Something About Airplanes

Something About Airplanes is the debut studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released August 18, 1998 on Barsuk Records. A tenth-anniversary edition of the album was released 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.[9]

Something About Airplanes
Studio album by
Death Cab for Cutie
ReleasedAugust 18, 1998
Recorded1998
StudioHall of Justice
GenreIndie rock, emo, lo-fi, post-punk, art punk
Length43:18
LabelBarsuk/Elsinor
ProducerChris Walla
Death Cab for Cutie chronology
You Can Play These Songs with Chords
(1997)		 Something About Airplanes
(1998)		 We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes
(2000)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Austin Chronicle[2]
Paste8.6/10[3]
Pitchfork8.1/10[4]
PopMatters7/10[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes3.5/5[8]

Early recordings of five songs from the album can be found on the You Can Play These Songs with Chords compilation.

Songs

"The Face That Launched 1000 Shits" is a cover of an original song by The Revolutionary Hydra, a band that DCFC guitarist Chris Walla and lead singer/guitarist Ben Gibbard belonged to. The song was written by then-bandmate Jay Chilcote. The song’s title is a play on the phrase “The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships”, attributed to Helen of Troy whose supposed unmatched beauty led to the Trojan War (after Paris, Prince of Troy, kidnapped her from Sparta and her husband King Menelaus).

Artwork

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 booklet cover and a sheet of vellum.[10] Like some of the band's 2000 releases, the text is set entirely in lower case.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bend to Squares"Ben Gibbard, Christopher Walla4:33
2."President of What?"Gibbard4:01
3."Champagne from a Paper Cup"Gibbard2:38
4."Your Bruise"Gibbard, Walla4:19
5."Pictures in an Exhibition"Gibbard3:49
6."Sleep Spent"Gibbard, Walla3:37
7."The Face That Launched 1000 Shits"Jay Chilcote3:41
8."Amputations"Gibbard4:54
9."Fake Frowns"Gibbard, Walla4:30
10."Line of Best Fit"Gibbard7:16
Reissue bonus disc – Live at the Crocodile Cafe, February 1998
No.TitleLength
11."Your Bruise" 
12."President of What?" 
13."Fake Frowns" 
14."Sweet and Tender Hooligan" (feat. Sean Nelson) 
15."State Street Residential" 
16."Amputations" 
17."Pictures in an Exhibition" 

Personnel

Death Cab for Cutie

Additional personnel

  • Abi Hall – vocals on "Line of Best Fit"
  • Erika Jacobs – writing and cello arrangement on "Bend to Squares" and "The Face That Launched 1000 Shits"
  • Tony Lash – mastering

Live at the Crocodile Cafe, February 1998

Notes
  1. Abebe, Nitsuh. "Something About Airplanes – Death Cab for Cutie". AllMusic. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  2. Stevens, Darcie (December 19, 2008). "Death Cab for Cutie: Something About Airplanes (Barsuk)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  3. Killingsworth, Jason (January 21, 2009). "Death Cab For Cutie: Something About Airplanes (Limited-Edition Deluxe 2-disc)". Paste. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  4. Cohen, Ian (November 26, 2008). "Death Cab for Cutie: Something About Airplanes". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  5. Jayasuriya, Mehan (December 5, 2008). "Death Cab for Cutie: Something About Airplanes (Deluxe Edition)". PopMatters. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  6. Walters, Barry (December 11, 2008). "Something About Airplanes (Deluxe Edition)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  7. Catucci, Nick (2004). "Death Cab for Cutie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 221–22. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. Mr P. "Death Cab for Cutie – Something about Airplanes". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  9. "Death Cab For Cutie: News". Official Death Cab for Cutie Website. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2008.
  10. Tim Frommer. "DAA Artist Archive: Death Cab for Cutie". Dancing About Architecture. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
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