Chris Walla, Death Cab For Cutie

What more can be said about Seattle-based indie-rock group Death Cab For Cutie that hasn’t already been written in a hundred Spin articles. The band is now a decade old and still going strong, as evidenced in the release of their latest album — Narrow Stairs. Rolling Stone had this to say about their sound: ‘melodic, melancholy songs about feeling both smart and confused, hopelessly romantic but wary of love’. And so it is. We got the inside word on what they’ve been playing on their stereos from guitarist Chris Walla.

10cc / I’m Not In Love
It’s just a phase I’m going through.

Blood Brothers / Nausea Shreds Yr Head
It’s hard to know exactly how to make it in a post-Blood Brothers world. I have great hope for Jaguar Love.

So Many Dynamos / In Every Direction
These guys are good friends from St. Louis, which is our Wakefield, for anyone who cares.

Via Audio / We Can Be Good
As true a story as one can write. Jess Martens nailed this song.

David Zinman, Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta / Symphony No. 3: II. Lento e largoTranquillissimo
The first movement from Gorecki’s third symphony is my favourite, but it’s an album only purchase, which makes more sense in context. This record is quickly becoming one of my all time favourites.

Sloan / In The Movies
Andrew’s songs are often overlooked, which is sad, because they’re usually great. This is one of them.

Robert Wyatt / Vandalusia
Robert Wyatt is one of my heroes, and Old Rottenhat isn’t one of the records people typically come to first, but it’s the one I found in a bin someplace when I was fifteen, and I love it dearly. Vandalusia could be an anthem for the disenfranchised illegal immigrants in our country. I wish I knew the real story.

Emily Haines and the Soft Skeletons / Doctor Blind
Emily Haines may be my favorite modern songwriter and Knives is a gorgeous, narcotic haze of a record.

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