Give Up
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224229458
2008-07-07T22:13:57Z
J Milburn Bot
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All Music Guide has now been rebranded to Allmusic
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{{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = Give Up
| Type = studio
| Artist = [[The Postal Service]]
| Cover = PostalService_cover300dpi.jpg
| Released = [[February 19]], [[2003]]
| Recorded = December 2001 and 2002
| Genre = [[Indie pop]], [[electronic music]]
| Length = 44:59
| Label = [[Sub Pop]]<BR><SMALL>SPCD 595</SMALL>
| Producer = [[Dntel|Jimmy Tamborello]], [[Chris Walla]]
| Reviews =
*[[Allmusic]] {{rating-5|3.5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5su36j237180 link]
*[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]] (8.0/10.0) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/21005-give-up link]
*[[Popmatters]] [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/p/postalservice-give.shtml link]
*{{Review-Christgau|A-|album=12247}}
*''[[Rolling Stone]]'' {{rating-5|3}} [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/269117/give_up link]
| Last album =
| This album = '''''Give Up'''''<br />(2003)
| Next album =
}}
'''''Give Up''''' is the debut album by electronic pop duo [[The Postal Service]]. Released on [[February 19]], [[2003]], it was the second [[Sub Pop Records]] release to receive [[Music recording sales certification|gold]] certification, and was Sub Pop's best selling album since [[Nirvana]]'s ''[[Bleach (album)|Bleach]]''.<ref name="badger" /> The album peaked at #114 on the U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album chart and sold over 650,000 copies.<ref name="badger">{{citeweb|url=http://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2005/09/21/aging_album_maintain.php|title=Aging album maintains high sales|publisher=''[[The Badger Herald]]''|accessdate=2008-03-20}}</ref><ref name="chart" />
The band began as a side project between electronic music artist [[Jimmy Tamborello]] and [[Death Cab for Cutie]]'s vocalist [[Ben Gibbard]]. They had previously worked together for a track on Dntel's album ''[[Life Is Full of Possibilities]]''.
The album was generally well received, and critics commented on its throwbacks to the eighties [[new wave]] genre.
==Background and recording==
[[Image:PostalService color300dpi by Brian Tamborello.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ben Gibbard]], left, and [[Jimmy Tamborello]], right.]]The Postal Service's two members – [[Ben Gibbard]] of [[Death Cab for Cutie]] and electronic music artist [[Jimmy Tamborello]] – had previously collaborated on "[[(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan]]" before deciding to record a full length album together.<ref name="lazy-i">{{Citeweb|url=http://www.timmcmahan.com/postal.htm|title=The Postal Service: Special Delivery|publisher=Lazy-I|accessdate=2008-03-20|author=Tim McMahan}}</ref> The two worked on the album separately; in December 2001, Tamborello sent a [[CD-R]] of [[electronic music]] to Gibbard, who added [[melody|melodies]] and wrote [[lyrics]]. He then added [[drum kit|drums]], [[guitar]] and [[keyboards]] at Death Cab for Cutie guitarist [[Chris Walla]]'s recording studio and sent the CD back to Tamborello. This process of mailing each other their work on the album continued; after ten months and two trips by Gibbard to [[Los Angeles]] to record vocals, the album was completed.<ref name="subpop">{{citeweb|url=http://www.subpop.com/bio/the_postal_service|title=The Postal Service|publisher=[[Sub Pop]]|accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> They called themselves "The Postal Service" because of this method of trading ideas.<ref name="mtv">{{citeweb|url=http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/postal_service/artist.jhtml|title=The Postal Service|publisher=[[MTV]]|accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> [[Rilo Kiley]]'s [[Jenny Lewis]] provided backup vocals after being [[cold call]]ed by Gibbard, who knew her when Rilo Kiley was on the same label as Death Cab for Cutie.<ref name="lazy-i" /> The track "Nothing Better" also features [[Jen Wood]].
==Release and tour==
''Give Up'' was released [[February 19]], [[2003]] on [[Sub Pop Records]] in the U.S. It was awarded a [[RIAA certifications|gold certification]] on [[March 10]], [[2005]], the second Sub Pop record ever to do so.<ref name="riaa">{{citeweb|url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS|title=RIAA searchable database|accessdate=2008-04-12|publisher=[[RIAA]]}}</ref> It was later released in the UK on [[April 23]], [[2003]].<ref name="popmatters">{{citeweb|url=http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/p/postalservice-give.shtml|title=The Postal Service - Give Up|publisher=[[Pop Matters]]|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> [[As of September 2005]], it has sold over 650,000 copies.<ref name="badger" />
{| style="float: left; margin:1em;"
{{Singles
| Name = Give Up
| Type = studio
| single 1 = [[Such Great Heights]]
| single 1 date = January 2003
| single 2 = [[The District Sleeps Alone Tonight]]
| single 2 date = July 2003
| single 3 = [[We Will Become Silhouettes]]
| single 3 date = February 2005
}}
|}
The album led to three singles; "[[The District Sleeps Alone Tonight]]", "[[Such Great Heights]]" and "[[We Will Become Silhouettes]]", of which only "We Will Become Silhouettes" charted, reaching 82 on the [[Billboard Top 100|''Billboard'' Top 100]].<ref name="chart" />
In January 2006, [[Apple (company)|Apple]] released an advertisement (for the [[Macbook Pro]]) which was said to be very similar to The Postal Service's video for "[[Such Great Heights]]".<ref name="engadget">{{citeweb|url=http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/21/apples-ad-sinks-to-such-great-lows/|title=Apple's ad sinks to such great lows|accessdate=2008-04-12|publisher=[[Engadget]]}}</ref> Some created videos that played the advertisement and the music video side by side to make the resemblance clear.<ref name="boingboing">{{citeweb|url=http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/17/apples-tv-ads-are-a-.html|title=Apple's TV ad's are a rip-off of Postal Service video|accessdate=2008-04-12|publisher=[[BoingBoing]]}}</ref> It was later revealed that the advertisement had been created by the filmmakers who had made the music video. Ben Gibbard said on the band's website:
{{quote|It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers' new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for 'Such Great Heights' made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent.<ref name="pitchforkplagiarism">{{citeweb|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/2006/01/23|title=Postal Service Accuse Apple of Plagiarism|accessdate=2008-05-13|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]}}</ref>}}
The band did not take legal action, but Tamborello later stated in an interview that they "got a little bit of compensation from them for it" in the form of "attention from iTunes and stuff like that".<ref name="jiminterview" />
The [[United States Postal Service]] served the band with a [[cease and desist]] letter citing tarnishing and dilution of their trademark. The band initially considered renaming themselves, but eventually came to a settlement that involved the band playing at a conference and the sale of the album in the USPS online store.<ref name="directmag">{{citeweb|url=http://directmag.com/opinions-columnists/loosecannon/loose-cannon-postal-service-letter-law/|title=Loose Cannon: The Postal Service and the Letter of the Law|accessdate=2008-04-12|author=Richard H. Levey|publisher=DirectMag.com}}</ref> Tamborello later said of their conference performance: {{quote|It was really weird. When we found out we had to do it, it was really depressing, and it kind of freaked me out. I already don't like flying, and flying to play a show for people who probably aren't going to care – we only played two songs – it just seemed like a crazy trip. But then when we did it, and it ended up being kind of fun.<ref name="jiminterview">{{citeweb|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/37977-interview-jimmy-tamborello|title=Interview: Jimmy Tamborello|author=Dave Maher|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref>}}
The band toured the U.S. from April to August of 2003, including [[Jenny Lewis]] in the line-up for all but one of the performances. Lewis provided vocals where [[Jen Wood]] had sung on the album, as well as guitar and keyboards. In the sole performance that Lewis missed, a festival in Spain, friend Joan Hiller sang and [[Chris Walla]] played her guitar and keyboard parts.<ref name="rilokiley">{{citeweb|url=http://rilokileyplace.com/postalservice-gigo.htm|title=The Postal Service gigography|publisher=rilokileyplace.com|author=[[Jenny Lewis]]|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> [[Death Cab for Cutie]] bassist [[Nick Harmer]] was in charge of the tour's visuals.<ref name="lazy-i" /> Tamborello later said in an interview that Gibbard had been nervous about touring, as the audience may have been bored by what they saw as "a guy with a computer onstage". This was partly the motivation for using visual effects such as videos and lights, which included small films for each song.<ref name="lazy-i" /><ref name="jiminterview" />
==Lyrics and composition==
The album primarily deals with themes of love, as well as fame, history, and friendship.<ref name="popmatters" /> "Clark Gable" is about Gibbard making home movies with an ex and "Nothing Better" is a duet between a couple about to break up.<ref name="rollingstone" /> [[Allmusic]]'s Heather Phares compared "Nothing Better" to the [[Human League]]'s "[[Don't You Want Me?]]" and Gibbard later confirmed that "Don't You Want Me?" was the inspiration for the song.<ref name="subpop" /><ref name="amg" /> Gibbard said that "[[The District Sleeps Alone Tonight]]", "Brand New Colony" and "This Place Is a Prison" were the only songs that bordered on autobiographical.<ref name="subpop" /> He went on to say that "[[Such Great Heights]]" was the only song he had ever written that was positive about love.<ref name="subpop" />
Critics compared it to the eighties [[synth]] and [[new wave]] genres.<ref name="popmatters" /><ref name="rollingstone" /><ref name="amg" /> [[Pitchfork Media]]'s Matt LeMay and Phares both commented on the contrasts between the "cool, clean synths" and Gibbard's vocal melodies.<ref name="amg" /><ref name="pitchfork" /> Phares went on to liken "This Place Is a Prison" to [[Björk]]'s recent works.<ref name="amg" /> Death Cab for Cutie had previously covered [[Björk]]'s "[[All Is Full of Love]]" on their ''[[The Stability EP]]''.
==Critical reception==
Critics were generally positive about the album. LeMay gave it a rating of 8 out of 10, calling it "... a pretty damned strong record, and one with enough transcendent moments to forgive it its few substandard tracks and ungodly lyrical blunders".<ref name="pitchfork">{{citeweb|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/21005-give-up|title=The Postal Service - Give Up|author=Matt LeMay|publisher=[[Pitchfork Media]]|accessdate=2008-03-20}}</ref> Both LeMay and [[Pop Matters]]'s Devon Powers commented on the "clichéd", "cringe-worthy" lyrics of "Sleeping In".<ref name="popmatters" /><ref name="pitchfork" /> Michaelangelo Matos of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' said it was "a cuddly little [[new wave]] reverie", giving it 3 out of 5 stars.<ref name="rollingstone">{{citeweb|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/269117/give_up|title=The Postal Service - Give Up|publisher=''[[Rolling Stone]]''|author=Michaelangelo Matos|accessdate=2008-03-20}}</ref> Phares said that whilst the album was good, it did not measure up to either Gibbard or Tamborello's main projects.<ref name="amg">{{citeweb|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5su36j237180|title=Give Up review|author=Heather Phares|accessdate=2008-04-06|publisher=[[Allmusic]]}}</ref>
==Track listing==
All tracks by The Postal Service.
#"[[The District Sleeps Alone Tonight]]" – 4:44
#"[[Such Great Heights]]" – 4:26
#"Sleeping In" – 4:21
#"Nothing Better" – 3:46
#"Recycled Air" – 4:29
#"Clark Gable" – 4:54
#"[[We Will Become Silhouettes]]" – 5:00
#"This Place Is a Prison" – 3:54
#"Brand New Colony" – 4:12
#"Natural Anthem" – 5:07
===Bonus vinyl disc===
The [[Gramophone record|vinyl]] version of ''Give Up'' was released on [[November 9]], [[2004]]. It came with a bonus 12" of B-sides, covers and remixes:
# "There's Never Enough Time"
# "We Will Become Silhouettes" (Performed by [[The Shins]])
# "Such Great Heights" (Performed by [[Iron & Wine]])
# "Suddenly Everything Has Changed" ([[The Flaming Lips]] cover)
# "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" (DJ Downfall Persistent Beat Mix)
# "Such Great Heights" ([[John Tejada]] Remix)
The material found on the bonus disc is also found on the ''Such Great Heights'' EP and ''The District Sleeps Alone Tonight'' EP. No material from the ''We Will Become Sillhouettes'' EP is included on the bonus disc.
==Chart positions==
===Album===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4"| ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''<ref name="chart">{{citeweb|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=508421&model.vnuAlbumId=564476|title=The Postal Service Billboard Album Chart History|publisher=''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''|accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref>
|-
|align="center"|<small>[[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]</small>
|align="center"|<small>[[Top Heatseekers]]</small>
|align="center"|<small>[[Billboard_charts#Top_Independent_Albums|Top Independent Albums]]</small>
|align="center"|<small>[[Billboard_charts#Top_Electronic_Albums|Top Electronic Albums]]</small>
|-
|align="center"| 114
|align="center"| 1
|align="center"| 3
|align="center"| 1
|}
===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Single
! [[Billboard Top 100|''Billboard'' Top 100]]<ref name="chart">{{citeweb|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=508421&model.vnuAlbumId=564476|title=The Postal Service Billboard Singles Chart History|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref>
|-
| "[[We Will Become Silhouettes]]"
|align="center"| 82
|}
==Personnel==
*[[Benjamin Gibbard]] – vocals, lyrics, guitar, keyboard, electric piano, drums
*[[Dntel|Jimmy Tamborello]] – programming, accordion, keyboard
*[[Chris Walla]] – piano
*[[Jenny Lewis]] – backing vocals
*[[Jen Wood]] – vocals, backing vocals
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.subpop.com/bands/postalservice/album.php ''Give Up'' at Sub Pop records]
[[Category:The Postal Service albums]]
[[Category:2003 albums]]
[[Category:Sub Pop albums]]
[[Category:Debut albums]]
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[[ja:ギヴ・アップ]]