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

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3998









Released: 2003
Length: 7:48
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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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 (652)add comment
"I need you so much closer." Chills! 
Posted 1 month ago by siqbal    [ Reply ]
 SurfDoc wrote:

Thank you RP for getting me into this band!!



Did you have to audition?  
Posted 3 months ago by dandueck07    [ Reply ]
Upped from 9 to 10. 
Posted 3 months ago by WilliDoc    [ Reply ]
20+ years on, still my fave DCFB track. Bummed to have missed their recent anniversary tour where they played the whole album track by track. 
Posted 8 months ago by siqbal    [ Reply ]
 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!
Posted 10 months ago by hightail    [ Reply ]
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
Posted 1 year ago by sunward    [ Reply ]
Which movie soundtrack was this in?
Posted 1 year ago by TheKing2    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 1 year ago by BCarn    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 2 years ago by acolt    [ Reply ]
Do like DCC but this tune goes on just that little bit too long where it becomes a little monotonous!
Posted 2 years ago by mgkiwi    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 2 years ago by damonlazer    [ Reply ]
Snooze fest. It never really gets to the point. 
Posted 2 years ago by givendale    [ Reply ]
How creative.
Posted 2 years ago by danoboy075484205    [ Reply ]
 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 . . . ?
Posted 2 years ago by acolt    [ Reply ]
 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
Posted 2 years ago by bc    [ Reply ]
A solid 10.
Posted 2 years ago by jnhashmi    [ Reply ]
Posted 2 years ago by bennie482    [ Reply ]
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.
Posted 2 years ago by acolt    [ Reply ]
A work of genius.
Posted 2 years ago by tomperth1    [ Reply ]
Reminds me of Fraine.
Posted 2 years ago by TheKing2    [ Reply ]
Feels like I haven't heard this in years but I see it's been played 3x in 30 days.

Still a 10.
Posted 3 years ago by ScottFromWyoming    [ Reply ]
I need you to write more lyrics…
Posted 3 years ago by Dahlia_Gumbo    [ Reply ]
 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.

 



Posted 3 years ago by tonyinnj    [ Reply ]
 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).
Posted 3 years ago by porcupinemeat    [ Reply ]
Anything with a link to to the Bonzo's gets my vote.
Love it.
Posted 3 years ago by WilliDoc    [ Reply ]
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
 
Posted 3 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
That little guitar riff really makes this song for me.
Posted 4 years ago by Laptopdog    [ Reply ]
very Beatle-ish I heard the news today, o boy...
Posted 4 years ago by eduardogarza    [ Reply ]
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.
Posted 4 years ago by stegokitty    [ Reply ]
 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??
Posted 4 years ago by jelgator    [ Reply ]
Tiny Vessels and this song flow together perfectly 
Posted 4 years ago by KevinM    [ Reply ]
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
Posted 4 years ago by Wonderloaf    [ Reply ]
One of the greatest songs ever recorded....
Posted 4 years ago by djanecek    [ Reply ]
 prs wrote:


Me too
 
Me too.
Posted 4 years ago by BCarn    [ Reply ]
 SurfDoc wrote:
Thank you RP for getting me into this band!!
 

Me too
Posted 4 years ago by prs    [ Reply ]
Thank you RP for getting me into this band!!
Posted 4 years ago by SurfDoc    [ Reply ]
Ok I'll l
Posted 4 years ago by Dandelion_Tamer    [ Reply ]
 francesco_insyde wrote:

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


Posted 5 years ago by ImaOldman    [ Reply ]
just love a song that makes you stop whatever your doing and turn it up for a listen.
Posted 5 years ago by sjmorrison2    [ Reply ]
I need this band so much closer!
Posted 5 years ago by cavemanleong    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 5 years ago by Solanus    [ Reply ]
 Old_Pat wrote:
Who in their right mind would want to get 'so much closer' to that whiny, needy twerp?
 
Me !
Posted 5 years ago by francesco_insyde    [ Reply ]
 Alastair wrote:
Usually a fan of DCFC but this just goes nowhere.  
 
Not agree, it goes across the acean !
Posted 5 years ago by francesco_insyde    [ Reply ]
Usually a fan of DCFC but this just goes nowhere.  
Posted 5 years ago by Alastair    [ Reply ]
Who in their right mind would want to get 'so much closer' to that whiny, needy twerp?
Posted 5 years ago by Old_Pat    [ Reply ]
 Steely_D wrote:
Follow up to this should be The Monkees' "Me and Magdalena"
 

wow. that's fantastic. 
Posted 5 years ago by RabbitEars    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 5 years ago by Pedro1874    [ Reply ]
I get it and I completely do like it.
Posted 5 years ago by Salamus    [ Reply ]
I love this song. Fill in the words that make you happy and feel satisfied. 
Posted 5 years ago by tiare    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 5 years ago by DaidyBoy    [ Reply ]
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!
Posted 5 years ago by planet_lizard    [ Reply ]
 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 ?
Posted 6 years ago by cosmicjoe54    [ Reply ]
So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious. So repetitious.  
Posted 6 years ago by droos    [ Reply ]
Follow up to this should be The Monkees' "Me and Magdalena"
Posted 6 years ago by Steely_D    [ Reply ]
this song really reminds me of listening to the loft before i discovered RP. i miss the loft. thank god for RP. 
Posted 6 years ago by jambo    [ Reply ]
 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.

Posted 6 years ago by drwhy    [ Reply ]
I need you so much closer!!!! My absolute favorite Death Cab song! Karaoke time! {#Roflol}
Posted 6 years ago by cavemanleong    [ Reply ]
Warning - cowbells approaching {#Biggrin}
Posted 6 years ago by markybx    [ Reply ]
 dragon1952 wrote:
This band is 1000x  better live. . . .
 
I take issue with this comment.
Anything over 990 is an exaggeration!
Posted 6 years ago by On_The_Beach    [ Reply ]
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.
Posted 6 years ago by VV    [ Reply ]
10!!!!
Posted 7 years ago by jnhashmi    [ Reply ]
I LOVE THIS !!!!!
Posted 7 years ago by DocStrangelove    [ Reply ]
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. 
Posted 7 years ago by jmattv13251    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 7 years ago by ScottFromWyoming    [ Reply ]
Cold Play Fix Youish
Posted 7 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
Still love it.
Posted 7 years ago by wtango    [ Reply ]
Simple. Beautiful.
Posted 7 years ago by onerb    [ Reply ]
Actually...that's close enough...too close even.
Posted 7 years ago by BigIslandBlues    [ Reply ]
There are complaints this song is overly long but I love the build up and the final half of the song. Highly rated. 
Posted 7 years ago by cambuddyf    [ Reply ]
I keep thinking that I don't like Death Cab For Cutie and then hear this song....I'll have to rethink my opinion.  
Posted 7 years ago by GeorgeMWoods    [ Reply ]
Two minutes of idea packed into eight minutes of song.
Posted 7 years ago by gdignard    [ Reply ]
Makes me think of the final episode of Six Feet Under, though I think the song was in an earlier episode. 
Posted 7 years ago by Dragonfly_Launch    [ Reply ]
 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.  
Posted 7 years ago by pomalley    [ Reply ]
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
Posted 7 years ago by timmus    [ Reply ]
 nightmann wrote:
sucks bad

 
I had to turn it down
Posted 7 years ago by Skydog    [ Reply ]
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.
Posted 7 years ago by dragon1952    [ Reply ]
sucks bad
Posted 7 years ago by nightmann    [ Reply ]
Rather interesting song.
Posted 7 years ago by boxofrain    [ Reply ]
So much close
Posted 8 years ago by Rindman    [ Reply ]
10 because it reminds me this beautiful Six Feet Under moment !
Posted 8 years ago by Vincenin    [ Reply ]
 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. 
Posted 8 years ago by Kaw    [ Reply ]
 SFine wrote:
I loved this song!
 

 
What happened?
Posted 8 years ago by jessesteinen    [ Reply ]
is the record skipping or are they stuck in Cold Play Fix You mode?
Posted 8 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
I loved this song!
 
Posted 8 years ago by SFine    [ Reply ]
One of their best!
Posted 8 years ago by VV    [ Reply ]
 mdfergy wrote:
the constant "I need you so much closer" repeat makes me ill... Bill, please stop playing this irritating car radio song ...
 

 


Posted 8 years ago by timothyberry    [ Reply ]
the constant "I need you so much closer" repeat makes me ill... Bill, please stop playing this irritating car radio song ...
 
Posted 8 years ago by mdfergy    [ Reply ]
Hello from across  the brine.!
Lake People.
Posted 8 years ago by twoplain2sea    [ Reply ]
 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}
Posted 8 years ago by modest_mouse    [ Reply ]
Newsflash; some songs last longer than 2 minutes.
Go play on your XBox for a few minutes; it will be over soon.
Posted 8 years ago by On_The_Beach    [ Reply ]
Sweetness... in a good way.
Posted 9 years ago by onerb    [ Reply ]
{#Sunny}
Posted 9 years ago by Deadwing    [ Reply ]
NEXT!
Posted 9 years ago by Andrew_C    [ Reply ]
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.
Posted 9 years ago by eveliko    [ Reply ]
this gave me a headache in my ear.
Posted 9 years ago by George_Tirebiter    [ Reply ]
Stunning perfomance
Posted 9 years ago by Dorothyhancock    [ Reply ]
jesus...make it stop
Posted 9 years ago by asilbuch    [ Reply ]
 paisleydancer66 wrote:
please stop droning{#Frustrated}
psd gave me Blind Faith aaahhhh

 
the 15-minute "Do What You Like" probably. You just cheated yourself.
Posted 9 years ago by ScottFromWyoming    [ Reply ]
again, Im starting to see why she left him.  nice production. 8
Posted 9 years ago by stunix    [ Reply ]
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.
Posted 9 years ago by teryev    [ Reply ]
Boring!
Posted 9 years ago by vanmas    [ Reply ]
please stop droning{#Frustrated}
psd gave me Blind Faith aaahhhh
Posted 9 years ago by paisleydancer66    [ Reply ]
I though The Ramones had put an end to this interminable nonsense.
Posted 9 years ago by PeterMC3    [ Reply ]
a 10 for me.
Posted 9 years ago by nirgivon    [ Reply ]
 1120ralph wrote:
Will this never end?   Yikes! 
 
Yins gotter pay extra fer that. 
Posted 9 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
 1120ralph wrote:
Will this never end?   Yikes! 
 
apparently not...wait wait...they're wrapping this up...whew, that took awhile. A looooooooong while
Posted 9 years ago by fatcatjb    [ Reply ]
Will this never end?   Yikes! 
Posted 10 years ago by 1120ralph    [ Reply ]
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) 
Posted 10 years ago by Steely_D    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 10 years ago by unclehud    [ Reply ]
Want some cheese with this wine? {#Drunk}
Posted 10 years ago by Rachoh    [ Reply ]
Thank you Radio Paradise. I NEEDED to hear this song this morning.... backing away from the ledge now.
Posted 10 years ago by dewhead    [ Reply ]
 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? 

 



Posted 10 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
 shellbella wrote:
blah blah blah whine whine whine..  No.

 
I second that.
Posted 10 years ago by Hoosfoos    [ Reply ]
blah blah blah whine whine whine..  No.
Posted 10 years ago by shellbella    [ Reply ]
it is good    I like some of the subtleties in this song.  Sounds like a jet touching down
Posted 10 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
Boring, simply boring. Hence, I have rated it as a 3, because it is the definition of Ho Hum.


Posted 10 years ago by handyrae    [ Reply ]
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.  
Posted 10 years ago by kingart    [ Reply ]
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.
Posted 10 years ago by ncarus    [ Reply ]
This is a special song. So powerful and epic. A classic. I was just floored by it's low rating on RP.
Posted 10 years ago by jnhashmi    [ Reply ]
 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.
Posted 10 years ago by Stave    [ Reply ]