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Death Cab For Cutie Fantasize About Orchestra Tour, Here Are Some Artists Who Have Pulled It Off

Posted 7/7/11 3:30 pm EST by in Concerts, Death-Cab-For-Cutie, Music


By Zachary Swickey

Death Cab For Cutie are about to tackle the second leg of their North American tour behind their seventh album, Codes and Keys, and the group is vocally keen on the prospect of a string quartet backing them on tour.

“It would be really fun to take Magik*Magik Orchestra out,” Death Cab guitarist/producer Chris Walla told Billboard. “But unfortunately, it is kind of a nightmare to try and figure it out.”

Magik*Magik is the small San Fransisco orchestra that provided DCFC with string accompaniment on two of their new album’s tracks: “Codes and Keys” and “Stay Young, Go Dancing.” Magik even performed the tunes alongside Death Cab during their appearance on VH1’s Storytellers earlier this year.

Walla continued lamenting, “You can make a living or you can play with an orchestra. They’re totally mutually exclusive – you almost can’t do one and the other.” But the guitarist does have some faith: “I do think that we’ll be able to do some shows with Magik*Magik at some point, even if it’s not a full tour.”

We’re all for Death Cab enriching their live performances with some symphonic attitude, and hopefully the tour, or few shows, will eventually happen. It’s hard to deny the appeal of a symphony-infused show, with all the horns and strings working together to truly reshape songs or provide them with more force. Don’t believe me? Just ask these guys. Read More...

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Death Cab For Cutie, Britney Spears Aren't The First To Sport Light-Up Fashion

Posted 4/6/11 1:36 pm EST by in Fashion, Music


These days, it seems like everyone has jumped on the LED-couture bandwagon. It's not just pop stars who are glowing in their clothes; it's also rockers and MCs who have decided that it's all the rage to light up the stage.

When Death Cab for Cutie shot their live, one-take video for "You Are a Tourist," they became the latest to sport light-up clothes. Their suits in the fanciful clip were accessorized with glowing lights where their pocket squares should be.


Kanye West wore a little light-up heart pin at the 2008 VMAs when he debuted his very personal track for "Love Lockdown." Chris Brown let his heart glow in his "Crawl" video back in 2009, and then he once again strung up his clothes like a Christmas tree when he appeared on "Dancing With the Stars" at the end of last month.

Read More...

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MTV's Musical March Madness: Red Hot Chili Peppers Vs. Death Cab For Cutie, Blink-182 Vs. All Time Low

Posted 3/15/11 3:30 pm EST by in Music


It's MTV's second annual Musical March Madness! MTV News took the 64 biggest names in rock, split them up into four regions, assigned them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 64, so over the next few weeks, fan voting will determine who will emerge as this year's champion. It's all about the fans, and the artist with the most passionate fan base will score the awesome Musical March Madness trophy!

The West bracket has been pretty lively, with many of the tournament favorites making plenty of big noise. Here are the last of the match-ups for the West, so keep voting and tune in tomorrow for the South bracket.

As always, first round voting continues through Sunday night (March 20), and you can catch up with any match-ups you might have missed here.

(7) Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. (10) Death Cab for Cutie
In this particular portion of the bracket, we have two tried and true workhorses who have been a little quiet as of late but who are both about to come back with a vengeance. You'll hear new music from both Red Hot Chili Peppers and Death Cab for Cutie in 2011, and they each have a deep well of hits to carry them through this tournament. Which one moves on?

(2) Blink-182 vs. (15) All Time Low
Despite the fact that their comeback album has been stalled for a while, the individual members of Blink-182 are so productive and successful that they are able to keep their brand name healthy even after the hiatus. But All Time Low are riding high on the success of their 2009 album Nothing Personal and are about to hit the rock world hard again with Dirty Work. Will the teachers stay strong over the students? Vote away!

Watch Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice break down this year's bracket!

Check out the Musical March Madness bracket and be take a look at the hoops-centric photos of some of the tournament's biggest bands.

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Happy Birthday, Bram Stoker: Wake-Up Video

Posted 11/8/10 10:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


He can't celebrate because he has been dead for nearly a century, but that doesn't mean we can't pay tribute to the birth of Bram Stoker. Though he is really only known for a single creation — that being his book "Dracula," published in 1897 — Stoker's influence on pop culture has been far-reaching and massive. His novel about the definitive vampire, Count Dracula, established most of the common pieces of vampire lore that are now a part of the larger pop culture fabric.

Stoker was a sickly child, but managed to overcome his health problems and became interested in horror writing. He published a handful of novels before "Dracula," but that was the title that made him a legend. Though vampire lore had been around for quite some time (English writer John William Polidori's short story "The Vampyre," published in 1819, is considered the beginning of vampire fiction), Stoker's story helped make vampires into common characters. After its publication, everybody seemed to know that vampires cast no reflections or shadows, fed on blood and could only be destroyed via direct sunlight or a stake through the heart. Though Stoker's vampire borrowed heavily from a lot of other vampire folklore (and directly contradicted some of it), his "Dracula" became the vampire by which all others were judged.

"Dracula" has been adapted for the screen many, many times, including the legendary Universal version from 1931 (which made Bela Lugosi into a star) and the extra-faithful "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (directed by Francis Ford Coppola). Vampires are now legally bound to be in every third movie released thanks to the success of the "Twilight" series (which has in turn given us successful soundtrack tunes like Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox").


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Happy Equinox, Everybody: Wake-Up Video

Posted 9/23/10 8:30 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Time for a little science lesson, kids. Today is the autumnal equinox (unless you live in the southern hemisphere — then it's the vernal equinox). What is an equinox? Occurring twice a year (the other happens in March), the equinox marks the days on the calendar when there is no tilt to the Earth in relationship to the sun, which matches the center of the sun directly with the Earth's equator. Essentially, the Earth will standing straight up and down today, in line with the North and South Poles. (Or at least it was — the equinox actually occurred Wednesday night in the United States, though the actual equinox is dictated by Coordinated Universal Time.)

The equinox tends to be treated as the official beginning of fall (though again, that's only in the northern hemisphere — below the equator, spring is coming) and the onset of shorter days and chillier evenings. This equinox also brought a harvest moon, which is defined as the full moon closest to the equinox. But a true harvest moon occurs around the same time as the equinox, and the appearance of the moon was only a handful of minutes after the actual equinox last night. So if you caught sight of the extra-bright, extra-purple moon last night, know that you were witnessing something special.

Of course, if you say the word "equinox" to a certain group of people, they'll immediately think of Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox," their single from the soundtrack to "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." It's a dreamy tune that perfectly encapsulates the cosmic strangeness that often surrounds the equinox. Also, there are sexy vampires in the video, so that's always a plus.


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The 'Eclipse' Soundtrack Playlist: Coheed And Cambria, Jay-Z And Muse

Posted 6/30/10 3:00 pm EST by in Music


It has been 222 days since the release of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." That's a long time to wait for a continuation of the story of the most epic supernatural love triangle in cinema, but that's how long fans of the "Twilight" series had to wait before getting the opportunity to check out "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." But that day is finally here, which means you now have the opportunity to check out the latest chapters in the saga of Bella, Edward and Jacob.

The real hardcore fans checked out the movie at midnight, but if you're heading out tonight (or perhaps going a second time), you may want to spend a few minutes with the video playlist below. It'll get you in exactly the mood you need to be in to tackle the tale of vampires, werewolves, forbidden love and battles between beasties. There's a healthy dose of songs about vampires (Sparks the Rescue's "We Love Like Vampires," Hollywood Undead's "Undead"), werewolves (TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me") and darkness (Owl City's "Vanilla Twilight," Len's "Steal My Sunshine," Arctic Monkeys' "When the Sun Goes Down"). There's also one song devoted to the newly introduced vampire army (Beck's "The New Pollution") as well as a tune that is one there because these movies look so incredibly blue (Jay-Z's "Blue Magic"). You can also stick around for three of the singles from past soundtracks to the "Twilight" films: Paramore's "Decode," Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox" and Muse's "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)."

But we kick things off with Coheed and Cambria, who deliver a rocking anthem that could stand as the definition of this particular movie season: "Blood Red Summer."

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Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard Has A Wicked Knuckler But Needs Some Control

Posted 4/21/10 5:00 pm EST by in Music


If this whole "rock and roll frontman" thing doesn't work out, Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard could totally find work in the bullpen for a major league team. This is because, by his own account, he's got "a pretty good arm," and has at least four pitches in his arsenal (and seriously, Mariano Rivera has been getting by on just one for more than a decade now).

And since we've already spoken to Gibbs about his love of the Seattle Mariners and his eternal quest to find a third baseman in fantasy baseball, we figured it was only appropriate if we rounded out our baseball-related coverage of the guy by giving him an unofficial scouting report. Here's our take on where he'd fit in with the 'pen.

Arm Strength
"I'm not like a 90-mph fastball kind of guy, but I can hit 70 on radar gun," Gibbard says. "I hit 70 one time on a radar guy at one of those pitch-and-throw kind of things. I have a pretty good arm for somebody who's not a baseball player."

That reminds us a lot of burly former reliever Ray King, who wouldn't blow you away with his fastball, but pitched to contact. Also, current Milwaukee Brewers' closer Trevor Hoffman, who tops out in the mid-80s with his heater. Read More...

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All Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard Wants Is A Third Baseman

Posted 4/19/10 5:30 pm EST by in Music


We already know that Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard is an avid baseball fan (with above-average arm strength), but we were surprised to learn that he's also a rather shrewd fantasy tactician, manning "a pretty good" squad that's positively brimming with talent.

For those not lucky enough to be in his fantasy baseball league, here's his quick rundown of his 2010 team:

"I got [Joe] Mauer at catcher, I got Carlos Pena at first, Robinson Cano at second, Jason Bartlett at short. I'm kind of platooning at third — I got Brandon Inge there right now," he said. "In my outfield, I have Jayson Heyward, Ichiro and Andrew McCutchen. And then I have the White Sox pitching staff. I'm pretty happy."

We would be too (though we think leagues where you draft an entire team's rotation are kind of B.S.), especially since our team currently features the banged-up Jacoby Ellsbury and the transparent duo of Carlos Lee and Jose Reyes. But while all appears well on Gibbard's squad, there is one position that currently vexes him: Third base. It seems he's none too happy with Inge, and has been desperately trying to make a trade. But so far he's come up empty.

"I've been trying to make a trade for Ryan Zimmerman, but I haven't been able to pull it off yet," he sighed. Read More...

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: Panic! Vs. DCFC, Weezer Vs. The Young Veins

Posted 3/25/10 9:30 am EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

The NCAA basketball tournament resumes today with Sweet 16 action, but MTV News' Musical March Madness continues in its second round. Today we visit the West and Midwest regions, with plenty of excellent head-to-heads featuring some high-powered bands. Let's get to the action in the West!

(7) Death Cab for Cutie vs. (15) Panic! at the Disco
With the recent release of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" on DVD, Death Cab for Cutie have received yet another surge of good will thanks to their excellent song "Meet Me on the Equinox" that was included on the film's soundtrack. Meanwhile, Panic! at the Disco may be a bit off the radar working on new music but have proven they still have a galvanized and devoted group of fans. Who will come out on top in this intriguing tilt?

(6) Weezer vs. (14) The Young Veins
The Young Veins are coming off a well-received performance at this year's SXSW, but they go up against a surging Weezer squad that recovered from an injury to its star player (frontman Rivers Cuomo, who missed some action thanks to a bus accident) to make quick work of their opening round opponents. Both bands make strong cases for advancement, but which will live to fight another day?

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: Green Day Vs. Panic At The Disco, DCFC Vs. Soundgarden

Posted 3/19/10 10:30 am EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns them seeds and puts them up against one another in a single-elimination series of match-ups in a winner-take-all contest. We're leaving it to you to decide an actual champ in this field of 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

In a stunning upset in the NCAA basketball tournament, Ohio University upset Georgetown last night in an absolute beat down. That was a 14 seed topping a three, which is pretty dramatic, but not quite as huge as the upset currently happening in the MTV News Band Bracketology tournament, where 16 seed Tokio Hotel is putting the hurt on top-seeded Coldplay in the East. Today we focus on the West bracket, featuring a number of heavy-hitters.

(2) Green Day vs. (15) Panic at the Disco
Green Day narrowly missed a top seed, as they adroitly transferred their success in the rock world to the theater world, as "American Idiot" is about to open on Broadway. Meanwhile, Panic at the Disco are a hot-starting team who hit a few roadblocks (and lost a lot of players) that is looking to make a big comeback. But can they build up enough momentum to knock off the surging Green Day?

(7) Death Cab for Cutie vs. (10) Soundgarden
After years of hiatus, Soundgarden are back with a vengeance and ready to dominate (consider them this year's Temple). Meanwhile, Death Cab for Cutie kill with consistency (just like the Washington Huskies, with whom they share a home state). Do the veterans pull the upset or is Death Cab too quick off the dribble?

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