3 posts tagged “ben gibbard”

 05/11/2008 20:54:06  ♥ written by vu ()

Mates of State - My Only Offer Mates of State Tour Dates 05/16/08 Toad’s Place New Haven, CT 05/22/08 Slims San Francisco, CA 05/24/08 Les Schwab Amp Bend, OR 05/25/08 Sasquatch Festival Quincy, WA 05/28/08 Henry Fonda Theater LA, CA 06/06/08 Wakarusa Festival Lawrence, KS 06/07/08 Slowdown Omaha, NE 06/08/08 Bluebird St. Louis, MO 06/10/08 Bricktown Ballroom Oklahoma, Ok 06/11/08 Granada Theatre Dallas, TX 06/12/08 Warehouse Live Houston, TX 06/13/08 Emo’s Austin, TX 06/14/08 Rev Room Little Rock, AR 06/15/08 Hi-Tone Memphis, TN 06/17/08 Southgate House Newport, KY 06/18/08 Mr. Small’s Theatre Pittsburgh, PA 06/21/08 Popped! Festival Philadelphia, PA 06/25/08 Pemberton Festival Pemberton, BC 08/01/08 Lollapalooza-Grant Park Chicago,IL 08/08/08 All Points West  Liberty State, NJ 09/26/08 Austin City Limits Festival TX Discography [2000] My Solo Project [2002] Our Constant Concern [2003] Team Boo [2006] Bring it Back [2008] Re-Arrange Us

Mates of State are back with Re-Arrange Us, coming out May 20^th. Let me tell you that this girl-boy duo knows great pop music.

Mates of State - Fraud In The '80s

2 comments

I first heard about them on a 2003 CMJ compilation with a little song called "Ha Ha", but I didn't think much of it. By 2006, after being signed to Barsuk Records, I remember I started seeing that distinctive "indie cover" artwork with Mates of State's husband and wife team, Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, in a very strange half embrace.

There's some great pop tunes on Re-Arrange Us, but the song that the record label approved us to use is "My Only Offer", which I already liked so I have no problem with using this particular song. I thought the trumpet, played by Gary Olson, was a very nice addition to the song.

There's a few great songs, including, "Jigsaw", which basically has Jason repeating lyrics sung by Kori (actually, after reading the credits, it lists Ben Gibbard, from Death Cab For Cutie, as backup vocals). It's really easy to sing along, so I think this would be a great live concert pleaser. Also would play great is "Now", which has the simple, but catchy "Now now now now now now. Now now now now now now, who who who?"

I also really dug "The Re-Arranger", which is basically what the album was named after.  This song sounds like it's escaped from the 60s and made a stop in the 80s, before resurfacing now.

The duo are currently doing some tour dates to promote Re-Arrange Us, so catch them if you're able. According to their official website, if you pre-order the album, it should arrive in your mailbox on the 20^th, but you can usually find Barsuk records at most good record stores.

Little Boxes

http://weheartmus...

The third season of the Showtime series Weeds recently began. The popularity of the show has incr...

PS, apparently the band is a fan of the "Little Boxes" song (there is a live rendition on their myspace).  I wonder if they got involved with the song because of Death Cab for Cutie's version or because they're also doing a theme song for Weeds?

Links: matesofstate.com myspace.com/matesofstate barsuk.com

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

The Postal Service

2 comments

     I listen to lots of new music, actually I am a fiend for new music, I would rather listen to new music that I have never heard before instead of say, The Postal Service my favorite band ever. When I have exhausted my new music sources, I then turn back to what I have heard before. This is my large music feedback cycle. So what does this have to do with Ben Gibbard? He is my measuring stick. I have found that his combination of simple/complex lyrics, more on this latter, and his soft muted music is what my heart yearns for.

     My musical journey started with Ace of Base, I was 10; that is the only defense I have. I saw the sign and moved on too The Stone Temple Pilot. Remembering that move, right now this moment, I realize how much this move says about my music taste today. I guess a redress of my musical tastes is appropriate, but I am not to that point in my story yet. My move from The Ace Of Base to STP marked my journey in self discovery and not my journey too the first CD I picked up from the bin, which is what The Ace of Base was. Mind you I am not a huge fan of the STP, I acknowledge their presence as a huge part of 90s music and my 30 something friends really ... really love that band but alas I was too young. No, STP was merely a more stable launching pad then Ace of Base.

     So my methods slowly started to develop for finding music, namely what was in my friends CD case. I think that for the majority of my time in high school my tastes were defined by others, my peers. Being a child of a specific era their are a few bands that stick out , The Offspring, Blink 182 and a multitude of boybands. I didn't like all of the music but I wouldn't be able to get away from them if I tried. Those records, especial the boybands, were breaking records they were huge. I don't think we have seen a trend like that in some time, but I digress. By the end of high school we had even started listing to a little rap, Jay Z, Method Man.

Discography [Jan 2003] Such Great Heights (EP) [Feb 2003] Give Up [Jul 2003] The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (EP) [Feb 2005] We Will Become Silhouettes (EP) Band Members ♥ Jimmy Tamborello ♥ Ben Gibbard

     To this point you could think of me as drifting down a river, waiting to see what was around each bend. Then something happened. I heard a Postal Service song. It was on a friends mix CD. The Song was "Such Great Heights". It grabbed me immediately but it was only one song. Their was no way their could be a whole album of music like it. So it took me awhile to sit down at the computer and track it down. I even heard it a couple other places before ultimately getting the album. I hadn't heard it on the radio yet. When I finally got the album, I put it on in my car and just drove around. I was blown away and some of you might be as well. If not go out and download the album. I won't try and describe to you how the music sounds, or how Ben Gibards voice is perfectly matched with the music. It would be stupid to try and write about sound(get it?). That was acceptable when their was no Internet, no longer.

     Just like in my life the Internet opened my musical world. I took the Postal Service and ran with it. I would follow the connections, Rilo Kielly , Death Cab for Cutie. When I exhausted those I would start talking to friends that were interested in music as well. I became speed boat , running down ever tributary I could find and then coming back to the main channel to move down the river.

     Now we have thousands of mp3 blogs and we even have services that track these blogs and tell us what they are saying. They aren't the best yet, but they work for me. They will get better, and the technology that we use will get better too. I fully expect one day in the future I will wake up and on my iPod will be the top 5 albums recommended to me that day. It will be based on all the blogs I have read , every song I have ever listened too and what my friends are listening too. It will also start to take into consideration where I live, what books a read, and what t-shirt I chose to where. I can't wait.

 09/27/2007 21:10:57  Alex my♥posts www.postalservicemusic.net