In honor of the news that the band Death Cab of Cutie is coming to Singapore for a concert (Aug 12, tickets go on sale at Sistic.com.sg on June 27), I would like to share one of my fav tracks from their latest album, Narrow Stairs.
The thing I’ve always enjoyed the most about DCoC is of the lyrical imagery that is used throughout most of their songs. They tell a story, usually of the human condition living in this our modern era, vividly with the music counterpointing the key emotion or depth of the feelings involved. It’s like most of their songs can be summed up in a simple image; something that you might come across in an old photo album or magazine. You will first get a basic idea of the picture when you glance at it, just like how you’ll pick out hints in a first listen of a DCoC song. But as you take time to muse over the picture, details of the feeling behind the shot and of the subjects will slowly come into focus or tickle your imagination. DCoC songs does the same with words and musical arrangement.
It’s the same with the track I’ve picked out below, tells a simple story that is all too common nowadays but also contains imagery wordplay; in this case Maths. You know it just had to be slightly geeky somehow.
[audio:long_division.mp3]Long Division
by Death Cab for Cutie from Narrow Stairs
His head was a city
of paper buildings,
and the echoes that remain.
Both friends and lovers
their features bleeding
together in his brain.
Once it started, it was harder to tell them apart.
He was always distracted
by the very mention of an open door
’cause he had sworn not to be what he’ve been before
to be a remain, remain, remain-der (x2)
Television, snowing softly, as she hunted for her keys
she said she never envisioned, him the kind of person,
capable of such deceit
Then they carried on like, long division
as it was clear with every page,
that they were further away
from a solution that would play
without a remain, remain, remain-der (x4)
He had sworn not to be what he’ve been before
to be a remain, remain, remain-der
to be the remain, remain, remain-der
[...] New post I put up on my blog Falchion’s Edge, where I share a song from the band Death Cab for Cutie that is coming to Singapore soon. You can find the post with lryics and music here: Divde by Two. [...]