Stereogum Home
May 23, 2008

Death Cab Hit Kimmel With Promises Of Heart Possession

thumbnail icon: Death Cab Hit Kimmel With Promises Of Heart Possession

This past few weeks we've seen Death Cab fully emerge from their heartfelt cocoon of indie emotion and become a full-fledged multimedia/chart-topping behemoth. They've got America's #1 album, they killed it on Letterman, they popped up in Gossip Girl, did the Coachella thing, the Daytrotter thing, Black Cab thing, and turned in an honest day's blogging. Shit now Walla's even writing op-eds on political primaries. Clearly we've created a monster. So what could possibly be left? More late night performances! This time it's for the benefit of Jimmy Kimmel's midnight show, which has the added benefit of feeling like a true and proper concert.

Nothing says "true and proper concert" than an air-drumming lip syncer first row, yes? Ben and Jason's nearly matching plaid & glasses = pretty cute. Walla, looking the part of the diplomat, yes. And Nick, for as much as we are loving the Galifianakis facial hair, after we've been hipped to this...

...how could we ask for anything else?

Narrow Stairs is out via Atlantic.

Posted at 12:55 PM in
Tags:  |




-->

16 Comments

god the new album is so beyond terrible

Posted by: joe at 05/23/08 1:03 PM | Reply
Score = -6 Vote up Vote down

i was going to say something snarky about comment thread haters, but i'll be nice today. as far as the kimmel performance, wouldn't it be some cool shit if kimmel let them play the eight-minute version?

Posted by: douglas martin at 05/23/08 1:10 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down
Scott

I can't wait for Kimmel's cover story in next week's NYTimes Magazine.

Posted by: Scott profile link at 05/23/08 1:25 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

the new album isn't terrible. certain songs are though for sure. very uneven, methinks.

Posted by: grace6697 at 05/23/08 1:43 PM | Reply
Score = 2 Vote up Vote down

i thought the album was terrible at first, but then i realized the one i downloaded was a fake (some band called velveteen or something). i bought it and most of it sounds WONDERFUL.

Posted by: zach at 05/23/08 2:00 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I think the new album is pretty great. Haters be damned.

Posted by: Rochinho at 05/23/08 2:37 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I know, right? There's so much music in this world and I have a hard time believing anybody has been accosted in their house by a random stranger with a boombox, forcing them to listen to Narrow Stairs. And if you think you can make a better album...well, you should be in the studio instead of leaving comments on a web site, b/c I'd like to hear this superior collection of songs.

Posted by: . in reply to Rochinho's comment at 05/23/08 2:42 PM | Reply
Score = -1 Vote up Vote down

I've seen this "don't criticize something if you can't do better" argument a thousand times, and it gets dumber each time.

Posted by: Chris in reply to .'s comment at 05/23/08 3:22 PM | Reply
Score = 4 Vote up Vote down

I didn't say don't criticize...it doesn't affect me one way or the other. I just suggested that if there's such a void of good music in the world that people feel compulsed to visit web sites and trash those who are making an effort to bring music to the masses, then perhaps it would be a better use of time to step up and fill that void. But if trashing DCFC on stereogum is honestly what you feel you do best, then please don't deny the world your gift.

Posted by: . in reply to Chris's comment at 05/23/08 4:15 PM | Reply
Score = 1 Vote up Vote down

Nice strawman. So it can't just happen that someone reads this site regularly and decides to take 20 seconds to comment on something, even if it's negative? It must be that they scour the interwebs just waiting for the opportunity to spew their anti-DCFC venom right?

Posted by: Chris in reply to .'s comment at 05/23/08 5:07 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Just don't see the point in hating. While I don't love Narrow Stairs, I also don't think that the band owed me an album that I can appreciate...they made the album they wanted to make and I applaud them for doing that. If bands went around trying to make albums they knew their fanbase would like, we would actually have that void to which I alluded. Think of all the great albums that wouldn't have been made if songwriters and musicians were like, "Oh, man, I hope the readers of Stereogum like this album." And it seems like the venom is up a bit more today after yesterday gave people hope that DCFC might be reading this today and actually seeing the hateful comments...and that's just sad.

Posted by: . in reply to Chris's comment at 05/23/08 5:25 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Whoever decided for this song to be their single needs to be a better decision
maker. Definitely one of the less interesting songs on the album. I could
pass.

Posted by: Nathaniel profile link at 05/23/08 3:09 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Good god, child! Benny boy needs a hair cut.

Posted by: Evan at 05/23/08 3:54 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

is this some kind of junior high school english class or what?
but anyways. back to the topic...i think DCFC's album is good...it isnt their best defitinely, but it is enjoyable. AN theyre pretty fun, as proved by their stereogum blogging. :)

Posted by: gaby profile link at 05/23/08 5:59 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Maybe we wouldn't feel so compelled to give these dudes a reality check if they didn't diss both Radiohead (or their model, or whatever) and Warren G-Spot and Nate Diggity, (two acts I have long admired). They should spend their time writing better songs instead of lame blogs :-)

Posted by: buns at 05/26/08 8:04 PM | Reply
Score = -1 Vote up Vote down

I love the new DCFC album - it's so different than their past records as it doesn't have a feel or theme that goes from song to song. There's not a natural flow - but ben's song writing continues to amaze me. there's some great songs on this album.
I've come to the realization that bands don't necessarily have to beat their last album - just do what they wanna do. if people do / do not like it then oh well.
i like it.

Posted by: alex. at 05/29/08 11:12 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


 

The 'Gum Drop

Get our newsletter. MP3s and giveaways weekly.

Search




Sort by:date relevance

Information

  • Contact:
  • About
  • Press
  • Advertising
  • Stereogum RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon
  • MP3-Only RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon

Staff

Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Scott Lapatine
Executive Editor
Amrit Singh
Senior Writer
Brandon Stosuy
Columnist
Jon McMillan
Technology & Operations
Jim Jazwiecki
Angela Williams

The Cool Kids

All Stereogum Posts

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Blank Dogs - Ants (»)
Blank Dogs - Crystal Ladies (»)
Annuals - Confessor (»)
Spoon - Writing To You In Reverse (»)
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (»)
Benoit Pioulard - Brown Bess (»)
Fucked Up - Twice Born (»)
Lykke Li - Little Bit (Loving Hand Remix) (»)
Crystal Castles - Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH) (»)
David Grubbs - An Optimist Declines (Edit) (»)
High Places - From Stardust To Sentience (»)
Lou Reed - Caroline Says, Pt. II (»)
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead (»)
Pepi Ginsberg - Son (»)
Dr. Dog - The Ark (»)
The Walkmen - In The New Year (»)
of Montreal - Nonpareil Of Favor (»)
Sleeping States - Rivers (»)
Megafaun - Beloved Binge (»)
Chad VanGaalen - Willow Tree (»)
Land Of Talk - Some Are Lakes (»)

Band to Watch logo

Band To Watch: Blank Dogs

Blank Dogs are actually singular: It's the insanely prolific one-man Brooklyn-based band of Mr. Blank Dog. We don't know too much about the biography of the guy behind the bedroom new-wave pop/punk and he's usually covering his face with masks...

MORE »

Quit Your Day Job logo

Quit Your Day Job: Megafaun

Raleigh-via-Eau Clair BTW Megafaun debuted impressively earlier this year with Bury The Square. The trio nip-and-tuck experimental tendencies (tape splicing, white noise colliding with banjo, junkyard-laced spring reverb, screeching feedback at the tail end of a quiet back porch lament)...

MORE »

Premature Evaluation logo

Premature Evaluation: of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping

Skeletal Lamping is anything but skeletal. When we took a close listen to album closer "Id Engager" we mentioned it wasn't the strangest, most ambitious, or best tune on of Montreal's new one, but after absorbing the other 14 tracks,...

MORE »

Video Hangover logo

Video Hangover: Marcy Playground - "Saint Joe On The Schoolbus"

Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. This week: Marcy Playground blows their one chance at video immortality.

MORE »

Oldstand logo

OldStand: Rolling Stone, September 13, 1984

Take our ink-stained hands and join us at the OldStand, where Jon McMillan goes to remind everyone what an honest-to-goodness music magazine is supposed to look like. Lots of Huey Lewis (and the News) news lately, so let's go back...

MORE »

The Outsiders logo

The Outsiders: Vol. 17: Bird Show, Hair Police, Hush Arbors

Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual...

MORE »

The 'Gum Drop logo

Nicole Atkins - "Under The Milky Way"

On 9/9 Nicole Atkins is releasing a four-song EP fittingly titled Nicole Atkins Digs Other People's Songs via Columbia, on which the Jersey girl covers Nada Surf's "Inside Of Love," the Doors' "Crystal Ship," Mama Cass Elliott's "Dream A Little...

MORE »