Something about Airplanes
Encyclopedia
Something About Airplanes is the debut studio album by indie rock
band Death Cab for Cutie
, released August 18, 1998 on Barsuk Records
. A remastered anniversary version of the album was released on November 25, 2008.
Early recordings of five songs from this album can be found on the You Can Play These Songs with Chords
compilation.
A tenth anniversary edition of the album was released on November 25, 2008, featuring redesigned artwork, liner notes by Sean Nelson
and a bonus disc including the band's first ever Seattle performance at the Crocodile Cafe
in February 1998.
except where noted.
Reissue bonus disc – Live at the Crocodile Cafe
, February 1998
Additional personnel
Live at the Crocodile Cafe, February 1998
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
, released August 18, 1998 on Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
. A remastered anniversary version of the album was released on November 25, 2008.
Early recordings of five songs from this album can be found on the You Can Play These Songs with Chords
You Can Play these Songs with Chords
You Can Play These Songs with Chords is an early demo from the rock band Death Cab for Cutie, which at the time consisted entirely of founder Ben Gibbard...
compilation.
A tenth anniversary edition of the album was released on November 25, 2008, featuring redesigned artwork, liner notes by Sean Nelson
Sean Nelson
Sean Nelson is an American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist, notable as the frontman for the alternative rock group Harvey Danger.- Career :...
and a bonus disc including the band's first ever Seattle performance at the Crocodile Cafe
Crocodile Cafe
The Crocodile is a music club at 2200 2nd Avenue at Blanchard Street in the neighborhood of Belltown in Seattle, Washington, USA. Opened as the "Crocodile Cafe" on April 30, 1991 by Stephanie Dorgan, it quickly became a fixture on the local music scene. It closed on December 15, 2007...
in February 1998.
Album art
Despite the title referring to airplanes, the image on the album cover is of a rowboat. The image is actually seen through a hole in the cover and a sheet of vellum. Like some of the band's 2000 releases, the text is set entirely in lower case.Track listing
All songs written by Ben GibbardBen Gibbard
Benjamin "Ben" Gibbard is an American musician known as a member of several successful indie rock bands. He is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, and is also known for his project ¡All-Time Quarterback! and his first band, Pinwheel.-Personal life and career:Gibbard was...
except where noted.
- "Bend to Squares" (Gibbard/Christopher Walla) – 4:33
- "President of What?" – 4:01
- "Champagne from a Paper Cup" – 2:38
- "Your Bruise" (Gibbard/Walla) – 4:19
- "Pictures in an Exhibition" – 3:49
- "Sleep Spent" (Gibbard/Walla) – 3:37
- "The Face That Launched 1000 Shits" (Jay Chilcote) – 3:41
- "Amputations" – 4:54
- "Fake Frowns" (Gibbard/Walla) – 4:30
- "Line of Best Fit" – 7:16
Reissue bonus disc – Live at the Crocodile Cafe
Crocodile Cafe
The Crocodile is a music club at 2200 2nd Avenue at Blanchard Street in the neighborhood of Belltown in Seattle, Washington, USA. Opened as the "Crocodile Cafe" on April 30, 1991 by Stephanie Dorgan, it quickly became a fixture on the local music scene. It closed on December 15, 2007...
, February 1998
- "Your Bruise"
- "President of What?"
- "Fake Frowns"
- "Sweet and Tender HooliganSweet and Tender Hooligan"Sweet and Tender Hooligan" is a song by The Smiths, released as a single in May 1995 by their American record company Sire Records. It was released to promote the compilation album Singles....
(feat. Sean Nelson)" - "State Street Residential"
- "Amputations"
- "Pictures in an Exhibition"
Personnel
Death Cab for Cutie- Ben GibbardBen GibbardBenjamin "Ben" Gibbard is an American musician known as a member of several successful indie rock bands. He is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, and is also known for his project ¡All-Time Quarterback! and his first band, Pinwheel.-Personal life and career:Gibbard was...
– vocals, guitar, small piano - Nathan GoodNathan GoodNathan Good is the first and former drummer of Death Cab for Cutie. He performed all percussion for their album Something About Airplanes...
– drums, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Nick HarmerNick HarmerNicholas Harmer is the bass guitarist for the group Death Cab for Cutie.-Personal life:Harmer was born in Landstuhl, Germany. He attended Governor John R. Rogers High School in Puyallup, Washington, and was President of his senior class...
– bass guitar - Christopher Walla – guitar, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, production, mixing
Additional personnel
- Abi Hall – vocals on "Line of Best Fit"
- Erika Jacobs – writing and cello arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
on "Bend to Squares" and "The Face That Launched 1000 Shits".
- Tony LashTony LashAnthony Carr "Tony" Lash is an American musician and music producer, most notable as a founding member of Heatmiser as the band's drummer. He played with Elliott Smith, in the high school band. Lash played the flute; Smith, the clarinet....
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
Live at the Crocodile Cafe, February 1998
- Chuck MacIan RobertsonChuck MacIan RobertsonCharles "Chuck" MacIan Robertson is an American photographer and record producer, notable for the cover of the alternative rock group Harvey Danger's 1998 album Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?...
– recording - Sean NelsonSean NelsonSean Nelson is an American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist, notable as the frontman for the alternative rock group Harvey Danger.- Career :...
– performer on "Sweet and Tender HooliganSweet and Tender Hooligan"Sweet and Tender Hooligan" is a song by The Smiths, released as a single in May 1995 by their American record company Sire Records. It was released to promote the compilation album Singles....
"