365 project:"what's the point of holding on to what never gets used?"

day 5 (a day late)

artist:death cab for cutie
album:narrow stairs

this morning i was leaving work for my break, and when i started my car the song cath... was on the radio. that reminded me of the fact that your new twin sized bed has been bouncing around inside of my head for last week (although i was getting rid of my twin sized bed, the situation still reminded me of this song.)

i own narrow stairs on CD as well as on vinyl. the vinyl was a mission of mine. i don't really like ordering things online when i can find them in a store, and i really wanted to hold this album in my hands when i purchased it, so i held out until i found it in a record store. i looked all over and couldn't find it anywhere, but had been planning on heading up to New York City, so figured if i cant get it there, i cant get it anywhere.

i drug my friends into Bleeker Street Records and began my search. i looked high and low (literally, as the store is multi-level) and came up empty-handed. i was frustrated and about to admit defeat when "helpful Brian" (nickname ours) came over and asked if there was anything i needed. i told him that yes there was, and that i was looking for two specific records. the man downstairs basically told me "good luck, those are impossible to find" and that was that, but Brian went out of his way to help me complete the task at hand. several phone calls, a store-to-store delivery, and a credit card malfunction later, i had narrow stairs in my hands. needless to say, i was pleased as punch and from that moment couldn't wait to get home to my record player.

have you heard the song i will possess your heart? of course you have. have you heard the actual song, though, or the radio edit? while the radio edit gets right to the point, the album version has this like six minute build-up before the lyrics come in that i just cant get enough of. every once in a while, ill catch the 8:35 version on the radio and it makes me giddy.

the video for grapevine fires might just be one of the saddest pieces of animation i have ever seen in my entire life. i guess the song is really pretty sad, as well, because its about the actual Grapevine fires in Cali back in 2007, but also because of the imagery that it creates. the idea of just sitting on a blanket on a hill, drinking wine from a paper cup and watching everything you own go up on flames is just...that is depressing as hell. i suppose that death cab wouldn't be much if they weren't depressing, though.

the one low spot on the album for me is bixby canyon bridge. i disliked that song immensely the first time i heard it. subsequent listens yielded no better results. i thought that the possibility of seeing the song live would change my mind, as is the case with bad songs by good bands, but not even seeing that song live at bonnaroo could make me like it. if that doesn't do it, nothing will.

overall, i really love this album. death cab changed after signing with a major, but i wouldn't call it a sell out by any means. more of an evolution than anything.