When I listen to and play the songs from ‘Narrow Stairs’ now, that record feels like a record where we had established a style that arguably was more our own than it was in the beginning. Going into that record, I felt a lot more confident in my songwriting. It was a fairly prolific time for me. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
I love San Francisco more than any other city outside of Seattle, but I’ve seen it go from a vibrant, creative community to a playground for tech bros. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
When you connect as many memories to your geography as I have, and then you see that geography change around you, you’re forced to reckon with the passage of time. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
When I’m old, I’d like to wake up in the morning and not really do anything – just be happy to exist. I’d like to look at my accomplishments and sit back and revel in my own achievement. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
I remember hoping there’d be 10 people at a show in 1998 when there was an incredible write-up in the local weekly. I don’t want to go back to that period of being obscure and having nobody know who I am, let alone have to struggle to get people to come to the show. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
Death Cab always gets right of first refusal on everything I write, but I tend to know early on. There’s a song that has yet to be released – it might come to light at some point in the near future – that when I was writing it, I was really proud of it lyrically. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
I always try to write the best song I can in the moment, and those songs are often going to end up on Death Cab for Cutie records. I don’t set out to write a solo song or write a band song. I just write, and where that songs ends up is kind of TBD. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
When I look back at 2003, it was the best year I’ve ever had creatively: having ‘Transatlanctism’ and ‘Give Up come’ out in the course of six months. I’ll never have another year like that. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
I think a very clear cut example of – dare I say – plagiarism is the Sam Smith-Tom Petty situation, where you have a song that is flagrantly… it is the hook from one song being used for another song. To me, that was a very obvious example of plagiarism. If somebody had done that to me, I would probably take a similar course of action. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
I think a lot of people who become music fans have that moment where they break from their parents’ music, they break from the radio and MTV – at least in my generation, they did, and MTV isn’t really a thing anymore. And you discover something that defines you, that is outside of the mainstream. Ben Gibbard Read Quote
