Death Cab For Cutie: Directions
Rating: 
(Atlantic, 2006) Directions is a visual companion piece meant to accompany Death Cab For Cutie’s 2005 release, Plans. It’s a rather fascinating idea, really. The band recruited filmmakers of several different kinds to create what they called short films for each song on the album. What this really means is that Directions is a DVD full of music videos, thirteen, to be precise. There are videos for the eleven songs on Plans, plus two “bonus videos.” The DVD also includes interviews with band members, statements from the directors (including a hilariously [and intentionally] awkward one from “Talking Like Turnstiles” director Lance Bangs), full song lyrics, and more. The rules for the creative process were fairly simple. The band asked for treatment ideas, and received dozens, wherein the director was willing to a) work on a tight budget, and b) have no input from or appearances by the band in the video. The idea was for the directors to be unconstrained by the conventional idea of what a “music video” is in the industry now. Directions sounds great in theory, but without proper execution it could have been very clumsy and uninteresting. Fortunately, the band found some very talented filmmakers to work with, and the results were fantastic. Lightborne’s take on “Summer Skin” is a brilliant piece depicting children on a playground as grown-ups in an office, Rob Schrab’s “Crooked Teeth” video portrays a robot version of the band going on daydream adventures, and perhaps the most entertaining piece is Jeffrey Brown’s animated video for “Your Heart Is An Empty Room.” Taken alone, the music on Directions (and Plans) is not particularly noteworthy. It is Death Cab For Cutie doing what they do, sensitive indie pop/rock, and doing it pretty well. However, the cooperative art of the music with these short films (because in the end, these videos are clearly art) is a much more moving experience, and totally justifies its own existence. Directions should appeal to everyone from the most hardcore Death Cab fan to those who are only casually acquainted with the music, and is highly recommended.
Buy album– Kevin
May 4th, 2006 at 10:32 pm
I ,personally, am a huge Death Cab fan, and I bought the DVD and love it. I believe it could be for a not so hard core fan also. It is really fun and entertaining, all of the videos are completelly different and to top that off, it is super cheap. It costs about 11 or 12 dollars. Cheaper than most CDs out there on the shelves. So what I am trying to say is that everyone should go buy it right now.
May 10th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
They could do that…but they should wait until after the contest is over to buy it.
May 11th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Well. i am also a huge death cab for cutie fan. as well as any other projects related to singer songwriter ben gibbard. but i have yet to buy the DVD. i have although seen the videos as they werer shown on the death cab for cutie website, and they were pretty good. my favorite was the video for “Summer Skin”. I really need to see those extras on the DVD. such as the “Jealousy Rides With Me” video, and the “Talking Like Tunrstiles” video that was set up by the band to seem like some crazed death cab fan jumped up on stage with a camera and then snuck into their dressing room to steal a bottle of water :D. anyways. i hope i win .
May 13th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
Hmm, in my opinion, it’s the videos in Directions that are not noteworthy. With a couple exceptions, most of them are just simple generic indie films. It’s the music that accompanies them that turns the videos in to something more.
May 14th, 2006 at 1:03 am
My position is that neither the films nor the music are particularly exceptional when taken alone, but it’s their cooperation that makes them noteworthy.
May 16th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
“My position is that neither the films nor the music are particularly exceptional when taken alone, but it’s their cooperation that makes them noteworthy.”
although “Plans” isn’t their best album (In my opinion) the music on it is still fantastic. if anything the videos wern’t “exceptional” but the music is great.