You Can Play These Songs with Chords by Death Cab for Cutie (CD, Oct-2002, Barsuk)

Album Features
UPC:	655173102824
Artist:	Death Cab For Cutie
Format:	CD
Release Year:	2002
Record Label:	Barsuk
Genre:	Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. President of What?
2. Champagne from a Paper Cup
3. Pictures in an Exhibition
4. Hindsight
5. That's Incentive
6. Amputations
7. Two Cars
8. Line of Best Fit
9. This Charming Man - (previously unreleased)
10. TV Trays - (previously unreleased)
11. New Candles - (previously unreleased)
12. Tomorrow - (previously unreleased)
13. Flustered / Hey Tomcat - (previously unreleased)
14. State Street Residential - (previously unreleased)
15. Wait - (new mix)
16. Prove My Hypotheses - (new mix)
17. Song for Kelly Huckaby - (facts version)
18. Army Corps of Architects - (new mix)

Details
Distributor:	Alternative Dis. Alliance
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
This release compiles the band's early cassette-only release YOU CAN PLAY THESE SONGS WITH CHORDS, 7" tracks, plus previously unreleased covers and outtakes.Death Cab For Cutie includes: Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla.This is a pretty good 18-track collection of rarities and unreleased material. It's not recommended to newcomers who want an introduction to the band or casual listeners who want only one or two of their CDs, but Death Cab for Cutie fans should be pleased with the selection. The earliest recordings -- "This Charming Man" (a cover of a Smiths song with some botched phrases such as "under this charming car"), "TV Trays," "New Candidate," and "Tomorrow" -- were done in November 1996. Several other tracks were recorded in May-July 1997; of these songs, "President of What," "Champagne From a Paper Cup," "Pictures in an Exhibition," "Amputations," and "Line of Best Fit" were later re-recorded for Something About Airplanes (the differences between the original and re-recorded versions aren't incredibly interesting, but the songs themselves are good and they comprise only a small part of this collection anyway). "Flustered/Hey Tomcat!" (a showcase for tape manipulation that isn't particualarly interesting) and "State Street Residential" were originally recorded in December 1997 and March 1998 respectively; both were mixed in May 2002 for this album. "Wait," a cover version of a Secret Stars song, and "Prove My Hypothesis" were released on 7" singles in 1999; both were remixed for this album. "Song for Kelly Huckably" was recorded in July 1999 (a new recording was released on the Forbidden Love EP in 2000) and the original version, "Army Corps of Architects" (which was remixed for this album), was the B-side of a Sub Pop singles club 7" in 2000. As you might expect, the overall quality of the songs isn't quite up to the standard of the best Death Cab for Cutie albums, but it comes close enough to entertain fans who aren't die-hard completists. ~ Todd Kristel

Editorial Reviews
3 stars out of 5 - ...Death Cab make icily pretty music that conveys emotion through its lack of emotion...
Rolling Stone (20021114)