and Death Cab for Cutie fans isn't even a real person at all, it's Seth Cohen. We all know that The OC has catapulted Death Cab from emo indie band to major-label, MTV2 superstars. But what most don't know is that Seth Cohen was based on a real person. Josh Schwartz, creator of the show, based the character on himself you say? Hogwash! Haberdashery! I am convinced that I AM SETH COHEN. SETH COHEN IS ME. I have detailed my reasons for believing so in my blog here:
http://lolzatzach.blogspot.com/2005/10/california-here-i-come.html
Since I posted that, my theory has been supported by even more evidence. For example, Seth has expressed desire in the show's plot to attend college in New England, specifically Brown. When I was applying to schools, I wanted to go nowhere other than New England. Also, when his mother returned to the show on an episode at the beginning of this season, he presented her with the newest Klosterman book, "Killing Yourself to Live," which I had just purchased earlier that day. Who else should have the opportunity to schmooze it up with Ben and Nick than a real-life Seth Cohen?
Seriously though, The questions I'd ask would probably be centered around the theme of indie bands hitting the bigtime through the OC and Garden State phenomenon that catapulted Death Cab, The Postal Service, and even The Shins to the relative mainstream popularity for a short while. How does it change the approach to their art? Do they worry about appealing to different sorts of people in their fanbase? Will the next Postal Service record still be released through the indie Sub-Pop label? What's the deal with Nick Harmer's bangs?
Also, I've got to redeem myself for the last time I was able to shake hands with these guys. Embarrassing photos here:
http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/v199/SgtPepperZL/5604/7.jpg
http://img65.photobucket.com/albums/v199/SgtPepperZL/5604/8.jpg
P.S. All kidding aside, I'm concentrating on Journalism in school, and I'd LOVE to do this.
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oh wait haha it just occurred to me that it was only ben gibbard. still, pick me.
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"Close proximity": a redundant phrase. Sorry, my eighth grade English teacher wouldn't let me continue reading without mentioning this.
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because i had my testicles burned off in a fire.
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Because I have:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/endofsummer05/10431060_l.jpg
That
and
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/izzyizzy/_____________2nddcfctattoo.jpg
That
and take pictures like
http://www.webpost.net/3d/3dcfc1022/__________102204_ben1copy.jpg
That.
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because i saw them at a tiny club in 2001 in my home city, and it only cost $12. this past time i saw them, i drove alone to nashville because they sold out in atlanta; they sat me in the nosebleeds with all the 10 year olds, and the whole ordeal cost about $75 plus having to take a 3 am nap on the side of the road, totally convinced that i was about to submerge into the great ebb and flow of the universe.
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Definitly a major non event....Ben Gibbard is so 05...I think a major crack binge would be the only thing that could elevate this to must see status....give it to the guy with burnt testicles...those crack lighters get hot!
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Let me repost the final picture because I'm quite proud of it & I think the link isn't working:
And I was sent this link by someone who said "If anyone deserves to win this, it's you."
Along with other people saying that they always felt like I was their biggest fan.
Though sometimes I feel like a big creep about it all. I could never adequately describe how much his music means to me. Everything he's ever done.
I'm bad at this.
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http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/endofsummer05/__________102204_ben1copy.jpg
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Why should I win?
I. Because I spent half of 05 explaining to my friends how Death Cab is not emo and that they are indie. They didn't agree, but I stayed true to them.
II. Because I got my sister to like them.
III. Because I own all of their albums and listen to them religiously.
IV. Because I frequently make posters of Postal Service and DCFC.
V. Because I made an album of Ben Gibbard covers.
So, there ya go.
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ewww death cab for gay
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because i saw them at irving plaza a couple years back but really only went for ben kweller.
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ACL w/ MMJ. I seriously think I wet myself from excitement.
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I'll start with the fact that that I am a huge fan of Death Cab and Postal Service. That said, I have never been able to catch DCFC in concert. I missed a show in Seattle by two days, I was too broke in NYC the last time they played and I'm way too broke now to buy a scalped ticket.
I did have the opportunity to see Postal Service in a small bar in Arkansas, my residence at the time for reasons I'd rather not go into (stupid girls). The friends I had hadn't quite commited to the fact that I listened to much better music than they did and refused to go to the show with me. My girlfriend at the time was too stupid to admit I liked better music than she did so I ended up going to the show by myself. Being the dramatic ass that I am I got to the show, which was packed, stood at the bar, got way too drunk, felt sorry for myself because I was at the show alone, drunkenly talked to the merch guy about my friends band, bought a shirt, and then left before the show was over. I deserve to go to another show that Ben will be playing at and commit the same atrocities all over again, I guess I could stay till the show's over this time and then I can tell all your readers about it (again)!
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YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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1. because i'm a chic i can get closer to hug them than a guy could.
2. have dreams about ben and me in a swimming pool...
3. love them
4. love postal service
5. i'm a chic
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because i lost my virginity to transatlanticism. twice.
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Because
1) The circumfrence of my cranium is similar to Ben's, leading me to believe that we both have similar brains and therefore, similar ways of analyzing things like global poverty or why glove compartments are aptly named;
2) We have brown hair;
3) I shook his hand at Siren Fest and told him I appreciated his band. I have to apologize to him, though, because unfortunately this short interlude allowed for him to be ambushed by a flock of prepubescent girls drunk on Death Cab fever;
4) I allowed for him to be ambushed by a flock of prepubescent girls.
That is why I should win your contest. If I don't, we gonna have a problem.
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Queerest answer: I guess I should win because I am a Journalism student at a gigantic public university in New England and I need something to brag about. I also actually listened to death cab before the OC but can still admit to liking them after. I also think I should win this contest because I am not tragically hip and tend to throw up in my mouth at the people who try so hard to be witty on these message boards. The Final reason why I should win is because the last time I entered in a contest was when The killers played one of their first shows on the east coast, in which I won tickets but was unable to go (Thats kinda worse than never winning a contest at all). Thanks for reading my post
-Jay
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because i am the brunette scarlett johansson and as such i’m the best person to prep the gibbard for his SNL debut. i can offer all kinds of advice:
1. no jigs http://www.stereogum.com/archives/000981.html
2. no sweaters http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2005/08/colin_meloy_ben.html
3. and pibb + red vines = crazy delicious http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=zLElfJ9YCh0
oh, and because i’d really like to ask jon pareles why in god’s name he interviewed john mayer for this thing last year.
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on second thought, you should prolly give it to the kid with the tattoos. yikes.
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i will pour you champagne from a paper cup. picking me is really the line of best fit. the whole night will be like a movie script ending. i'll detail every last moment, even if my company calls. so now you have the facts, vote yes. (ps. i take a mean drunken photograph <-- now that's incentive)
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I had this whole thing planned out to ask you guys to give me the ticket, because I really love Death Cab and am studying journalism. I never get to see them because bands hate coming to Texas and school kept me from seeing them at the Ridglea in Ft. Worth the one time they came. But after reading the above comments, you really need to give it to Seth Cohen. I'm the female equivalent of Seth, but this guy is creepily Cohen-esque. If he doesn't get it, there is truly no justice in this world - -not even in blogs, the last haven of idealism.
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KC stole mine (the one about not living in NYC) and it really isn't fair. So I should win for being unoriginal AND slow on the draw. And I was always picked last in dodgeball.
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Hi there! I'd really love to get that ticket because having seen them live already, and despite how good the solo Ben show sounds (as that Home EP is a masterpiece), so far I've mostly made my own interpretations of their music. From what this Q&A event sounds like, it would be an incredible experience, which undoubtedly will result in an excess of things to write about. And while I'm certainly no professional writer, and mostly have a background in screenplays/poetry/creative-non-fiction (which is really an offset of essays), the idea of writing about being in a room with some really great musicians inspires me, and it would definitely brighten up the few days I have before finals begin.
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i think you should give me the ticket to go see DCFC because:
(a) i worked christmans, the day after christmas, and new year's day and could really really use a treat
(b) i like DCFC loads but i also like a ton of other music as well so i would be an appreciative audience member (and not a creepy obsessed fan like no offense i think some of you all might be)
(c) i don't read the new yorker, so i'd be a good balance to the rest of the cognoscenti present in the room!
please pick me!
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I'm with alex. I'm so all for the Zach/Seth Cohen.
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What a nice collection of stalkers and people who would like to remind Ben Gibbard of the one pointless stupid pop culture reference that he probably rues more than naming his band Death Cab for Cutie. Erika herzog gets my vote, as does anyone who had to work on the holidays. Seriously girl, read the New Yorker though.
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Reasons you should pick me
1) If you go on the dcab boards I'm James. You know who the fuck I am.
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for the love of god, pick tattoo girl. and for the love of god, i hope that's a girl.
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I will fly to NYC from Dallas if you pick me. I will ask funny questions that will make people laugh. I will bake cookies for Ben and Jon. Pick me because my future husband and I were at the Death and Dismemberment show in Austin a few months before we met, and we delighted in the fact that we had that in common. Really, it may have nudged us into a relationship. So DCFC inadvertantly changed my life.
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I will fly to NYC from Dallas if you pick me. I will ask funny questions that will make people laugh. I will bake cookies for Ben and Jon. Pick me because my future husband and I were at the Death and Dismemberment show in Austin a few months before we met, and we delighted in the fact that we had that in common. Really, it may have nudged us into a relationship. So DCFC inadvertantly changed my life. P.S. We danced to "Such Great Heights" for our first dance at our wedding.
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Please choose me!
I have been listening to DCFC for years now and I have a great appreciation for their music. As you can see in my blog...I have a great NEED to meet Ben (or to be as close to him as possible).
P.S. Thanks for the link Amber :)
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Because I have been in close proximity to BG more than enough times yet have never spoken to him. So this time, it would finally be different. Of course there were the times I saw him play with DCFC in Seattle and seeing Postal Service at the Crocodile, but also when I saw him sing "Complicated" with Carissa's Wierd and at the KEXP live set at the Museum of Television & Radio in NYC. Of course I didn't talk to him then; he was performing. But then there was the time that I saw him at the Graceland in Seattle before the show on Dismemberment Plan's last tour--he was standing at the bar in his courduroy blazer with moleskin patched sleeves--and I almost invited him to my birthday party at the urging of my friend, but despite the fact that we were the only three people in the bar, I didn't say anything. Or the time I saw him in the Jet Blue terminal at JFK, waiting to get on the same flight to Seattle as I was. Since I've been so so close to talking to Ben Gibbard so many times, this would finally make me do it. Because I would have something to say other than "you're Ben Gibbard." I mean, I'm sure I could come up with something.
And I live in New York, and I don't have anything to do that day.
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You should pick me because I just graduated college and nothing says "lost and disillusioned" like travelling to NYC and meeting someone who has helped me "find myself" over the years... and not because I tend to overuse quotation marks.
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I had a gay gang bang with Death Cab back in '99! Who else would make a better canidate to ask them questions about their gay sound!?
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All I can think about is how in love I am with Scarlett J...was there something about Death Cab in there too?
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Because when I saw DCFC at 930 club in DC back in October, during a long instrumental conclusion to the 'Plans' track "Different Names for the Same Thing," drummer Jason McGerr and Ben Gibbard, on a partial drum set, have a drum-off of sorts. At the conclusion of this, Ben recklessly threw his drumstick sharply into the front row, HITTING ME IN THE FACE. I didn't even get to keep the drumstick; the bouncer gave it to some girl down the row. So I guess I'd like to see Ben again so...I COULD KICK HIS ASS. Also, January 8th is my birthday. I will be twenty, meaning I will punch Gibbard twenty times in the face.
Actually, indie rockers are pretty scary guys, so I'll probably just shake his hand politely in appreciation of music that has gotten me through a soul-sucking job as a corporate administrative assistant over the break from schoool. If that's not yuppie, or yippie, or faggie, I don't know what is.
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dont pick me.
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you're all freaks.
pick me because i refuse to spend the $45 or whatever the fuck it is to get in. pick me because i have a useless photojournalism degree and would take better pictures (http://burntsienna.nu/final-music/deathcab2.jpg & http://burntsienna.nu/final-music/deathcab2.jpg) there than these 16 year olds with their new christmas-gift canon powershots. i can also use semicolons correctly, and i have an actual vocabulary, so you'll get a dandy little write-up. pick me because i've already met and hung out with ben and don't really give a fuck about doing it again but i'd like to hear what he and nick've got to say to the undoubtedly retarded questions that will spew forth from the masses.
or give it to the chick with the tattoos, but maybe give her a spot further back so she doesn't do anything crazy.
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You should pick me because the hotel my girlfriend picked for us to stay in for our new york trip in the summer turned out to be the same one death cab were in. This same hotel turned out to be where the models in the latest 'america's next top model' stayed. I don't think any of these other people are on the same level of beauty as us top models.
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Well, there's the basic fan stuff (I've liked DCfC since 2000, have seen countless shows in NYC and Seattle) and the more random things (Ben and I share a similar love for Hall & Oates). There's also the fact that I am an aspiring music journalist who has long had the dream of being able to interview Ben. Of course, there's also the fact that, plain and simply, I would love to go. It would be the memory of a lifetime.
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Pick me because I could care less about DCFC. Wouldn't you just love that angle? I hear you people enjoy irony...
Also, by now, I know you have to be annoyed with all the shamefull groveling and self-pitying that these whinos are throwing at you, and I have expressed none. I get big points for that.
Furthermore, I can assure you I don't have pasty skin, a weird haircut or any of the clichéed character flaws that come with loving DCFC.
As for questioning...I would simply ask Ben the type of questions people ACTUALLY want to know. His favourite color, food, number. Boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs. What type of soap or deodorant he uses, if any. ETC.
So that's it. I don't enjoy DCFC, but I wouldn't mind going to a free show and experiencing what it is like to interview an emo-rock god. I also own a camera and posess the ability to take pictures.
That said, I am also Canadian. Again, huge points for that, hipsters are drawn to us.
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AIDS, alcoholism and journalistic integrity.
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dear person with the dcfc tattoos..
you suck.
love,
me!
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Tattoo girl looks like her tattoo was done in prison . She shouldn't win just based on the quality of it.
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if i win i'll ask him, "ben, will i someday be loved?"
also, i know where you live.
those are the 2 reasons that i should win. if that isn't enough, i'll give you maddox and/or chairman meow.
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I'd like to win so that I can give it to my friend Vanessa. We work together and DCFC is her favorite band. Every time they play in NYC she misses getting a ticket due to speedy sales. It's painful to hear her dismay. I know she would enjoy the talk and it would be great to see her face if she wins. Thanks.
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Because Seth Cohen doesn't got shit on me. And no, I'm not a gangster or even a "gangsta", I am a seminerdy, iPod toting, rain enduring music lover. Not only a music lover, a Death Cab For Cutie lover. It started back about six years ago. When you could buy tickets at the door for their shows, instead of missing a chance to go because 13 year old girls accompanied by a chaperone bought tickets the moment they went on sale. Am I trying to say I deserved these tickets more than a fan who may not even know a full death cab song save the one featured on an "OC: Mixtape" compilation? Well, yes I am. Death Cab For Cutie has been the one band I've continued to keep in full rotation, no matter what season or mood I'm in. Sure, I've seen Death Cab play before, but forgive me, I go to shows in Seattle. Can I really avoid that? I once even ran into Ben at a Pedro the Lion concert. So yeah...yes I met him. cool right? no. i froze up and introduced myself after shaking his hand and literally said nothing. My best friend interned at subpop, her boss being his girlfriend. I begged her to take me to work and meet him one day but she wasn't able to. What I'm trying to say is basically, he's been so close but so far away, in a heterosexual sense. I can't tell you how many times I've plopped a Death Cab song onto a mix cd, and by now that's something I avoid, because my friends associate me with death cab for cutie, so i try and mix it up but I can't. On top of all this, I am going to school to become a music journalist. My ultimate dream is to write for the Rolling Stone. I know. But like I said, dream. I was inspired by the movie Almost Famous, and decided to actually run with the idea it was possible for me to actually do that, be a rock journalist and interview people that inspired me. In the end, it would be an entirely fulfilling experience. To make a long story short, winning this would be an amazing opportunity on a number of levels. Plus, it'd be pretty cool to get my blog "pimped out" considering I just got mine up and running.
thanks,
-Jon
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Because Ben Gibbard loves me. . . he says so here:
http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/bengibbardhatesme.asp
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sorry to get off topic but patricia, after flipping through your page, I'm gunna go ahead and guess you were unaware that bruce springsuck said dcfc sucks?
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it's sort of an old article (02-03). but i thought i'd dredge it up for the sake of the contest. no, i wasn't aware that bruce said that, but did he say it after their moveon.org tour? i feel bad having a conversation on stereogum.
i would like to add i was wasted and agree that it makes no sense.
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If you give it to Jen that's really just the nail in the coffin, the "coffin" being that New York weblogs are a giant nepotism-loving clusterfuck.
I say give it to eliz. She funny.
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Was a winner notified already, but not made public? I was under the impression that the ticket needed to be picked up within two hours from now. Sorry to be nudging.
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Sorry for not posting this sooner:
Yes, we have a winner. You'll find out who it is when we post his/her review. Thanks to everyone who entered.
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Thank you to Alex, Sally, and a few others who sent me messages saying they hoped I would win. Unfortunately, it looks like I didn't, and neither did Izzy (aka Tattoo Girl). I guess we'll all find out together. Hey Alex, how so are you the female Cohen equivalent?
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because i'm left handed and like to give high fives
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and i don't read fine print.
(or dates when contests end)
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pick me
im the person!
hello are you listening?
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