41. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans - 2005

Plans is a fine record, no doubt, but it's not Transatlanticism. Still it's easy to listen to with several stand outs. As wonderful as "Soul Meets Body" is, the real stand out single on this record is the acoustic "I Will Follow You into the Dark". In Trans, I made a comparison to Paul Simon, this song warrants the same. Dealing with love and the temporary state of life and love with a clear affinity for the shadows rather than the light are hallmarks of Paul Simon's songs in the 60's. I hear echoes of it in several of Ben Gibbards songs. Much like Simon he has a very soft and friendly voice. Combining that voice with intelligent lyrics and an embrace of darker subject matter, you can't help but see the similarities. "I Will Follow You into the Dark" is hauntingly beautiful. "What Sara Said", while also similar in dealing with themes of death and dying isn't something that I would relate to Paul Simon. Rather, this is uniquely Death Cab For Cutie. This song to me is the finest thing that Ben Gibbard has written to date. With all the great songs he has written, none speaks more to the human experience than this one. For all the countless songs of love and love lost that has filled the airwaves and record stores for the last six decades of rock and country, this is the most coherent and focused attempt at examining and dealing with the slow death of a loved one in a hospital and the final moments of a life lost. This sort of subject matter could easily be fodder for a clumsy country song, but here it is handled with such grace and literately expressed honesty that it leaves the listener feeling something that music seldom does. This is a great record. This is my copy:

Also, this vinyl edition has "Talking Like Turnstiles" as a bonus track. The CD doesn't. I really like this song.

40. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism - 2003

This is one of my all-time favorite records. The quality of the music, lyrics and execution is extraordinary. The 1st track, "New Year" leads one to believe that there may be a harder edge to this record. In all actuality, the only other real rocker on this LP is the dark and fevered "We Looked Like Giants". The album is balanced in terms of tempo between the slow and upbeat, not that anyone would notice such a thing when the listener is too busy paying devoted attention to the beauty of this recording. This beauty is probably best experienced on the title track, which is an amazing climb that leaves the listener mesmerized.  Their focus is probably most effective on the three stand out tracks. On what is such a strong album from start to finish, it's hard to name which are the strongest, but in my opinion they are "Title and Registration", "We Looked Like Giants" and "A Lack of Color". Dealing with remembrance, loss and regret are common themes in music, but rarely are they expressed with this kind of skill. "Title and Registration" talks around the regret of love lost with sharp observations to provide distractions that fall away by the songs ending to reveal the circumstances that the protagonist finds himself in. "We Looked  Like Giants" has moments that I can only describe as manic as the remembrance unfolds. The clever  observations and acoustics that find their way to the regret at the heart of "A Lack of Color" reminds me so much of a young Paul Simon. This is music for people looking for something more than the garbage of top 40 radio. Intelligent, thoughtful and real, these song express themes that we can all identify with in ways that touch us enough to bring out emotions that we might not have felt for quite some time. This is one of my favorite records.

39. Death Cab For Cutie - Something About Airplanes - 1998

The first Death Cab record. Dark, broody and melodic. It set the tone for the next three LPs to come. Best listened to in winter. This is not a summer album. I swear, to me Death Cab is the polar opposite of The Beach Boys. Although both bands are melodic, Death cab is to mild melon collie what The Beach Boys are to fun in the sun. They aren't as gloomy as early Cure, but still depressed. This is a good record. Here's my copy: