I have more than the occasional random thought, and I’m going to share one of them with you now.

First of all, before I get to that, this post is Death Cab for Cutie related, and related to that, you’d probably be interested to know that Death Cab recently recorded a live session for Daytrotter, which I found out about from my much loved Pop Candy blog. The band turns in a great set, including 2 brand new tunes from the upcoming album Narrow Stairs, which hits stores on May 13th. Check it out, it’s great. You’ll thank me later.

link

Recently, Death Cab for Cutie made the first new music from Narrow Stairs available for free download on the internet, in the form of the 8 minute plus lead single from the album, a track called I Will Possess Your Heart.

I Will Possess Your Heart (right click to download)

I downloaded the track, thought to myself “great title,” and listened to it a couple of times, and moved on.

Yesterday, I found myself discussing the track randomly with a friend. Imagine if you will, if you’re a songwriter writing songs, and you decide to write a song for that certain girl that you really dig.

Now, if you’re Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie, it goes something like this.

Ben – Hey there, I thought you might like to hear the new song I just wrote for you, called I Will Possess Your Heart.

Girl – *swoon*

-the end-

Now, let’s say that I’m a songwriter (which I’m not,) and let’s apply the same scenario to a similar situation in my world.

Me – Hey there, I wrote this new song for you that I thought you might dig hearing. It’s called I Will Possess Your Heart.

Girl – *girl runs away screaming* OR if on the phone….*click* *dial tone*

By this point, hopefully you’re listening to the song via the download link above.

Let’s say that she doesn’t run screaming, and actually sticks around to listen to the song?

Chances that she’s not going to be weirded out by the track after she hears it?

Yeah, right.

The Daytrotter session brought me back to listening to I Will Possess Your Heart again, and it finally got its musical hooks into me on that third listen. I’m more of an album guy – I very rarely get into something from just hearing a track, or a single. The track/single might intrigue me, but ultimately, unlike some people that will listen to that song 95 times, I have to hear it in context with the rest of the album. As a track, I get bored very quickly and move on.

But in these digital times, the concept of a single has found renewed life. Via the bands that put a free track out there for download (Death Cab, Counting Crows, Coldplay, etc.) Via regular promotions like the free “Single of the Week” from Itunes.

The single certainly worked for me with the new B-52’s album Funplex. When the band put a download out there for the title track, I heard it and immediately got stoked to hear the first album from the band in 16 years, an album that I had previously had great reservations about. Once I heard Funplex (the song,) I knew that the B’s wouldn’t let me down.

Back to Death Cab: I Will Possess Your Heart is brilliant. And also brilliantly disturbing. It takes nearly five minutes to get to the initial vocal, and when you open the door to the initial vocals, it’s creepy, yet you want to stick around and hear where it’s going. Again, the single concept worked here once again. I can’t wait to hear Narrow Stairs, to hear the rest of what Death Cab for Cutie has in store for me.

How about you?

p.s. – check out the video, it’s genius stuff.

p.s. part two – I just found this great live set from earlier in the month, which features a total of 7 new tracks from Narrow Stairs…..plus all of your Death Cab favorites! You want a good preview? Surf on over to this link!