Gibbard, Benjamin / Former Lives
| Album: | Former Lives | Collection: | General | |
| Artist: | Gibbard, Benjamin | Added: | Oct 2012 | |
| Label: | Barsuk Records | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2012-11-25 | Pull Date: | 2013-01-27 |
|---|
| Week Ending: | Jan 27 | Jan 20 | Jan 13 | Jan 6 | Dec 30 | Dec 23 | Dec 16 | Dec 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airplays: | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | Mar 14, 2020: | Music Genealogy
Something's Rattling (Cowpoke) |
4. | Jan 30, 2015: | Time Traveler
Bigger Than Love |
|
| 2. | Jun 06, 2019: | Drive Time
Something's Rattling (Cowpoke) |
5. | Nov 21, 2014: | Time Traveler
Bigger Than Love |
|
| 3. | Feb 08, 2018: | FMF
Bigger Than Love |
6. | Apr 11, 2014: | Time Traveler
A Hard One To Know |
Album Review
Francis D
Reviewed 2012-11-22
Reviewed 2012-11-22
“Former Lives” Benjamin Gibbard
Ben Gibbard is the lead singer/songwriter in Death Cab for Cutie. Over the past 15 years, the band has grown from an obscure indie act to sell 5 million albums. This is Gibbard’s first solo work, and it looks back over his life and relationships from the past 8 years or so (including his uprooting from his native Seattle to live with Zooey Deschanel in Southern California). The songs generally have a Death Cab flavor — so if you like the band, you’ll find much here to like — but the lyrics often have a harder edge as Gibbard reflects on the people and places he’s been with or to.
— Francis
Recommended: 2, 4, 9, 3, 8, 6 No FCCs
1. (0:50) Shepherd’s Bush Lullaby — A cappella lullaby, recorded into an iPhone.
2. (3:33) Dream Song — Bright, bouncy mid-tempo melody with prominent drum line and a nice hook. ****
3. (2:48) Teardrop Windows — According to Pitchfork, this song is about how Seattle’s Smith Tower felt once the Space Needle overshadowed it (him?). Strange, if true. Nice harmonies, rich guitars. First single release. ***
4. (4:48) Bigger Than Love — Strong collaboration with L.A.’s Aimee Mann. Mid-tempo. Electric guitar. Piano. Simple, thumping drums. Evocative lyrics, reportedly about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Watch the false ending in the middle. ****
5. (2:01) Lily — Strummy, very reminiscent of Death Cab’s “I’ll Follow You into the Night” from “Plans.”
6. (3:51) Something’s Rattling (Cowpoke) — Co-written with Stan Jones, who wrote “Cowpoke.” Tex-Mex horns, plucked violin, guitarron, and Zooey on background vocals. A tongue-in-cheek look at easy living in So Cal. **
7. (3:47) Duncan, Where Have You Gone? — Throwback pop. Melody is VERY similar to “White Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum from 1967. You can look it up — we have it on vinyl in the library.
8. (2:50) Oh, Woe — Mean, mean lyrics set to a rollicking melody. Fuzzy guitar and busy bass line. ***
9. (2:41) A Hard One to Know — Up-tempo tune set to a nice backbeat. Catchy. ***
10. (3:34) Lady Adelaide — Wistful and sad, set to a mid-tempo, rolling melody. Island percussion and steel guitar.
11. (3:32) Broken Yolk in Western Sky — Western flavor with steel guitar. Confessions of a greedy love.
12. (2:34) I’m Building a Fire — Slow song with Gibbard’s voice in upper registers, solely supported by strumming guitar.
Ben Gibbard is the lead singer/songwriter in Death Cab for Cutie. Over the past 15 years, the band has grown from an obscure indie act to sell 5 million albums. This is Gibbard’s first solo work, and it looks back over his life and relationships from the past 8 years or so (including his uprooting from his native Seattle to live with Zooey Deschanel in Southern California). The songs generally have a Death Cab flavor — so if you like the band, you’ll find much here to like — but the lyrics often have a harder edge as Gibbard reflects on the people and places he’s been with or to.
— Francis
Recommended: 2, 4, 9, 3, 8, 6 No FCCs
1. (0:50) Shepherd’s Bush Lullaby — A cappella lullaby, recorded into an iPhone.
2. (3:33) Dream Song — Bright, bouncy mid-tempo melody with prominent drum line and a nice hook. ****
3. (2:48) Teardrop Windows — According to Pitchfork, this song is about how Seattle’s Smith Tower felt once the Space Needle overshadowed it (him?). Strange, if true. Nice harmonies, rich guitars. First single release. ***
4. (4:48) Bigger Than Love — Strong collaboration with L.A.’s Aimee Mann. Mid-tempo. Electric guitar. Piano. Simple, thumping drums. Evocative lyrics, reportedly about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Watch the false ending in the middle. ****
5. (2:01) Lily — Strummy, very reminiscent of Death Cab’s “I’ll Follow You into the Night” from “Plans.”
6. (3:51) Something’s Rattling (Cowpoke) — Co-written with Stan Jones, who wrote “Cowpoke.” Tex-Mex horns, plucked violin, guitarron, and Zooey on background vocals. A tongue-in-cheek look at easy living in So Cal. **
7. (3:47) Duncan, Where Have You Gone? — Throwback pop. Melody is VERY similar to “White Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum from 1967. You can look it up — we have it on vinyl in the library.
8. (2:50) Oh, Woe — Mean, mean lyrics set to a rollicking melody. Fuzzy guitar and busy bass line. ***
9. (2:41) A Hard One to Know — Up-tempo tune set to a nice backbeat. Catchy. ***
10. (3:34) Lady Adelaide — Wistful and sad, set to a mid-tempo, rolling melody. Island percussion and steel guitar.
11. (3:32) Broken Yolk in Western Sky — Western flavor with steel guitar. Confessions of a greedy love.
12. (2:34) I’m Building a Fire — Slow song with Gibbard’s voice in upper registers, solely supported by strumming guitar.
Track Listing