A week ahead of release, Benjamin Gibbard's (Death Cab for Cutie) debut solo slbum, Former Lives, has premiered in full-length album form over on YouTube.
He's the songwriting mastermind behind Death Cab for Cutie, the Postal Service, and All-Time Quarterback. Now, decades into his career, Benjamin Gibbard sits down with PopMatters to discuss his first-ever solo album, and why an iPhone a capella field recording is the disc's first track ...
The selections on this list aren't necessarily bad albums -- some actually happen to be among the most critically acclaimed of this year. In some cases, it's just that the albums weren't what fans were expecting, and in others, they were exactly what they were expecting.
Two specific sequences from two separate episodes of Six Feet Under illustrate the show's complex and sophisticated use of popular music as both dramatic dramatic device and cultural signifier.