Indie legend and Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard joins this week’s episode of the Rolling Stone Uncut podcast to celebrate the release of the band’s 11th album, I Built You a Tower.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Editor-in-Chief Neil Griffiths, Gibbard opens up about the group’s departure from Atlantic Records after 20 years, how a surprise duet late last year with Dua Lipa came to be, and how the cultural moments that made Death Cab famous — from The OC to Twilight — helped shape the band they are today.
He also talks about revisiting Transatlanticism and Plans on their anniversary tours, why “the records are for us and the shows are for the fans,” and an overdue return to Australia this November.
Watch below or listen to the full episode on Apple Music and Spotify (subscribe and follow!).
On leaving Atlantic Records after 20 years
“We had a 20-year great working relationship with Atlantic Records. Never once did anybody interfere with us creatively. Never once were we put in a situation where we felt uncomfortable with our choice. The idea of going to another major label — I don’t think it was feasible. There are three major labels in the world. I don’t know why the other two would want a bunch of guys in their late 40s and early 50s who play guitar music when they seem to be investing a lot of money in AI music. We found ourselves talking to some labels, and Anti- was just perfect. I’m so thrilled to be with them.”
“It’s not dissimilar from when Radiohead went independent. A major label pumped millions of dollars into promoting this band for two decades. We’re able to take all of that work that’s been done on our behalf and exist away from the major label format with all of that name recognition.”
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On getting famous — from The OC to Twilight to streaming
“The OC was wild. One day we just got a licence request for a song off [2001 record] The Photo Album. At the time, we were pretty broke, so that was a considerable amount of money. We had a watch party — it was the first time we’d ever had a song in a TV show. And then all of a sudden they’re talking about our band on the show. We were as flabbergasted as anybody. It just kept happening. The band became a character in the show.”
“[For Twilight] Radiohead was on the first soundtrack, or close to it. So we were in good company. A lot of the artists we were seeing on these soundtracks were people we really admired. I felt like we were in good company.”
On the Dua Lipa collaboration
“I got a text from this producer Andrew Watt, and he was like, ‘Dua Lipa wants your number. She’s having people up on stage in different cities.’ And I’m just sitting at home watching sports or something. I was like, what? And I get this text from a British number: ‘Hey Ben, it’s Dua Lipa. I hope you don’t mind that I’m texting you.'”
“I had asked if she wouldn’t mind doing a brief meet-and-greet with two of my friends who had daughters between eight and 10, who were huge Dua Lipa fans. And as I’m firing this text off, I’m like, I totally get it that this person’s really busy — they’re putting on an arena show. This might not work. And she was like, no problem. She came in the room, hung out with these kids for like 10 or 15 minutes, asked them their names, took photographs, got down on one knee with them so she was the same height as them.”
“My bandmate Nick Harmer was just like, we’ve never in our careers seen anybody do this before. I came out of that experience just a huge fan of her — not only musically, but just as a person. If this person is not cosplaying being a good person, they’re doing the best acting job I’ve ever seen in my fucking life.”
