My three favorite band names inspired by unlikely sources would be: a) Steely Dan, after the chrome-plated dildo in William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch; b) Toad the Wet Sprocket, a band name concocted by Monty Python for one of its sketches; and c) Death Cab for Cutie, taken from a song by the critically underappreciated (in the U.S., at least) Bonzo Dog Band from its 1967 debut album, Gorilla.
Who said naming a band is hard?
Thirty years after the Bonzos dropped their Boogie Woogie Elvis Presley homage, Bellingham, Wash., native Ben Gibbard adopted the song’s title as the name of his solo, Emo-tinged Indie Rock recording project and self-released a demo cassette, You Can Play These Songs with Chords. The tape’s critical buzz was significant; Gibbard inked a Barsuk Records contract and created an actual performing band with guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Nathan Good.
Death Cab for Cutie’s first true band album, 1998’s Something About Airplanes, earned very positive reviews, but during the course of its second album, We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, Good quit and was replaced by several interim drummers until Jason McGerr’s 2003 arrival. Death Cab for Cutie’s first major success was 2001’s The Photo Album, which featured its first charting singles and its first songs placed in a TV show (popular teen soap The O.C.). That album was followed by 2003’s triumphant Transatlanticism, the band’s mainstream breakthrough. The singles “The Sound of Settling” and “Title and Registration” dominated television and film soundtracks, while the album’s commercial impact led to the group’s Atlantic Records contract.
Since 2005’s Plans, Death Cab for Cutie has gone from strength to strength, including on its noisy and brilliant Narrow Stairs in 2008 (featuring the ubiquitous “I Will Possess Your Heart”) and 2011’s muted Codes and Keys (featuring the hit “You Are a Tourist”).
The March release of Kintsugi was somewhat bittersweet, coming seven months after now-renowned producer Walla announced his departure from the band. Still, Kintsugi continued Death Cab for Cutie’s string of success, debuting at No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 200 album chart.
Although Gibbard never intended the name to last beyond the life of his initial demo cassette, Death Cab for Cutie is fast approaching its 20th anniversary and seems ready to take fares well into the future.
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2015.