Paste has a piece up from Ben Gibbard, Death Cab for Cutie's front man. I've been a fan of this band for awhile, and Gibbard's introspective essay gives some insight into his lyrics, which frequently wrestle with life's epic themes. Here's a taste:
It’s as though people think, “I’m such an individual that I like things that nobody’s even heard of before. I went out of my way to find music and books and movies that are so obscure that I am an individual, and I am interesting because I like interesting things.” But that’s not true. Liking interesting things doesn’t make you interesting...
I find it very hard to accept the wonderful things in my life. My life really is great: I do exactly what I want to do for a living, I have a wonderful person to share my life with, I have a great family, I have great friends. But somehow there’s a void. I’m the last person who should be complaining or wondering why I’m perpetually unhappy...
An ex-girlfriend once got upset when I told her that music is the most important thing in my life. It’s more important than anyone else could ever be. I don’t want to be overly dramatic and say it’s the only thing that gets me up and keeps me going. But people in your life come and go. As you go through your life, you make friendships, you break friendships, you have relationships. Music is the one thing I’ve always been able to rely on. So why wouldn’t it be the most important thing in my life?
In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, you gotta serve somebody. Gibbard's article reads a lot like Ecclesiastes (and whets my appetite for the new Death Cab for Cutie album, Narrow Stairs). Go read the whole thing.
HT: Patrol Mag.
2 comments:
I like hearing this. Gibbard seems very honest. I really enjoy Death Cab's lyrics. I'm looking forward to their next album too.
You have to hand it to Gibbard: He calls it like he sees it, which is more than can be said for a lot of rock stars (although it's maybe more prevalent among indie rockers?).
That honesty seeps into Death Cab for Cutie's lyrics.
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