The popular alternative

Death Cab for Cutie provides a simple solution for the some of us who are frequently caught between the simplistic likes of popular music and the overwhelmingly anarchic nature of garage-born alternative tracks. Indeed, by weaving captivating (and occasionally haunting) tunes into song structures that go beyond the pre-chorus--chorus build so often seen in popular music, and presenting the resultant music with some very soulful notes on the instruments, the band, like Coldplay, has won its support from both the masses and the avant-garde.

In choosing which songs to put up here I have noticed there is no way I can give the reader a valid account of what Death Cab for Cutie is all about. They have come a long way since Ben Gibbard first started out alone, and the ground the band has covered between You Can Play These Songs with Chords and Plans, their latest album, is commendable and indicative of their willingness to experiment (and that is the ingredient that keeps alternative music alive, no?). That being said, “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” and “Death of an Interior Designer”, two of my personal favourites, remain shining examples of what it feels to pass through torpid days singing and fading to the rhythms of pleasant melancholy. Enjoy.

Note: More alternative tracks can be found in their earlier albums. Any song—and I really do mean any song--from the albums The Photo Album and Transatlanticism is good, and the song Transatlanticism itself is extremely potent when you’re down in your bed wishing you could be out there somewhere in space.

Note too that I am not Zhanhui.

Death Cab For Cutie - Brothers On A Hotel Bed

Death Cab For Cutie - Death Of An Interior Decorator