So, as you may have assumed from the fact that I have posted almost 1000 times on this forum and that it is one of a few sites I check everyday, I am a major Death Cab fanboy. I can't get enough of them, everything they put out, and anything Gibbard touches. I essentially creamed my pants when I saw his cover article for Paste. I spend hours out of my day obsessing about the new album coming out.

On the other hand, one of my best friends who I see everyday finds them to be very mediocre, claiming that "Grapevine Fires" is the only good new song, because it is the least "Death Cab-like." He thinks Transatlanticism is ok, but loves to bash Death Cab and insult their credibility as a band. He constantly says things like "Death Cab will never come close to Sufjan," and derides DCfC as an "emo band whose songs all sound the same." Obviously, I am still going to like them, but this is upsetting and I am sure it is a problem other people on the boards have, unless you choose your friends based on whether they listen to Death Cab or not...

I mean, maybe I shouldn't be trying to make him change his thinking...but we agree on plenty of other artists, like Wilco, Sufjan, Bob Dylan, Beach Boys, Flaming Lips, LCD SOundsystem, and he even loves the Postal Service and thinks Gibbard's solo stuff is good. I just don't know how to make him see the light! And it's a bummer that he's not participating in the frenzy of enthusiasm for Narrow Stairs, you know...

I'm in the same boat. My friend, who has like, the same music taste as me, doesn't like Death Cab. He says Ben Gibbard sounds too much like everyone else. He said he sounds like the guy from SIMPLE PLAN. I shat a brick. I was right pissed, haha.

I had this hour long discussion with my friend about this exact thing(he doesn't hate them, but he just thinks they're mediocre). He told me that the reason I think they're so good is because I like them for more than their music. He said there's nothing wrong with that, but that's just the way it is. I can't deny that. They were the first thing, other than my family and all that jazz, that I ever loved. They made me love music. When I hear a Death Cab song I don't just think of the music, I think of everything it/they mean to me: the boards, my adolescence, seattle, barsuk, moments in my life that i associate the songs with, images of what my life will be like, etc. the list goes on. and i wonder if, had some other band done this for me, would i be able to get into death cab if someone introduced them to me. i don't know.

I think 80% of learning to like certain music is listening to it at the right moment.

quote:

Originally posted by Tomatoes&RadioWires:
I think 80% of learning to like certain music is listening to it at the right moment.

exactly

For me it is simple really, and is not a 'major problem'. If people hate the music I like then thats their loss. Music is a large part of my life and most of the close friendships I have made have been derived from music. I don't think I could ever be best friends with a person who hates the music I love as that is where I get the most pleasure from life. If however, it is a friendship that has been fostered from my work or other source, I just completely ignore what I consider to be questionable taste.

It seems like they've been sort of a guilty un-hipster-friendly pleasure for many music fanatics since Transatlanticism became big which is kind of a shame. A sign of this development is the mtv review for example (where the author for some reason needs to excuse himself and elobarately explain why he loves the new album).
I usually tend to argue with their pop sensibilities as a lot of what makes them unique is their song structures and accesible but complex melodies which is kind of a quality that you want in both indie and mainstream music but is hard to accomplish and hard to determine how to do.

Thanks for the responses, fellows. Yeah, I am trying to think back to when I first started getting really into Death Cab. It was only 3 years ago or so, to be honest. The spring before Plans came out... Hmmm, well I do remember it took me a bit. I wasn't conscious of the masterpiece that Transatlanticism is for a while.

I agree with Justin's comments the most. My favorite musicians stay that because of the experiences I 'shared' with them. Patrick Wolf and Interpol bring to mind my junior summer and the month I spent in Europe. Bloc Party reminds me of Junior year. Death Cab and Coldplay remind me of my growth out of the middle school 'emo' kid, to the almost man I am now. Music is melody and rhythm and lyrics, and yes, they all need to be good for it to be great music, but one can never call themselves a true music lover or an audiophile if they don't associate the music with their lives. That is how music lives. It lives and breathes and becomes something new.
DCFC introduced me to good music and everyone on this board, with whom I feel I've forged a good friendship and shared many good experiences and so they hold a special place in my heart. My best friends likes them, but finds other bands to be better to the ear. It is all a matter of what Tomatoes&RadioWires said, listening to things at the right moment.

quote:

Originally posted by interpolarity:
I agree with Justin's comments the most. My favorite musicians stay that because of the experiences I 'shared' with them. Patrick Wolf and Interpol bring to mind my junior summer and the month I spent in Europe. Bloc Party reminds me of Junior year. Death Cab and Coldplay remind me of my growth out of the middle school 'emo' kid, to the almost man I am now. Music is melody and rhythm and lyrics, and yes, they all need to be good for it to be great music, but one can never call themselves a true music lover or an audiophile if they don't associate the music with their lives. That is how music lives. It lives and breathes and becomes something new.
DCFC introduced me to good music and everyone on this board, with whom I feel I've forged a good friendship and shared many good experiences and so they hold a special place in my heart. My best friends likes them, but finds other bands to be better to the ear. It is all a matter of what Tomatoes&RadioWires said, listening to things at the right moment.

incorrect

I think the fact that everyone likes different types of music is refreshing. I have had a close-knit group of friends since high school. And it's amazing how different all of us are. I am big on Dave Matthews Band and Death Cab. One of my friends listens to hard rock, another hip hop, another jazz, etc.

I could be content if all I had to listen to for the rest of my life was Dave Matthews Band. Yet I have a friend who hates them. I can respect that. It doesn't make me like him any less and I don't try to force him to like them. On the other hand, he's really into microbreweries and exotic beers. I don't really care for them. I'll stick with Bud Light. So he doesn't try to force them on me.

When you like something so much, whether it be a music group, movie, TV show, etc., it can be difficult to understand why someone wouldn't like it. But if they give it a shot and don't like it, you just need to step back and say ok.

I think it's good, OP, that you and your friend agree on so many artists. But if he has listened to DCFC and doesn't care for them, it's just one thing you can't talk about with him.

Stank, Flight of the Conchords is amazing.

You're so beautiful... Like a... TREE.....

Or a high class prostitute.

there is no single way to enjoy music, there is no 'right' way to enjoy music. and i think if you are striving to be a 'true audiophile and lover of music' you are missing the point completely. it's not about 'you' at all, it is about the music, plain and simple and purely subjective. i find it a little pretentious and narcissistic when people label themselves as 'bigger lovers of music' and claim that in order to become this label you have to associate music with their lives in some way, but again that is your prerogative. I'm not really trying to put you down interpolarity, i recognize your perspective, i just don't agree with it.

This is a shitty debate...

also, I make friends with people who like similar music because music plays a big part in my life, so why not make friends with people who will go see shows with you and be excited about the same things. Music plays a big part in people's personality (see ganger rap) and I think it's perfectly normal for people to associate with others that have similar personalities.

you're right, because it's like i said, it's all subjective