In 2003, Death Cab for Cutie bandleader Ben Gibbard teamed up with producer Jimmy Tamborello for their collaborative project The Postal Service, releasing debut (and so far, only) album Give Up.
However, discussion around the postal service of late has generally referred not to the electronic indie-pop duo, but to the United States Postal Service itself. It’s been a topic of political conversation of late, as US President Donald Trump faces scrutiny for attempts to seemingly sabotage the USPS.
Last week, the President conceded he opposed Democrat calls for government aid to the USPS on the basis that it would support the delivery of mail-in ballots. Trump has been vocal about his opposition to mail-in voting for this year’s election, as the coronavirus pandemic is set to see a record number of Americans casting their votes by mail come November.
According to the USPS’ inspector general, an investigation has been launched into policy changes postmaster general Louis DeJoy has made to the postal service over the past months – including cutting overtime. Other recent disruptions to the postal system include the removal of mailboxes and dismantling of mail-sorting machines.
As you might expect, jokes about Gibbard and Tamborello’s band have regularly appeared over the past few weeks.
Such Great Heights remains a timeless classic https://t.co/hOv0dXmuF8
— Caroline Polachek (@carolineplz) August 9, 2020
Now, Gibbard himself has taken the opportunity to draw further attention to the plight of the service in a recent livestream performance. Gibbard performed the band’s ‘Such Great Heights’ acoustically during the performance, dedicating the track to the USPS.
“I think more than any election in my lifetime, this one is of paramount importance. One of the many institutions outside of democracy that’s very core that is under fire is that of the United States Postal Service,” explained Gibbard during the performance.
“For those who are not aware, I was in a band called The Postal Service, we put out a record in 2003. And we made this music by sending CDs back and forth to each other… We made a record using the United States Postal Service, and therefore, we called ourselves the Postal Service. I think in the midst of this global pandemic, nothing is more important than to being able to vote safely and securely and vote by mail has shown to be that over and over and over again.”
Watch Gibbard perform ‘Such Great Heights’ below – he begins with Death Cab for Cutie’s ‘Northern Lights’ and begins talking about the USPS around the 3:40 mark.
