You Can Play These Songs with Chords | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Demo album by | ||||
Released | 1997 | |||
Recorded | May–July 1997 (original) November 1996 – January 2000 (reissue) | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 30:05 | |||
Label | Barsuk [1] | |||
Producer | Ben Gibbard | |||
Death Cab for Cutie chronology | ||||
|
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 65/100 [2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Almost Cool | 6.5/10 [4] |
Billboard | (positive) [5] |
Dusted Magazine | (positive) [6] |
Pitchfork | 6.4/10 [7] |
PopMatters | [8] [2] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
Stylus Magazine | C [10] |
You Can Play These Songs with Chords is an early (1996-97) demo from the rock band Death Cab for Cutie, which at the time consisted entirely of founder Ben Gibbard. This demo was originally released on cassette by Elsinor Records. It proved so popular, Gibbard recruited other musicians to make a full band, which would go on to record Something About Airplanes , the band's debut studio album.
You Can Play These Songs with Chords was expanded with ten more songs and re-released on October 22, 2002, through Barsuk Records on the heels of the success of The Photo Album .
All songs written by Benjamin Gibbard.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "President of What?" | 4:06 |
2. | "Champagne from a Paper Cup" | 2:34 |
3. | "Pictures in an Exhibition" | 4:02 |
4. | "Hindsight" | 3:47 |
5. | "That's Incentive" | 2:13 |
6. | "Amputations" | 4:03 |
7. | "Two Cars" | 3:31 |
8. | "Line of Best Fit" | 5:49 |
All songs written by Benjamin Gibbard, Nick Harmer and Christopher Walla except as otherwise noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "This Charming Man" | Johnny Marr, Morrissey | 2:14 |
2. | "TV Trays" | 4:02 | |
3. | "New Candles" | 3:02 | |
4. | "Tomorrow" | 2:17 | |
5. | "Flustered/Hey Tomcat!" | 2:56 | |
6. | "State Street Residential" | 5:51 | |
7. | "Wait" | Secret Stars [11] | 3:34 |
8. | "Prove My Hypotheses" | 4:11 | |
9. | "Song for Kelly Huckaby" (Facts version) | 3:51 | |
10. | "Army Corps of Architects" | 4:43 |
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard, Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper, Zac Rae, and Jason McGerr (drums).
Benjamin Gibbard is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a member of the supergroup The Postal Service. Gibbard released his debut solo album, Former Lives, in 2012, and a collaborative studio album, One Fast Move or I'm Gone (2009) with Jay Farrar.
Something About Airplanes is the debut studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 18, 1998, on Barsuk Records. A tenth-anniversary edition of the album was released November 25, 2008, featuring redesigned artwork, liner notes by Sean Nelson, and a bonus disc including the band's first ever Seattle performance at the Crocodile Cafe in February 1998.
Transatlanticism is the fourth studio album by rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on October 7, 2003, by Barsuk Records. At this point in their career, the group had toured and recorded for nearly a half-decade. With tensions rising, the band decided to take time away from one another; notably, Ben Gibbard collaborated with electronic musician Dntel, and released an album, Give Up, under the name the Postal Service. Death Cab regrouped in late 2002 to create Transatlanticism, which was recorded in a leisurely manner over five-day stretches until June 2003.
We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes is the second studio album by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie. It was released on March 21, 2000, through Barsuk Records. The band, which originally included singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard, guitarist/producer Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer, and drummer Nathan Good, formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. Their debut studio album, Something About Airplanes, was released in 1998 through Barsuk, after which Good exited the band. Between the two albums, both Gibbard and Walla released music via side projects, ¡All-Time Quarterback! and Martin Youth Auxiliary, respectively.
The Photo Album is the third studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released October 9, 2001 on Barsuk Records.
The Stability EP is a limited edition EP by Indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released February 19, 2002. The release marks the final appearance of drummer Michael Schorr.
Christopher Ryan Walla is an American musician, record producer, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie.
Plans is the fifth studio album by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 30, 2005 on Atlantic Records. Emerging from the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s, Death Cab first rose to prominence on the strength of its confessional lyricism and textured indie rock sound. Following a longstanding partnership with indie label Barsuk, the band made the leap to a major label, Atlantic, for Plans. The LP was the band's first time recording outside of their Seattle home; it was tracked at Long View Farm, a rural Massachusetts property.
Eureka Farm was a band from Bellingham, Washington. It began in 1996 with members Arman Bohn (songwriter/guitar), Ben Gibbard (drums), and Nick Harmer (bass). During this time the band went by the name "Shed". Gibbard left the band and was replaced by Jason McGerr (drums) in 1996. The band changed its name to "Eureka Farm" in 1997. Harmer was replaced by Chuck Keller (bass) in 1997, and Caspar Sonnet joined in 1998.
Jason McGerr is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie.
"I Will Follow You into the Dark" is a song by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the third single from their fifth album, Plans, released on August 30, 2005.
"Title and Registration" is a song by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the third single from their fourth studio album, Transatlanticism.
Narrow Stairs is the sixth studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on May 12, 2008 in the United Kingdom and on May 13, 2008, in the United States, on Atlantic and Barsuk Records.
"I Will Possess Your Heart" is an alternative rock song recorded by the American band Death Cab for Cutie. The song depicts a one-sided obsessive relationship, which led Paste to name it one of the 25 creepiest songs about love. It is notable for its five-minute instrumental introduction as well as its music video which required location shooting across four continents. The song was the lead single from their sixth studio album, Narrow Stairs (2008).
Codes and Keys is the seventh studio album by Death Cab for Cutie, released on May 31, 2011. Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer have both been quoted as saying that the album will be "a much less guitar-centric album than we've ever made before". The first single, "You Are a Tourist", was made available for online stream on March 28, 2011 on the band's official site and the album was available for streaming in its entirety on May 23, 2011 on NPR. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 102,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold 283,000 copies in the US as of March 2015. On November 30, 2011, the album received a nomination at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album.
Kintsugi is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on March 31, 2015, on Atlantic Records. Recorded at Eldorado Recording Studios, in Burbank, California, Kintsugi is produced by Rich Costey, and is the first Death Cab for Cutie album to feature an outside producer. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 58th Grammy Awards.
Thank You for Today is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie. The album was released on August 17, 2018, on Atlantic Records.
Asphalt Meadows is the tenth studio album by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie. It was released on September 16, 2022, through Atlantic Records.
"Stay Young, Go Dancing" is a song recorded by the American rock band Death Cab for Cutie for their seventh studio album, Codes and Keys (2011). It was released as the third single from Codes and Keys on September 26, 2011, through Atlantic Records.