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Death Cab for Cutie — Transatlanticism
Album: Transatlanticism
Avg rating:
6.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3933








Released: 2003
Length: 7:51
Plays (last 30 days): 1
The Atlantic was born today
And I'll tell you how
The clouds above opened up
And let it out

I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean
Making islands where no islands should go
Oh no

Most people were overjoyed
They took to their boats
I thought it less like a lake
And more like a moat

The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flatlands to your door
Have been silenced forevermore
And the distance is quite simply much too far for me to row
It seems farther than ever before
Oh no

I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer

I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer

I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer

So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
So come on, come on
Comments (648)add comment
 planet_lizard wrote:

Perfect serendipity. This was the final song in their brilliant Nottingham show last night and went to bed singing it, dreamt it, woke up singing it, came into work and put RP on as usual and it's the first track I hear!


Perfect!
3 > 2 Couldn’t they make something more ponderous? The music drones on and I can’t even count how many times they repeat “I need you so much closer” PSD’d at about the 30th repetition
Which movie soundtrack was this in?
 mgkiwi wrote:

Do like DCC but this tune goes on just that little bit too long where it becomes a little monotonous!


Na. It's exactly what it's supposed to be. Just enjoy it.
 damonlazer wrote:
I don't trust critics who seem more interested in making smug, snarky comments than actually providing valid criticism.  Snark is easy.  Listening is hard, at least for this guy.

I think it's very possible to be both valid and snarky, especially when Ben Gibbard is involved.
Do like DCC but this tune goes on just that little bit too long where it becomes a little monotonous!
 acolt wrote:

Whenever I hear Death Cab for Cutie, I'm always reminded of the Buffalo Beast's judgement from 2006:

[Ben] Gibbard's bafflingly popular band, with the nauseous name of Death Cab for Cutie, specializes in flat, too-self-conscious-to-rock odes to numbness. Every
album duller than the last, Gibbard saps the will of his unsuspecting teenaged (we can only hope) fans with dose after identical dose of sonic saltpeter in sexless, lethargic songs that perpetually seem like they're about to get interesting until you realize that they're over, sung in a voice that appears to be coming out of a mile-long nostril and played by musicians who sound like they're checking their e-mail. Complicit in spreading the poisonous notion that hopelessness is cool.



I don't trust critics who seem more interested in making smug, snarky comments than actually providing valid criticism.  Snark is easy.  Listening is hard, at least for this guy.
Snooze fest. It never really gets to the point. 
How creative.
 bc wrote:

This review reminds me of this Quentin Crisp Rant


WOW. There's a LOT to unpack in that there . . . I don't even know WHAT that was. My day is simultaneously better and worse for having heard that. What I'm saying is, thank you . . . ?
 acolt wrote:

Whenever I hear Death Cab for Cutie, I'm always reminded of the Buffalo Beast's judgement from 2006:

[Ben] Gibbard's bafflingly popular band, with the nauseous name of Death Cab for Cutie, specializes in flat, too-self-conscious-to-rock odes to numbness. Every
album duller than the last, Gibbard saps the will of his unsuspecting teenaged (we can only hope) fans with dose after identical dose of sonic saltpeter in sexless, lethargic songs that perpetually seem like they're about to get interesting until you realize that they're over, sung in a voice that appears to be coming out of a mile-long nostril and played by musicians who sound like they're checking their e-mail. Complicit in spreading the poisonous notion that hopelessness is cool.


This review reminds me of this Quentin Crisp Rant
A solid 10.
Whenever I hear Death Cab for Cutie, I'm always reminded of the Buffalo Beast's judgement from 2006:

[Ben] Gibbard's bafflingly popular band, with the nauseous name of Death Cab for Cutie, specializes in flat, too-self-conscious-to-rock odes to numbness. Every
album duller than the last, Gibbard saps the will of his unsuspecting teenaged (we can only hope) fans with dose after identical dose of sonic saltpeter in sexless, lethargic songs that perpetually seem like they're about to get interesting until you realize that they're over, sung in a voice that appears to be coming out of a mile-long nostril and played by musicians who sound like they're checking their e-mail. Complicit in spreading the poisonous notion that hopelessness is cool.
A work of genius.
Reminds me of Fraine.
Feels like I haven't heard this in years but I see it's been played 3x in 30 days.

Still a 10.
I need you to write more lyrics…
 mdfergy wrote:

the constant "I need you so much closer" repeat makes me ill... Bill, please stop playing this irritating car radio song ...

Rumor has it that Phil Spector had a Motorola speaker in the studio

for mixing..."Bring back mono!"


Tony in NJ

W.A.S.T.E.

 



 VV wrote:

I love the cd/album art. I'm not sure how it ties in with any of the songs on the album but it is intriguing. 

BTW this song is awesome as well. Might be their best.


Always felt like the glum tangled bird was a representation of the grounded feeling that comes when a loved one moves far away.  Not sure if the distance is literal or figurative but the line "the Atlantic was born today" seems to imply an ocean apart.  The long distance yearning leads to wails of "I need you so much closer" over and over (and over).
Anything with a link to to the Bonzo's gets my vote.
Love it.
yes but he's coming in for a landing...this takes time in my minds eye...love it   timmus wrote:
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
This song is getting repetitive
This song is getting repetitive
This song is getting repetitive
 
That little guitar riff really makes this song for me.
very Beatle-ish I heard the news today, o boy...
He sings a bit like a muppet, but I've dug just about everything I've heard from DCFC. One day I'll have to get around to buying some of their CDs.
 jonahboo wrote:
this song came on as i nodded off at my desk at work........i awoke and it was still on!

what does this mean?



IT"S TOO FUCKING LONG
 
Why are you sleeping on the job??
Tiny Vessels and this song flow together perfectly 
this song came on as i nodded off at my desk at work........i awoke and it was still on!

what does this mean?



IT"S TOO FUCKING LONG
One of the greatest songs ever recorded....
 prs wrote:


Me too
 
Me too.
 SurfDoc wrote:
Thank you RP for getting me into this band!!
 

Me too
Thank you RP for getting me into this band!!
Ok I'll l
 francesco_insyde wrote:

Not agree, it goes across the acean !
 
It takes you across an organism belonging to a taxonomic group? (definition of "acean")


just love a song that makes you stop whatever your doing and turn it up for a listen.
I need this band so much closer!
 VV wrote:
I love the cd/album art. I'm not sure how it ties in with any of the songs on the album but it is intriguing. 

BTW this song is awesome as well. Might be their best.
 

Obviously, the crow is supposed to represent the character Jeremy from The Secret Of NIMH.
 Old_Pat wrote:
Who in their right mind would want to get 'so much closer' to that whiny, needy twerp?
 
Me !
 Alastair wrote:
Usually a fan of DCFC but this just goes nowhere.  
 
Not agree, it goes across the acean !
Usually a fan of DCFC but this just goes nowhere.  
Who in their right mind would want to get 'so much closer' to that whiny, needy twerp?
 Steely_D wrote:
Follow up to this should be The Monkees' "Me and Magdalena"
 

wow. that's fantastic. 
 planet_lizard wrote:
Perfect serendipity. This was the final song in their brilliant Nottingham show last night and went to bed singing it, dreamt it, woke up singing it, came into work and put RP on as usual and it's the first track I hear!
 

Brilliant post, been there done that , sooooooo sorry I missed them.
I get it and I completely do like it.
I love this song. Fill in the words that make you happy and feel satisfied. 
 planet_lizard wrote:
Perfect serendipity. This was the final song in their brilliant Nottingham show last night and went to bed singing it, dreamt it, woke up singing it, came into work and put RP on as usual and it's the first track I hear!
 
Their Bristol gig was great, too.  Talented guys, I believe.
Perfect serendipity. This was the final song in their brilliant Nottingham show last night and went to bed singing it, dreamt it, woke up singing it, came into work and put RP on as usual and it's the first track I hear!
 droos wrote:
So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious.  
 

Not as repetitious as Sting and The Police. "Sending out an SOS"  24 X ?
So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious.  
Follow up to this should be The Monkees' "Me and Magdalena"
this song really reminds me of listening to the loft before i discovered RP. i miss the loft. thank god for RP. 
 cavemanleong wrote:
I need you so much closer!!!! My absolute favorite Death Cab song! Karaoke time! {#Roflol}

 
For mellow songs can we also throw in Passenger Seat?  Another great song as well as this one.  Honestly, When Soul meets Body is my all time favorite.

I need you so much closer!!!! My absolute favorite Death Cab song! Karaoke time! {#Roflol}
Warning - cowbells approaching {#Biggrin}
 dragon1952 wrote:
This band is 1000x  better live. . . .
 
I take issue with this comment.
Anything over 990 is an exaggeration!
I love the cd/album art. I'm not sure how it ties in with any of the songs on the album but it is intriguing. 

BTW this song is awesome as well. Might be their best.
10!!!!
I LOVE THIS !!!!!
not long enough (at the end.  that's what I felt.  it took a long time for me to make out what it was doing to me) so I will need to hear it a few more times to be able to judge it, as a matter of music law.  (bereft of the rest of your emotional pre-judice and emoji subconscious influences.  If it's available in German or French that would be perfect. 
 dragon1952 wrote:
This band is 1000x  better live. Check out some of the live youtube vids. I agree they kind of suck on their studio recordings for some reason the emotion just isn't there.

 
I'd go see them but if they open with this song I'd just leave when it was over. It's totally their high water mark as far as I'm concerned.
Cold Play Fix Youish
Still love it.
Simple. Beautiful.
Actually...that's close enough...too close even.
There are complaints this song is overly long but I love the build up and the final half of the song. Highly rated. 
I keep thinking that I don't like Death Cab For Cutie and then hear this song....I'll have to rethink my opinion.  
Two minutes of idea packed into eight minutes of song.
Makes me think of the final episode of Six Feet Under, though I think the song was in an earlier episode. 
 timmus wrote:
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
This song is getting repetitive
This song is getting repetitive
This song is getting repetitive

 
Listen to it... don't judge it.  
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
I need you so much closer
This song is getting repetitive
This song is getting repetitive
This song is getting repetitive
 nightmann wrote:
sucks bad

 
I had to turn it down
This band is 1000x  better live. Check out some of the live youtube vids. I agree they kind of suck on their studio recordings for some reason the emotion just isn't there.
sucks bad
Rather interesting song.
So much close
10 because it reminds me this beautiful Six Feet Under moment !
 thewiseking wrote:
is the record skipping or are they stuck in Cold Play Fix You mode?

 
LOL, that was what I was thinking.
But a reasonable 6 from me anyway. 
 SFine wrote:
I loved this song!
 

 
What happened?
is the record skipping or are they stuck in Cold Play Fix You mode?
I loved this song!
 
One of their best!
 mdfergy wrote:
the constant "I need you so much closer" repeat makes me ill... Bill, please stop playing this irritating car radio song ...
 

 


the constant "I need you so much closer" repeat makes me ill... Bill, please stop playing this irritating car radio song ...
 
Hello from across  the brine.!
Lake People.
 Steely_D wrote:
What I like about DCFC is their lack of fear about making a song take a while.
This one and Possess Your Heart revel in the slow buildup - like songs used to in the old days. ("One of These Days" by the Floyd is another example) 

 
That's why all without ADHS love it... {#Yes}
Newsflash; some songs last longer than 2 minutes.
Go play on your XBox for a few minutes; it will be over soon.
Sweetness... in a good way.
{#Sunny}
NEXT!
Perhaps maybe could be considered as potentially having a slight tendency to perhaps maybe sometimes be likely to be just a little bit repetitive, but I'm really saying that with all precautions.
this gave me a headache in my ear.
Stunning perfomance
jesus...make it stop
 paisleydancer66 wrote:
please stop droning{#Frustrated}
psd gave me Blind Faith aaahhhh

 
the 15-minute "Do What You Like" probably. You just cheated yourself.
again, Im starting to see why she left him.  nice production. 8
With lyrics like this, the only thing that will closer is not fit for human consumption! Had to turn it off after first 60 repetitions.
Boring!
please stop droning{#Frustrated}
psd gave me Blind Faith aaahhhh
I though The Ramones had put an end to this interminable nonsense.
a 10 for me.
 1120ralph wrote:
Will this never end?   Yikes! 
 
Yins gotter pay extra fer that. 
 1120ralph wrote:
Will this never end?   Yikes! 
 
apparently not...wait wait...they're wrapping this up...whew, that took awhile. A looooooooong while
Will this never end?   Yikes! 
What I like about DCFC is their lack of fear about making a song take a while.
This one and Possess Your Heart revel in the slow buildup - like songs used to in the old days. ("One of These Days" by the Floyd is another example) 
 dewhead wrote:
Thank you Radio Paradise. I NEEDED to hear this song this morning.... backing away from the ledge now.
 
Please understand that the ledge holds no answers.  None.  But it will ensure that your search for answers will be over.
Want some cheese with this wine? {#Drunk}
Thank you Radio Paradise. I NEEDED to hear this song this morning.... backing away from the ledge now.
 I like what you've written here.  The music can heal..like a good cry.  Incony wrote:
There are times, when solitude in crisis, is too much to bear. I touch such times.When i do, i touch Paradise Radio .... Radio Paradise, and time changes, i am set free and join in harmony.. Paradise is harmony? 

 



 shellbella wrote:
blah blah blah whine whine whine..  No.

 
I second that.
blah blah blah whine whine whine..  No.
it is good    I like some of the subtleties in this song.  Sounds like a jet touching down
Boring, simply boring. Hence, I have rated it as a 3, because it is the definition of Ho Hum.


I appreciated this track a lot more the first few times I heard it here. Slow build, anthemic, ambiguous, reaching a thrumming and tuneful crescendo. Now on the downside it's a bit downbeat, overlong and pretentious. (A bit like other Death Cab cuts.) Still, I keep it on my iPod. It's too much artful music to delete. 
What the hell is a Death Cab for Cutie, anyway? Someone here once answered this very question. The names for some of these bands, many of them producing fine music, are dumber than dishwater.  
Could have almost been a Snow Patrol cover ... long, dull, repetitive track with a limited scope of any real creativity. Typical of modern bands in this genre .. the pressure to write a long, rousing festival anthem track to fill-in around the real music. Might work for some, but not for me thanks. They can do a lot better than this!  3 for effort.
This is a special song. So powerful and epic. A classic. I was just floored by it's low rating on RP.
 jim1964 wrote:
This song really works for me, I can see how it might drone on for some people, but I just love how it builds.

 
DCFC in a nutshell.
I'm with you, this was a great track off a great album.
Tremendous song from one of the best bands of the 00's.
Obviously, by previous comments, a typical marmite song.

I like it, I like a lot of DCFC stuff. I don't think this is their best, but its musical simplicity and heartfelt sentiment is endearing. 




eight
Great song but it's about a minute too long.
I'm reminded of later episodes of "Six Feet Under". That is where I first heard this. Liked it then and still do. Man, I miss that amazing show.