 "Photo: Courtesy deathcabforcutie.com")
Indie icon Death Cab for Cutie has been notorious for sticking to their roots and not conforming to typical radio wave standards; but it is a “new moon” for the band. Earlier this year the band was asked to perform on the Twilight sequel and accepted the invitation. This response brought many loyal followers to question the integrity of the band and put DCFC in a sellout status.
For long time followers of the foursome, they will remember that DCFC’s first run at mainstream publicity came in the format of Fox’s The O.C. back in August of 2003. This appearance and references to the band from Seth Cohen, sparked a fuse for the teen music scene around the globe and the Indie world as a whole. Although one could argue that this tie to the teen soap opera helped their fame and did not devalue the quality of the soothing and intellectual sounds and lyrics, this very fundamental quality about the band is being questioned with their new song, Meet Me on the Equinox, written specifically for the Twilight film.
In an interview with the film’s director, Chris Weitz, band members Nick and Chris express how the song is directed toward the ending of various relationships and events in one’s life. Might the song’s underlying meaning have a deeper layer that describes DCFC’s future as a band?
As Edward Cullen became the heart throb of young teen girls across the country when the first Twilight was released, will DCFC follow in his footsteps? Will pop music radio channels begin streaming the calm vocals of Ben Gibbard across the air waves?
For any true fan of DCFC they will attest to the fact that one of the key factors that give the band its “cool” factor is that they aren’t on every teen’s iPod or posters that plaster the walls of junior high schoolers. The next few months should get interesting for the band’s popularity with long time fans losing interest and gaining interest among high school ears. However don’t lose all hope yet for DCFC is up for MTVu’s best music video of the year for Grapevine Fires. As Gibbard states in that exact song, “it’s only a matter of time”, maybe this article only points out the inevitable that it is only a matter of time before great bands goes mainstream.
To this music junkie however, it is only “the sound of settling”.
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