Entertainment · Music · 5 hrs ago
Ben Gibbard Says The O.C. Expanded Death Cab for Cutie’s Audience
The O.C. helped bring Death Cab for Cutie to a wider audience by featuring the band in its story and using their music.
The teen drama named the group as character Seth Cohen’s favorite, played two of their songs and later showed them performing.
Frontman Ben Gibbard said the new attention divided fans, with some longtime listeners unhappy about the band’s crossover to television.
He compared the change to Nirvana’s shift from underground band to mainstream success, while stressing that the comparison was on a much smaller scale.
The show introduced many viewers to indie music, and also featured acts including The Killers, Modest Mouse and Imogen Heap.
The tension between early fans and new listeners remains familiar when music reaches a larger audience, but no next step for the band or show was given.
Ben Gibbard said The O.C. substantially expanded Death Cab for Cutie’s audience.
The band was referenced several times as Seth Cohen’s favorite group, and its songs appeared in the show’s first season.
Death Cab for Cutie later made a cameo, performing two songs at a concert venue.
Gibbard said the show’s exposure brought in new listeners but angered some longtime fans.
He compared the band’s shift in popularity to Nirvana’s move from underground recognition to mass appeal, on a much smaller scale.
- Who
- Death Cab for Cutie and its frontman, Ben Gibbard.
- What
- Gibbard said The O.C. expanded the band’s audience, while some longtime fans objected to its music being featured on the show.
- When
- Gibbard recalled the change from before 2003 to 2004. He discussed it on a recent podcast episode.
- Where
- The O.C., a teen drama; the band also performed at a concert venue featured in the show.
- Why
- The show introduced its viewers to the band’s music and brought it wider recognition.
Death Cab for Cutie loyalists
The O.C. and its creators
Music on the show
Death Cab for Cutie loyalists
Some longtime fans were angry that Death Cab for Cutie’s music appeared on the series.
The O.C. and its creators
Creator Josh Schwartz said he took a fan’s criticism to heart and was also a fan of the band.
Gibbard said Death Cab for Cutie had been “Bleach” in its small world.
Gibbard compared the band’s standing to “Nevermind” in that small world.
The O.C. featured “A Movie Script Ending” and “A Lack of Color.
Gibbard recalled the band’s audience growth and the response from longtime fans.
- Band
- Death Cab for Cutie
- Frontman
- Ben Gibbard
- TV series
- The O.C.
- Songs in first season
- A Movie Script Ending” and “A Lack of Color
- Songs performed in cameo
- Title and Registration” and “The Sound of Settling
- Comparison
- Bleach” before 2003; “Nevermind” in 2004, on a much smaller scale
What people are saying
You have this odd dynamic at the shows, where you have the OG fans who are angry, I guess, at us for having the music on the show, and then you have the people who are, at least at that time, probably not as immersed in the culture as the dyed-in-the-wool indie rock fans
In our small little world, before 2003, we were Bleach, and then in 2004, we were Nevermind — on a much smaller scale, of course.
I’m a Death Cab fan. Stop playing their music
I took it to heart. I was a fan as well.