Testing Death Cab for Cutie's Music Knowledge
6/8/202620 min
On this episode of Track Star*, we're joined by Ben Gibbard and Dave Depper of Death Cab for Cutie. Known for their thoughtful songwriting and influence on indie rock, the two bring decades of musical curiosity to a conversation filled with the records and artists that have stayed with them over the years. Ben, Dave, and Jack dive into the songs that helped shape their tastes, from alt rock, indie pop, post-punk, and emo classics. From the The Cure and New Order to favorites like Built to Spill, Rilo Kiley, and Sunny Day Real Estate, they reflect on inspiration . This episode is packed with great stories and plenty of insights from the guys of Death Cab for Cutie. This Episode's Tracklist: In Between Days - The Cure Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town - Pearl Jam Heart Cooks Brain - Modest Mouse Such Great Heights - The Postal Service Portions For Foxes - Rilo Kiley Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order In Circles - Sunny Day Real Estate Carry The Zero - Built To Spill Strange Powers - The Magnetic Fields What You Do To Me - Teenage Fanclub Falling And Laughing - Orange Juice
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJack Coyne· Host0:00
Before we start with the music, introduce yourselves.
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:01
Hi, my name is Ben Gibbard. I'm in the band Death Cab for Cutie.
Dave Depper· Guest0:04
I'm Dave Depper. I'm also in the band Death Cab for Cutie.
Jack Coyne· Host0:07
How we feeling?
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:08
I'm ready to fail at this.
Dave Depper· Guest0:09
[laughs] I'm ready to win this thing.
Jack Coyne· Host0:11
Yes.
Dave Depper· Guest0:11
I'm taking it all the way.
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:12
Dave, Dave is gonna win. I'm, I feel like I, you know, if we're keeping score, I think Dave's gonna win.
Jack Coyne· Host0:15
We'll see. You guys, uh, there's two of you, so you'll go back and forth, and you can help each other. So hopefully- Okay ... the extra brain power is productive.
Dave Depper· Guest0:22
Okay. Sounds good.
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:23
All right. Who wants- Who wants to go first? I'll go first. [laughs] Let's just dive in here. Yesterday, I thought so hard. The Cure.
Jack Coyne· Host0:30
Yes.
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:30
In Between Days.
Jack Coyne· Host0:31
Yes.
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:32
Immediately. Just- Come on ... just from the drums. We're in, you know, Head On The Door, arguably the greatest Cure record ever made. Disintegration is my favorite record, because it's the first one I heard. We all have this thing with our favorite bands. It's the moment you were introduced to a band, whatever that record is, it will always be your favorite. But I think if I had to go pound for pound, I think I would say that Head On The Door is the best Cure record.
Dave Depper· Guest0:51
I'm a Disintegration guy myself- Okay ... but I have the utmost respect for Head On The Door. Yeah.
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:56
Yeah. I mean, I think that Disintegration is, like, the magnum opus.
Dave Depper· Guest0:59
Totally.
Ben Gibbard· Guest0:59
But I, I think that Head On The Door is this interesting record that kind of bridges the early kind of more minimal synthy goth stuff, you know- Yeah, absolutely ... like Faith and, and Pornography, like that, with, you know, kind of how they, they moved in a little bit more of, like, a pop direction in a good way.
Dave Depper· Guest1:15
Yeah. It's the ultimate expression of early Cure, like, in its most realized form.
Ben Gibbard· Guest1:21
Yes.
Dave Depper· Guest1:21
Yeah.
Ben Gibbard· Guest1:21
Yes.
Jack Coyne· Host1:21
Obviously a hugely influential band for you.
Ben Gibbard· Guest1:23
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I was saying yesterday that Disintegration is a master class in musical arrangement. If you listen to the song Lullaby- Lullaby.