"Soul Meets Body" by Death Cab for Cutie, Tuesday, August 29, 2023 (partial repost)

 

Ben Gibbard started performing in 1997 under the moniker Death Cab for Cutie, the name of a Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band song by the same name released in 1967 and featured in The Beatles’ film Magical   Mystery Tour. When Gibbard signed a recording contract, he turned his solo act into a band. The band released albums on indie label Barsuk Records, garnering spots in films and television, which got the attention of Atlantic Records. Their major label debut, Plans, was released in 2005 and spawned three singles: "Soul Meets Body," "Crooked Teeth," and "I Will Follow You Into the Dark." Despite being on a major label, Death Cab for Cutie is a symbol of Indie Rock music. They consistently produce thought-provoking music and have many Grammy nominations under their belt. However, like most bands with die-hard fans, their older records often resonate best, whether it's We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes, Transatlanticism, or Plans--the nerdy boys and awful Christmas sweaters speak to times in fans lives that most mainstream radio failed to convey.

IF THE SILENCE TAKES YOU, THEN I HOPE IT TAKES YOU TOO. Listening to Plans, I always felt that it was an existential passage through the seasons of a year. Songs like "Crooked Teeth," "Summer Skin," and "Soul Meets Body" are beautiful, bright songs, but songs like "Brothers on a Hotel Bed," "What Sarah Said," and "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" frigidly remind listeners of mortality and the expiration of relationships. Speaking about the themes of the album, Gibbard stated: "One of my favorite kind of dark jokes is, 'How do you make God laugh? You make a plan.' Nobody ever makes a plan that they're gonna go out and get hit by a car. A plan almost always has a happy ending. Essentially, every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time. I really like the idea of a plan not being seen as having definite outcomes, but more like little wishes." The themes of this album spoke to the students in my circle in Adventist university. Adventist Millennials were taught by Baby Boomers who had been taught by the Silent Generation. Somewhere along the way the Adventist message had shifted from "Don't bother going to college. Don't buy a house. Don't build to last because Christ will return in 50 years time" to "Make plans, but draw them in pencil." Many of the ideas shared were not a lot different from Dan Koch's four-part You Have Permission series on "End Time Anxiety" only with a rapture-less, full-tribulation, running to the hills time to look forward to. 

SO BROWN EYES, I'LL HOLD YOU NEAR 'CAUSE YOU'RE THE ONLY SONG I WANT TO HEAR. An argument played in my head as I looked at the bill for my expensive private university tuition. One side was saying that in order to evangelize the world, I needed "worldly" credentials. The counterargument was "Why gather the elements to a stable life when everything would ultimately be scattered?" But eleven years into the student loans, I realized I was duped into a belief that the church takes care of its own. Loans don't matter because God will take care of my needs. I have been fortunate never to be employed by a religious institution and be able to make consistent payments. However, I haven't saved for other major life goals as I was paying a huge portion of my salary. As my beliefs have shifted since college as well as my understanding about my sexuality, I feel that I deceived myself into thinking that working as a Christian school teacher was my life's calling. However, this was never practical because it overlooked that I could never truly be myself--happy, in love, personally fulfilled, living as a soul denying its body. I bought into the idea that going to public university would make me turn away from God and I knew that I would experiment with my sexuality if I went to a state school. But I couldn't run from myself forever, and the "righteous path" revealed itself to be unfulfilling. It was an $80,000 mistake that I feel has limited my future opportunities for success. But at least I found my way. 

Read “Soul Meets Body” by Death Cab for Cutie on Genius.