Ben Gibbard styrofoam couches in alleys by Tyler Shields

[hippiegirlsmile]

I am probably one of the BIGGEST fucking Death Cab fans out there... and am planning on buying Owl City on vinyl. I wouldn't closely compare them... but I think they're both worthy artists.

And WOW. I am not used to hearing Ben Gibbard auto tuned. I think I prefer him raw. :P

[DistilledtoIndieRock]

Great song. Thank you for the upload. I shared it a while back.

[momentsmeanmore]

Tyler could you please update this video w/ an HQ version?? Love it soooo much!!!!

[AllexGretta]

mika boorem <3

[Roackarul]

hey tyler

amazing video here, not to mention the heart-warming song

but i don't think i got the video, care to briefly explain it ? :)

[CYCLEUPHILL]

This is a superb video for a fabulous song. Good job!

[HeadbangingToJazz]

I like the touch of the auto-tune.. But I still think it would have sounded better without it. <3

[MarkDeeVee]

“We’re here to raise awareness about Auto-Tuner abuse” stated Death Cab front man Ben Gibbard “I think over the last 10 years, we’ve seen a lot of good musicians being affected by this newfound digital manipulation of the human voice, and we feel enough is enough.” “Let’s raise awareness,” he continued. “Let’s stop this, let’s bring back the blue note, and let’s really try to get music back to its roots of [having] actual people singing and sounding like human beings.”

Interesting...

[Lorcannnn]

@MarkDeeVee

the reason he uses auto-tune in this song is not because he is a bad singer, but for the effect the actual auto-tune makes. I could say more but that's pretty much the jist of it.

on another note, the girl in this video is extremely hot.

[aveslp]

@MarkDeeVee That's very different. He's referring to the use of autotune to cover up talentless singing. In this instance, it's used as an effect (several years before T-Pain and Kanye used it tastelessly to the point that it's hard to stomach anymore.) Also, since he's a guest vocalist on this track, it's very likely he recorded the vocals in the studio and Styrofoam decided to add on the effect later, possibly without his knowledge.

[Firenzieful]

Strong moments, definately!

[AllTimeSnowman]

I dont really understand the guy at the end in the supermarket.

I mean, its really great, i just really dont get why hes smiling like that

[SlwRiot4ZroKanada]

the cut in the middle is just god-awful though. why did you put it in!!!!

[ASFeldy]

this is the stupidest video ive ever seen u make me want to vomit please delete it for the sake of music

[amandaaam]

You still have no idea how much this video has impacted my life. I was in high school when I first discovered it, and talking to Tyler Shields at random via myspace, even my lame attempts to use words to describe this song's impact dont do near the justice I ever could. 4 years later... still in love..

[topazinmanhattan]

i mean, purenib, you compared *this* to OWL CITY?????? that's just sad (that anyone's ever wilfully listened to that trash and that, violating standards of common decency, that anyone would go further in comparing it to some of the best music out there)

[SlwRiot4ZroKanada]

i think i love you because of this comment. probably one of the best songs of my entire life. even future counting.

[BleedingSunday]

@topazinmanhattan

Well at first glance, its pretty much the same.

[topazinmanhattan]

lol poor 6eeyore9...it just goes to show how a little knowledge can be dangerous...I'm sure half the people who watch this (and most who comment) aren't familiar with Kerouac, Farrar, Gibbard, or Styrofoam

[6eeyore9]

do none of you idiots know the source?

[6eeyore9]

if you electro idiots knew him you would know his work with Jayy Farrar regarding this song..... this song is about Jack Kerouak you dumbasssssssssssssssss

[geowhit88]

Sounds like Owl City's lead singer

[purenib]

owl city sounds like him!!!!!

[shakemeshakeme]

like any of you idiots deserve a comment.

[ourselvesagain]

CREEPER at 2:44 and 3:05... this guy is giving me the creeps.

but I ABSOLUTELY love this.

[cestwen]

isnt this suppose to be about the video?

anyways the part at 3:28, where the girl in the black hoodie starts to laugh, is really really really pretty to me for some reason.

actually all the girls are pretty in this video

[dashinglorelai]

doesnt sound like autotune...i heard him sing this live sounded exactly the same! great song :)

[TheSkyFalling]

If he was using a mic live, there is an effect you can feed through it to autotune. I'm sure this was autotuned.

[randomrecord11]

@TheSkyFalling I have heard it live and he doesnt. In the studio they mixed with the beats and what not, they just lay multiple vocal tracks. But death cab and ben dont believe in autotune at all. I heard it acoustically and it was better to tell ya they truth.

[kato0291]

ben gibbard's using auto-tune. but i love it.

[NastyNatey]

Is he trying to be ironic? All of Deathcab wore blue ribbons to protest use of auto-tune in the music industry when they were nominated at the grammys..

[kato0291]

it's quite obvious here. i think it works, stylistically speaking. (as a vocal effect, as opposed to as a tool to "correct" ben's already stellar voice)

[SierraPapaFoxtrot]

Yeah and when they were asked about the whole thing they also said "A little bit of Auto-Tune is okay, just don't abuse it."

[TheSkyFalling]

Well, I think he was using it properly and artistically in this, not like flo rida or whatever other pop crap.

[HoldOnTightxx]

people!! this isnt the music video for the song thats why part of it is cut out, if you know tyler shields you would know he makes videos and this was basically just his interpretation of the song and he wanted to make something beautiful to go with it. this music video is creative and really good, how about you stop bitching about the 'real' meaning of the song and the whatever seconds of the song that is cut out and appreciate it, its just a god damn video on youtube shit

[charliemillerphoto]

right on brother.

[HoldOnTightxx]

haha its sister...but damn straight!

[the50s]

very underrated band and good video. who'se the girl ?

[speedraceremr]

this video is really overly dramatic and gay

[jessibellsaywha]

I absoulatly love this video

[avaxxsamantha]

death cab has a song called Styrofoam plates

[C0n7ent]

* Likes Gibbards acoustic interpretaion, doesn't understand video *

[chexee]

its about emo kids that smoke and look at each other. duh. its like the same exact thing the song is saying.

[MsDarrow]

From what I gather, I'm sure it's about a man cheating on mutliple girls, and they all(or just one) find out about it, and he pretty much is like "Say what? You found out?"

[SlwRiot4ZroKanada]

Fuck the music video, the song is amazing and doesn't need a visual crutch to be understood.

Ben is simply asking an author, Jack, a drawn out but simple question which is more of a statement

In the most direct way of saying what he is singing, you can't run from your shit because it will catch up to you and it will probably be worse than it originally was. He references the "rainsoaked and rotten remains" of his couches in alleyways. Think personal baggage.

This isn't even the whole song^

[MrsMe16]

Can't get enough of this song

[axelnightshade]

that's the most intense video ever

[Septtwosix]

Great video with an even better song :)

[CloseTheClub]

That girl is prettttty! :)

[Ryfasol]

This could be the actual music video, great job! 5/5

[missmarissa14]

Hey Jack it's me,

I don't mean to bother you but somethings been on my mind.

Oh Jack you see, I felt like your mirror with the wind whipping through my hair.

When the wheels ceased to spin and I cased my surroundings, I realized I hadn't gone anywhere.

When the problems I'd left with couches in alleys, where no one would ever claim.

And the hardest part was sifting through the pieces of the rain soaked and rotten remains when I got home.

[MineSweepingKent]

You should re-upload this in high quality.

[bullshotter]

what a terrible video for a brillliant song.

'Very excellent ideas for an amazing song'

...what ideas?!

[LovinThaDee]

I second that....if it wasn't for the amazing Styrofoam/Gibbard song, I'd demand Mr. Shields (who?) for my 4 minutes back.

[vanceoliver]

I don't really see how this video displays what this song is about.

The song is about

the book "On The Road" and

Jack is in reference to the author

Jack Keroac

It's an

"open letter"

to Jack Keroac

[orca222]

i dont rly understand the video. can someone kindly explain??? Y___Y

[elaynahaboush]

amazing

[dropxdeadxninja]

Brilliant(:

i am in loveee with this song..and thee video:D

well done(:

[motorishot]

I like this. Even though I can see it wasn't super-high-budget, it has that feel because of how artistic the execution is. Very excellent ideas for an amazing song.

[themanmaxx]

love styrofoam, love gibbards and all, but here's the problem: the music on the video skips and the second verse comes in too early at 1:45

fo real

[ubs16]

thats what makes it sound good and unique

[rainydazed8]

Love Ben. Love this!

[ICanSee045]

cuteeeee. i love this song!!!

[ubs16]

<3 <3 <3

[AutumnCanvas]

does anyone know the name of the girl that appears at 1:05-1:07 and shakes her hair?

[badgergrylls]

wonderful.

[AkashicStudent]

at :50, i had a girlfriend that always did that when she was stressed out from work or school or whatever, awesome song as well

[matthewhugheswidnes]

Who?

[imamonstrosity]

this just made me cry.

[TheProffesor10]

poetic inspiration, mainly cuz the girl i like loves this song

[dkeef16]

Ms.John soda, The notwist, Stars, Seabear

[nuttybone]

jeez man realy amazing video.

[nickle2012]

this song is amazing

love the video too

[bummercucumber]

I love this song, and the

video's pretty good, too.

=]

[bigolblob]

Great song, but it would be better without the autotuning.

[Raffizle]

yeah, i agree. it was pretty weird hearing ben gibbard singing with autotune. mostly because ive never heard him use it before. i think he used it to try and get a more electronic feel to the song.

[wooooooooooka]

i love this song. but not a lot of their other stuff. anybody else know of similar bands with a similar sound to this song?

[rossmorris]

Postal Service!

[malignifier]

that's because ben gibbard does guest vocals on this track by Styrofoam exclusively. "the postal service" or "death cab for cutie" are ben gibbard's main projects. i think this is probably my favorite song with his vocals though...

[trixyminx]

Death cab for cutie?

[fadkolenov]

Lali Puna

[LaceratedWings]

No, Ben Gibbard though (the singer from Death Cab).

[rossmorris]

Dntel

[hollywoodpurplehaze]

Funny how life can switch it up on you

[luvaddictx3]

that was awesome!

great song, awesome video! =D

[TheTrikster]

girls at 22, 25, 1:03, and 1:05 are all ridiculously hot. I think all but 1:03 are the same girl possibly.

[ninjaturtletommy]

creeper

[illbedamned1982]

Absolutely breathtaking. You are extremely talented.

[emo13ink]

pure art.whoever made this vid deserves to be famous.i love dcfc too.

[tylershieldsvideos]

thank you This video was made by Tyler Shields

[emo13ink]

thankyou.does he have a youtube acount?

[tylershieldsvideos]

check my subscribers

[emo13ink]

ok.thankyou

[TheTrikster]

doesn't it say t.shields as where the vid came from? i think that implies that he does.

[emo13ink]

u can never be too shure its the actual person.

[sajavoo23]

this is such a weird video but in a good way.

[ummooya]

this song makes me sad...

/:

[hollywoodpurplehaze]

i really relate to this 5 year brake up ouch

[zoeemichelle]

i love this tyler!

[ubs16]

the beat is perfect

[taintedlooveee]

anyone have the lyrics to this song?

[ubs16]

just type : 'styrofoam couches lyrics' on google

[taintedlooveee]

thanks (:

[anonymousssvideos]

Tyler Shields Directed the video Ben Gibbard is the singer!

[xactivegirlx]

who the flip is Ben Gibbard

[ubs16]

hes the lead singer of the bands 'the postal service' and 'death cab for cutie'

[mbnemesis]

who the fuck is tyler shields?

[firetheft77]

i think the dude that made this video. not bad.

[ubs16]

exactly

[RainbowsOnLegs]

He's also a photographer and makes other cool music videos. He's an amazing guy and really nice when you talk to him.

[bananamama5]

so gooooooooooooooooooood.

[Leandermeanders]

tyler shields is a fucking legend

lol

[HarleyP89]

That was completely amazing tyler shields is fucking awesome.

[caelywhite]

SUCH a good song.

[skoolgig]

this is like watching a pornographic video but better..... not

[magazine9000]

Romanek, Gondry, and Fincher are great So is Tyler Shields the director of this!

[modelcitizen73m]

Romanek, Gondry, and Fincher called me and asked me, "What is going on with this Postal Service guy video?"

[redleader7]

Ben Gibbard is a flippin Genius...

[magazine9000]

I love this Video it makes me cry

[classybetch]

christian spoke of your talent

amazing composition

and concept

[mrumrum]

weird :)

[xtsgfx]

I fucking love Tyler Shields

[Doodaars]

Someone still makes lovely songs

[crazylittlegrace]

I love all the truth in this song. Running never helps.

[mercystreet1986]

When I first heard this song on the radio in Seattle, it made me cry. I don't know why it had that effect on me though. Maybe it was something in Ben Gibbard's voice.

[xHarlequinxGirlsx]

wow i cried...this song is beautiful...corny as it may sound i can relate to this...but then again im pretty sure a lot more people out there can also relate to it...wow..still crying...this really takes me somewhere else

[infinity843]

such a great video but that looks NOTHING like mika boorem. go to 1:04, then compare that to a picture of mika. NOTHING ALIKE. is that really her?

[Mikachu9]

it is her

[maleenoodle]

i get what most of this is about, but i can't really figure out if the two guys are a couple, and they're trying to run away by being with these girls? i'm not really sure. but i love this song and i love the video.

[LaLaX13]

hey thats the girl from that lifetime movie augusta gone & sleepover i think. lol i love this video.

[missmarissa14]

this video makes me cry everytime, or drift off to no where in my mind. its like a silent love. and all the girls seem to be drifting off to no where and how he, he approaches them, like on the road with the girl in teh dress, the bed, the ground lying head to head, it seems so, idk romantic??

[tropical55085]

The video is sort of related to the song, the point of the song is this guy trying to run away from all his problems, but then what happens when he gets 2 the end of the road and realizes hes run as far as he can but its never far enough because running away doesnt solve things. the problems are like couches in alleys cuz no one else will ever take them upon themself to solve or fix. thats why he references Jack Kerouac because Jack wrote that book On The Road and it has a similiar theme

[ThinkCredulously]

I couldnt agree with this comment more, your like 100% correct. thank you for clarifying this for me, now i understand this song i have been listening to for a month.

[jerk54]

wow, that is an amazing explination of an amazing song, i really appreacite that

[xxmikeymurderxx]

who is the girl at 1:04 and in most of the video?

she's gorgeous.

[senget13]

Mika Boorem baybee!

[wowATyrface]

i think this is amazing; honestly, yr intake on people's emotions, and the girl crying, very realistic, very emotional. excellent.

[joeneedstosleep]

a) not really a smooth removal of the music between the lyrics

b) the only emotions in this video that didn't seem utterly robotic were when the characters were either crying or incredibly happy. everything in between seemed really stiff.

maybe i'm just closed to deeper meanings right now, but i don't think this video has anything to do with the song.

[courtneyxcore14]

haha the girl from sleepover was in there !

good vid

[TheBpac]

That was the most incredible video, its the first time ive felt emotional in probably two years.

[alicat979]

This is so stunning. I can't even begin to explain how much I adore it. There is just so much emotion, and it is captured so beautifully.

[zedleppelinX]

gahh

her hair is so hot

in the scene

where the guy's wearing a fedora

[littlelisa415]

absolutely breathtaking. i have goosebumps. excellent job!

[martinmckerl]

this is beyond fucking AMAZING

[kdjamethyst]

there's like 40 seconds of the song not here...

[Sam18Rx]

Amazing

[aznstoner]

ummm... it skipped a verse

[xfearbeforealex]

what is this song about?

[sarabarra]

the song is about being scared of settling down - what to do once you've found what you've been searching for. Jack is Jack Kerouac.

I don't know how it ties into the video, though.

[scottdills]

I don't think it's about settling down. It's about running away from your problems like you leave a couch in an alley. The couch gets "rain-soaked and rotten" and is still there and maybe worse when you get back, like how your problems are still right there where you left them. "Hey, Jack" he's asking Jack Kerouac for his advice on what to do. Something like that.

[GAT0RAID]

I can't stand this because of how much emotion there is in it. It just makes me want to explode. You are incredibly talented.

[grayrobot]

i want to be a model

the emotion is so real

i can't stomach it

[closetdoors]

tyler shields, you're great

[uglyponyy]

its by tyler shieldssssss

[Psyanide0395]

This is just beautiful. :]

A really impressive video.

[makepunkyours]

wow this is so good. whoever edited that video is really good too.

[dredgpwnz]

where did u get this?? its odd i have no clue about this??

[pdcabra21]

amazing!

[shangbeep9]

good job.

[dirkpham]

Does anybody know where I can find a copy of the whole video?

[Khrysttel]

This is such a beautiful video, can't get enough of it, it never gets boring like other songs and the beat is unforgetable ^_^

[gabriel1990gab]

does anyone know

how i can download this video

to put it in my ipod?

[lipchap]

Ben Gibbard is amazing. Hands down, my favourite vocalist.

[caitlinduh]

You are amazing. This is beautiful.

[lnb61390]

Ben Gibbard + Tyler Shields = Love.

[felseylax29]

Well... There's an actual couch... in an alley! I'd still want to be raped by this song though.

[mrdinosaurawr]

how were you able to save this video from tylersheilds?

[urfaveweapon13]

this is such a beautiful video