Coming off their work on Dntel's beautiful This Is the Dream of Evan and Chan, Jimmy Tamborello and Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard team up again for their full-length debut as Postal Service, Give Up. Instead of covering that EP's territory again, with this album the duo crafts a poppier, /p>
ew wave-inflected sound that recalls Tamborello's work with Figurine more than Dntel's lovely subtlety. However, Ben Gibbard's famously bittersweet vocals and sharp, sensitive lyrics imbue Give Up with more emotional heft than you might expect from a synth pop album, especially one by a side project from musicians as busy as Tamborello and Gibbard are. The album exploits the contrast between the cool, clean synths and Gibbard's all-too-human voice to poignant and playful effect, particularly on Give Up's first two tracks. "The District Sleeps Alone" bears Gibbard's trademark songwriting, augmented by glitchy electronics and sliced-and-diced strings, while "Such Great Heights"' pretty pop could easily appear on a Death Cab for Cutie album, minus a synth or two. Despite some nods to more contemporary electronic pop, Give Up's sound is based in classic /p>
ew wave and synth pop, at times resembling an indie version of New Order or the Pet Shop Boys. Songs like "Nothing Better," a duet that plays like an update on Human League's "Don't You Want Me?," and the video-game brightness of "Brand New Colony" sound overtly like the '80s brought into the present, but the tinny, preset synth and drum sounds on the entire album recall that decade. Sometimes, as on "Recycled Air" and "We Will Become Silhouettes," the retro sounds become distracting, but for the most part they add to the album's playful charm. The spooky allad "This Place Is a Prison" is perhaps the most modern-sounding track and the closest in sound and spirit to Gibbard and Tamborello's Dntel work. The crunchy, distorted beats and sparkling synths recall both This Is the Dream of Evan and Chan and Björk's recent work; indeed, this song, along with the "All Is Full of Love" cover Death Cab included on their Stability EP, could be seen as an ongoing tribute to her. Overall, Give Up is a fun diversion for Tamborello, Gibbard, and their fans. It doesn't scale the heights of either of their main projects, but it's far more consistent and enjoyable than might be expected.
I just finished watching this horribly depressing drama, Imaginary Heroes (2004) and realized that the only ones who could be considered abnormal are those who are least aware that life is nothing more than tragic.
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This song just makes me so happy every time I listen to it. I don't know if it's the little eletronic beats or the lyrics. Something about it though puts a smile on my face. Not like a McDonalds way though.LyricsI am thinking it's a sign that the frecklesIn our eyes are mirror images and whenWe kiss they're perfectly alignedAnd I have to speculate that God himselfDid make us into corresponding ...
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For anyone who's ever wondered what that song was you heard in the background of a particular commercial, here's a site where they attempt to catalog as much of it as possible. The site is called adtunes.com, and it's a great place to look if those likeable 30-second snippets aren't enough for you.I remember years ago VW had a commercial that featured "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake, and I wished at ...
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My girlfriend is awesome. She got me the Postal Service vinyl with the bonus b-sides vinyl! It has the two songs that were not on "Give Up", the Iron & Wine cover of "Such Great Heights" and the Shins cover of "We Will Become Silhouettes." And it also has a bunch of remixes! I haven't been able to get my record player to work, but I can't wait to listen to it.
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Perhaps I've been listening to "Give up" by the Postal Service for far too long, but I finally drew the picture that sticks out in my mind whenever I hear "The district sleeps alone tonight."Cheers,Boz
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I've decided to write once again because I just have a lot of stuff on my mind...People change. And lie. I'll just put all of this simply, because I don't want to name any names. It's weird how one person can change someones personality so much. People can make you lie to, hurt, and/or back stab your friends. This is has effected one of my friends for about a year and a half. I can't really put...
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Over the holidays I dusted off my father's old record player and the stack of 33's that were piled next to it. I've found a whole new world of music I didn't know I had access too. I'm ashamed to say, that I've really never used a record player before, so it was something new for me. Since I pulled it out of the box and realised it was in working order, I've been hooked on the thing. Yesterday,...
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Would it be unfair to call electro-pop my favorite music genre? I'm a huge fan of electronica, and I've met enough people who would say that electro-pop is just an offshoot of that. I'm convinced that with all the electronica I've listened to, however, that electro-pop is more than deserving of its own title and its more than fair to label it as its own genre when it comes down to someone det...
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Greetings All!This is my first MOG, so yeah.. I figured I'd join the site, being a musician myself, and hoping to find common ground in humanity through music!The real question is.. Where do I start? I'm from Portland, OR, one of the greatest cities in the entire world. I'm a student, and I love Music. But that last one's pretty obvious, because otherwise I wouldn't be here, now would I?Anyway....
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Alright, so I've noticed that a lot of my favorite bands put out vinyls (The Shins, Iron and Wine, Death Cab etc), and in the spirit of supporting local indie music stores as well as the artists, I've decided that I'm gonna start a vinyl collection. I've already bought TPS's Give Up on vinyl, so there's a start. Problem is, I don't have a record player. Cause I grew up in the age of CDs. So wha...
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To even out all the DCFC posts here...And Blair, this is what me and Jenny are going to be like together. (and how long is it before Ben tells his friend Jenny to get a restraining order?)
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Sleeping InSleepy Sunday, The Sunday Sleep, ah it's all the same. An excuse to glorify the right to do nothing but rest your peeps.Last week I had the strangest dreamWhere everything was exactly how it seemedWhere there was never any mystery of who shot John F. KennedyIt was just a man with something to proveSlightly bored and severely confusedHe steadied his rifle with his target in the center...
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To even out all the DCFC posts here...And Blair, this is what me and Jenny are going to be like together. (and how long is it before Ben tells his friend Jenny to get a restraining order?)
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I just finished watching this horribly depressing drama, Imaginary Heroes (2004) and realized that the only ones who could be considered abnormal are those who are least aware that life is nothing more than tragic.
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one of my favorite books, only read it twice, but it still resonates. being that i like my dog more than most people i come into contact with... a bit of the postal service always gives me power behind my suspicions.
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I find it to be a very visceral song. IMHO.
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Well, I quit my job and I'm feeling confused and strange. I have been there for 2 1/2 years and it was my dream job but I made the decision it was not taking me to the places I wanted to go so I had to leave.Sad moment in my life....Hopefully my new job will take me to the great heights I need.
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so it has been a super long time since i have posted here. i have been reading everyone else's posts when i could get online.right now i am in DC and doin good. this song really moves me every time i hear it and i played it a lot the past 6 months while i was gone from my home. i was in a cultural wasteland in the middle of nowhere oklahoma... anyway, here is an acapella version of the posta...
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This is my song of the moment. I'm not sure how it ened up in my music library, but it played on shuffle and it was love on first listen. I listened to it on repeat while writing one of my 173 humanities essays. Just love. The duet with Jen Wood is amazing. I only wish that I had heard this song sooner. Damn you, school, ruining my downloading craze.
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Life has came to a stall, day in day out seeking for answers. Seeking for someone to love but my expectation is too high. I have lost my interest in everyone, everything but music.. I just come home everyday and just sort of let my body collapse into a coma. Waking up from strange dreams that made me envious of my imagination because my life is too fucked up and i'm too drowned in my own bitte...
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One of my favorite songs of all time has to be Brand New Colony. It's just spectacular. The imagery and the clever writing and catchy yet "smooth" tune, coupled with the great electronic music, really make this song a masterpiece. I think that it is often overshadowed by "Such Great Heights", and, while I love that song, I must confess that I enjoy this one more.First, it opens with a distinct ...
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Alright, so I've noticed that a lot of my favorite bands put out vinyls (The Shins, Iron and Wine, Death Cab etc), and in the spirit of supporting local indie music stores as well as the artists, I've decided that I'm gonna start a vinyl collection. I've already bought TPS's Give Up on vinyl, so there's a start. Problem is, I don't have a record player. Cause I grew up in the age of CDs. So wha...
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The covers I've put up so far seem to be getting good reviews so I'll continue putting up some of the songs I've recorded.This time, it's back to Postal Service and once again Ben G. proves to us that he's a brilliant lyricist. I thought it classic.
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ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE CD'SSorry, had to shout that one out. I never tire of listening to this CD. I must admit I haven't listened to Death Cab for Cutie, but if this CD is any indication I will start. This CD came out in 2003. They've done a couple of EP remixes since. I hope they come out with a new CD soon.In the meantime this one gets played again and again.
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The Postal Service - Clark Gablefrom the album Give Up (Sub Pop, 2003)Tomorrow I will be heading over the North Sea for a trip to London. I have never been there so I'm really looking forward to it. There will probably be some touristy things I will have to do, like visiting the zebra-crossing at Abbey Road and that sort of stuff. We also have tickets to see the great Monsters of Folk on Tuesda...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 The District Sleeps Alone Tonight |
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| 2 Such Great Heights |
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| 3 Sleeping In |
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| 4 Nothing Better |
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| 5 Recycled Air |
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| 6 Clark Gable |
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| 7 We Will Become Silhouettes |
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| 8 This Place Is a Prison |
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| 9 Brand New Colony |
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| 10 Natural Anthem |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Give Up")
