Track-by Track Review of Narrow Stairs, part two

Okay, I've removed the mp3. I think it's stupid that, on a site where we're supposed to have discussions about music, I feel like I'm talking to a wall. I'm not a comment whore, but I did put some work into this and I'd appreciate feedback.Anyway, down to the review:Track Four - Cath..."Cath..." is a track that stirs mixed emotions in me. Enough has been changed that I feel that it's not the same song we heard Ben Gibbard play live--and I don't mean that they've added other instruments. I mean that it seems like the two songs should be called something different. Taking a page from Nintendo's habit of making baby versions of their characters, that would make the live version from 2007 "Baby Cath".I say this because Ben has done a severe overhaul on the lyrics. Obviously, this is not the first time it's happened--compare his live solo versions of "Title and Registration" from 2002 to the album version--but these changes, I feel, really make a difference. For example:(Baby Cath)"Cath / it seems / you live in a dying dream / in a hand-me-down wedding dress / on the arm of a man you detest"(Cath...)"Cath / it seems / that you live in someone else's dream / in a hand-me-down-wedding dress / with the things that could've been all repressed"[note: not sure about that last line, as it's a bit unclear, but it's obviously different)Ben also ups the chorus from present tense to future tense:"And everybody asks / what became of you"is now"Soon everybody will ask / what became of you"Which is interesting, and I'm not sure why he did it--personally, I liked the lyrics better in the original version, but that's the thing: I don't think these really should be different versions because the meanings seem to be a bit different.I'm glad of one thing that's different in the more matured version of this song:(Baby Cath)"...she holds a smile / someone will hold / the crying child"has grown into"...she holds a smile / like someone would hold / a crying child"Which I think is much smoother and less awkwardly phrased.Anyway, this is still a good song. But it's different. That seems to be the keyword for this album.Noteable is the line "and you closed the door / on so many men / who would've loved you more"It's obvious that the narrator considers himself to be one of those men, just from the way it's phrased and sung.Noteably, this is not the first time Death Cab has a song about someone the narrator likes getting married to someone else: "Company Calls" and "Company Calls Epilogue" from We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes both feature this theme.It is perhaps more of a recurring metaphor, however, since on the Daytrotter website, Ben stated that he's felt this way about some people, and he thinks everyone has these kinds of moments (I'm paraphrasing). Perhaps it deals more with the feeling of loss, the feeling of watching someone turn away from you and the urge to scream "but we had something!"Track Five: Talking BirdA very slow ballad, this one has some nice lines:"Oh, my talking bird / though you know / so few words / they're on infinite repeat / like your brain can't keep up with your beak"I like this version better than the live version from Oregon, personally.The song itself is, on the surface, about the titular talking bird, but I'm pretty sure that it's just a song-long metaphor for a person (probably a girl), with lines such as"...though your feathers are tattered and furled / I'll love you all your days / till the breath leaves your delicate frame / it's all here for you / as long as you choose / to stay"It's one of the slower-type heartfelt ballads Ben Gibbard writes, and it fits the album well. I'm not sure that I'd listen to it much as a stand-alone track unless I was in a particular mood, but if I am in that mood, it would definitely rock. It's very poignant and well-written, it's just a little slow for my current mood. My moods change like the wind, however, so that doesn't mean much.Track Six: You Can Do Better Than MeThis is the only song we've not heard in some form, live or on the radio, from the new album, and it is my gift to you.I debated putting it up: should this be kept as a kind of nugget of surprise from the new album? I then decided that I liked this song too much and that, if I had to be honest, I would choose it over the other three in this review.It starts out, somehow, even more surprising (at least to me) than the rest of the album: it's got vibrant, enthusiastic drums and piano-y type sounds that keep an strong tempo to the song. It reminds me of something, but I can't remember what.Anyway, this song is one of the (lyrically) more-like-Plans-or-Transatlanticism tracks on the record. It includes some great imagery about clothes.The song is about staying in a relationship that is very clearly failing--something I think all of us have had to go through every once in a while.The last line is very powerfulThis track leads into the next track, "Grapevine Fires", and I'll have the next part of the review up in a bit.