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''Give Up'' is the only studio album by American electronic duo
the Postal Service The Postal Service was an American indie pop group from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Dntel, Jimmy Tamborello (also known by his stage name, Dntel), and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band relea ...
, released on February 18, 2003, by
Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...
. The Postal Service was a collaboration between singer-songwriter
Ben Gibbard Benjamin Gibbard (born August 11, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums, and as a membe ...
, best-known for his work with indie rock band
Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...
, and musician Jimmy Tamborello, who also records under the name
Dntel James Scott Tamborello, (born 1975) also known by his stage name Dntel , is an American electronic music artist and DJ. Aside from his main solo project, Tamborello is also known as a member of the groups The Postal Service, Headset, Strictl ...
. Gibbard rose to prominence in the early 2000s as frontman of Death Cab, while Tamborello gained a
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
as a pioneer of contemporary
glitch music Glitch is a genre of experimental electronic music that emerged in the 1990s, which is distinguished by the deliberate use of glitches in audio media and other sonic artifacts. The sounds featured in glitch tracks usually come from audio recordi ...
and
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
. The two first collaborated with the song "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan", for Dntel's debut LP, '' Life Is Full of Possibilities'' (2001). The album is a long-distance collaboration between Gibbard, who lived in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington, and Tamborello, who resided in Los Angeles, California. The duo named the project for their working method: the pair would send demos on burned
CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can only be Write once read many, written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) ...
's through the mail, adding elements until songs were complete. The LP's sound contrasts manipulated samples and keyboards with live guitar and drums—a sound some have described as "
indietronica Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
". Tamborello was responsible for the programming, while Gibbard wrote lyrics, provided vocals, and contributed additional instrumentation. ''Give Up'' also features guest appearances from vocalists Jen Wood and
Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child ...
, as well as musician
Chris Walla Christopher Ryan Walla (born November 2, 1975) is an American musician, record producer, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Musical career Early bands While at B ...
, another Death Cab for Cutie member. ''Give Up'' was released with little promotion—its creators embarked on a brief tour, but otherwise returned to their main projects. Despite this, the album grew in popularity steadily in the ensuing years, bolstered by the singles " Such Great Heights" and "
We Will Become Silhouettes "We Will Become Silhouettes" is a single by American indie band the Postal Service, released February 8, 2005, under the Sub Pop Records label. The single included a new track "Be Still My Heart" and two remixed tracks by Matthew Dear ("We Will B ...
". By the end of its first decade, it had sold 1.2 million copies in the U.S., making it Sub Pop's second-biggest selling album in its history. It also courted a trademark battle with the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
and a dispute with
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
. Despite its popularity, ''Give Up'' stands as the duo's only studio album. In 2013, the group briefly reunited for an anniversary tour and reissue of the album. In 2023, the band embarked on a 20th anniversary tour.


Background

The Postal Service is a collaboration between singer-songwriter Ben Gibbard and electronic musician
Dntel James Scott Tamborello, (born 1975) also known by his stage name Dntel , is an American electronic music artist and DJ. Aside from his main solo project, Tamborello is also known as a member of the groups The Postal Service, Headset, Strictl ...
(Jimmy Tamborello). Gibbard rose to prominence in the early 2000s as frontman of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, while Tamborello gained a cult following as a pioneer of contemporary
glitch music Glitch is a genre of experimental electronic music that emerged in the 1990s, which is distinguished by the deliberate use of glitches in audio media and other sonic artifacts. The sounds featured in glitch tracks usually come from audio recordi ...
and
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
. In 2001, Tamborello released his first album under the Dntel moniker, titled '' Life Is Full of Possibilities'', which features several guest vocalists. The LP featured the duo's first collaboration, with the song "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan". The pair had met through Tamborello's roommate, Pedro Benito, who was in the indie rock group the Jealous Sound, a band that had toured with Death Cab. When Gibbard stayed at their apartment for several days, Tamborello recruited him to contribute to the album. Gibbard and Tamborello came from distinctly different musical backgrounds, and did not know each other well. Tamborello—then based outside Los Angeles—came up as a member of the
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
band
Figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...
, with whom he'd released two albums. Gibbard, meanwhile, had released three albums with his indie rock outfit Death Cab, who were based in Seattle, Washington. The band nearly disbanded after an argument on tour in October 2001; after returning home, the group decided to take a brief hiatus, setting the stage for a side-project. Though the pair did not initially connect on a personal level in a strong sense—with Gibbard more sociable and Tamborello often reserved—they continued to collaborate. Gibbard suggested the two release an
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
(EP) of their work. Tamborello had contacts at famed Seattle-based record label
Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
, best-known for releasing albums by
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
and
Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet We ...
. Tony Kiewel, who had gone to college with Tamborello, had recently began working for Sub Pop in their A&R division. He proposed that they release a full-length album as opposed to an EP, noting that the former received more attention than the latter. "If you're going to do it, do a full album," he told the duo. "People will review it, and you can sell it for three times as much." The duo signed a joint record deal with Sub Pop, and work on what became ''Give Up'' began in earnest in December 2001.


Recording and production

The production process behind ''Give Up'' involved Tamborello, based in the L.A. community of Silver Lake, sending Gibbard, living north in Seattle, pieces of
instrumental music An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer t ...
on burned CD-Rs. Gibbard would pick up the disc from Sub Pop's corporate office and return to his home in the Capitol Hill district. He would insert the CD into his portable
Discman was a brand name used by Sony for their portable CD players. The first Discman, the Sony D-50 or D-5 (depending on region), was launched in 1984. The Sony brand name for Discman changed to CD Walkman, initially for Japanese lineups launched ...
player and walk around his neighborhood, humming melodies to the music. He also carried a notebook to compile his ideas, which he would use when home to write lyrics. Gibbard would then manipulate the recordings on his laptop, augmenting the beats with additional guitar, keyboards, and live drums. He dubbed his home studio "Computerworld". Gibbard, who had always found composing music to be more difficult than writing lyrics, found the arrangement particularly appealing. "It was really great to get a little package every month or two – 'Two new songs!'" he noted in 2002. "Sometimes I'd say, 'I want to move that part and this part,' and it was really fun to have such autonomy in the writing; I could pretty much do whatever I wanted." Tamborello, operating from his L.A. home studio he called Dying Songs, contributed more-or-less finished bed tracks. The first two songs he sent developed into "Brand New Colony" and "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight", which were completed over the course of a week. The pair worked at a pace of two or three songs per month. As Gibbard did not know Tamborello very well, he was nervous he would not respond to his contributions positively. "I really thought he was gonna be like, 'How dare you do this to my songs?'" he said. Initially, Tamborello was challenged by Gibbard's vocal suggestions. "When you're just writing the music, you come up with your own vocal melodies. But Ben's ideas were totally different," he told the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. The two were relative strangers from distinctly different musical backgrounds; "It was like having to work on the album and make friends at the same time," he admitted. Tamborello admitted he expected the album to be more experimental than it turned out to be. The album has several guest musicians, including Jen Wood, a solo artist formerly of the band Tattle Tale, and
Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child ...
, then known for her work with
Rilo Kiley Rilo Kiley ( ) is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consists of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel. The group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landing ...
. Wood had previously toured with Death Cab, and she and Gibbard were longtime friends. He invited her to contribute via e-mail, and the resulting session took only two hours. Wood provides backing vocals on "Such Great Heights" and "Nothing Better". Next, Gibbard phoned Lewis to gauge her interest, who was at that time recording with Rilo Kiley in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
. She excitedly agreed to join the project, and the two met for the first time when she picked Gibbard up from the
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
airport. She recorded her contributions over a period of several days; on the final LP, over half of the album's track listing features her backing vocals, which were recorded in Tamborello's bedroom. Additional recording on the LP took place at the Hall of Justice, a studio in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, during the spring of 2002.
Chris Walla Christopher Ryan Walla (born November 2, 1975) is an American musician, record producer, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Musical career Early bands While at B ...
, a member of Death Cab, had purchased the studio two years prior. Walla recorded the live accompaniment, and guested on piano on "Nothing Better". Though the initial press release for the album states that it was completed in ten months, other sources claim it was completed in half that time. Gibbard flew to Los Angeles only twice during the production of the album. The first was to oversee Lewis's contribution, and also record additional vocals. The duo came to feel that Gibbard's original demo vocals were better, and they discarded much of the new vocal takes. The second trip was to be involved in the mixing process. Both musicians mixed the album in Tamborello's bedroom; he noted that it was simply too involved a process to conduct via the mail. Ironically, despite the final name they chose for the project, they did not use the United States Postal Service as a
courier A courier is a person or organization that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
; the CDs were sent through either
FedEx FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company specializing in Package delivery, transportation, e-commerce, and ...
or
UPS UPS most commonly refers to: * Uninterruptible power supply, a device which provides continuous power to electronics * United Parcel Service, an American courier company UPS or ups may also refer to: Companies and organizations United Parcel S ...
. Kiewel remarked in a 2013 interview that ''Give Up'' was one of the "cheapest records Sub Pop ever made." Though he withheld the final number, he revealed the project had a very small budget, and that when combined, the five LPs the label distributed that year cost less than $50,000.


Composition

''Give Up'' is considered a combination of indie rock and electronic music—dubbed by some "indietronica".
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's Brian Wallace described the sound of the album as a collision between "moody indie rock with the manipulated samples, keyboards and beats of IDM electronica." Programmed elements are accentuated with acoustic guitars and live drums. Critics compared it to the eighties
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...
and new wave genres.
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
's Matt LeMay and
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Heather Phares both commented on the contrasts between the "cool, clean synths" and Gibbard's vocal melodies. Nearly every synthesized element on the album uses the Kurzweil K2000RS, a sampler. The device came with bass and synthesizer presets, though Tamborello would significantly alter each preset to make it more original. His computer at the time was a
Macintosh Quadra The Macintosh Quadra is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Inc., Apple Computer, Inc. from October 1991 to October 1995. The Quadra, named for the Motorola 68040 central processing unit, replaced the Macintosh ...
, which was not sufficiently powerful enough to record audio with. Tamborello used it as a sequencer, controlling the K2000RS with
MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...
. He would program the drum patterns in the computer. He also used an Apple
PowerBook G4 The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by t ...
, a small laptop computer, to record the album. Lyrically, the album touches on themes of love, as well as fame, history, and friendship. On both ''Give Up'' and ''Transatlanticism'', the Death Cab for Cutie album released the same year, Gibbard lyrically explores distance and "the ability of relationships to survive eparation" Gibbard noted that "District", "Brand New Colony", and "This Place is a Prison" were the only strictly autobiographical songs: "Everything else is just kind of daydreaming and coming up with ideas for songs that aren't necessarily based in reality, and I think that was a lot more fun for me to do because I'd never really done that before," he said in 2002. Alexia Loundras of the BBC observed that the album offers a melancholy but hopeful sentiment. Portions of ''Give Up'' were inspired by the break-up of what Gibbard called his "first real adult relationship." The split occurred because of how much time Gibbard devoted to music. Afterwards, his former partner relocated to Washington, D.C., which inspired "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight". "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" opens with a series of moody, deep-sounding chords designed to emulate the sound of an organ—an edited version of a K2000RS preset called NeoProfit. The first half of the song's drum programming was inspired by the
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
album ''
Homogenic ''Homogenic'' is the third studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 22 September 1997 by One Little Indian Records. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell (British musician), Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, and Markus Dra ...
'' (1997), while the second half, with its
four on the floor ''Four on the Floor'' is a 1999 compilation album consisting of songs by bands on Panic Button Records. It features four tracks by four of the labels bands, Screeching Weasel, Moral Crux, Enemy You, and The Teen Idols The Teen Idols were a pop ...
pattern, was inspired by the work of
Lali Puna Lali Puna is a German, Munich-based electropop band originally from Weilheim in Oberbayern, Germany. History Valerie Trebeljahr, the lead writer and singer, comes from Busan, Korea. The name of the band, meaning ''Valerie from Busan'', refere ...
and the German record label Morr Music. Gibbard wrote "Such Great Heights" as a love song for a girl he was interested in at the time. He noted that the relationship ended rather quickly, rendering the song's meaning rather pointless. The song came together late in the recording process, and was one of the last songs the duo completed in June 2002. Its genesis came together "incredibly quickly," according to Gibbard, who felt it "seemingly came out of nowhere. It did feel that there was some sort of spiritual transcendence happening and the song being beamed down to me." For Gibbard, the song was a thematic departure from his more melancholy subject matter: "I think 'Such Great Heights' is the first time I've ever written a positive love song," he told ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', "where it's a song about being in love and how it's rad, rather than having your heart broken." "Sleeping In" alludes to
Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...
, the man responsible for
assassinating Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
U.S. President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
in 1963. "Nothing Better" is a duet with Wood, and functions as a conversation between the two. The track was directly inspired by
the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...
's "
Don't You Want Me "Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synth-pop group the Human League (credited on the cover as the Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, '' Dare'' (1981). The band's be ...
". In "Clark Gable", named after the famed twentieth-century actor, Gibbard sings of making
home movies A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...
with a former lover. "We Will Become Silhouettes" centers on an impending apocalypse. It was inspired by a
survivalist Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists, doomsday preppers or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, and other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, ...
phase Gibbard went through after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, where he felt convinced the world was soon to end.


Commercial performance

''Give Up'' has been considered a
sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...
—its reaction was initially muted, but grew steadily via
word-of-mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
in the following years. The LP arrived with virtually no promotion; besides the ensuing tour, there was "little mainstream press, and
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
asconfined to college stations and
public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
." In its first four months of release, it moved between 2,000 and 3,000 units per week. During the week of Christmas in 2003, the LP had its overall best sales, selling 9,000 copies in a week. Through their relationship with the
Alternative Distribution Alliance Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...
, Sub Pop began to carry the album at larger retailers, such as
Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...
,
Virgin Megastore Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street. In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenh ...
, and
Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...
. Megan Jasper, then the general manager at the label, estimated that Best Buy moved the most product of the three. ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Michael Paolettta broke down that sixty percent of its sales at that time came from retail chains, thirty percent through independent record shops, and the remaining ten percent from "mass merchants and nontraditional sellers." "Such Great Heights" was the album's first single, released as a physical, four-track CD single in January 2003. The duo both jokingly referred to it as "the hit" of the album when writing it. The disc charted on ''Billboard''
Hot 100 Singles Sales The Hot Singles Sales, also known as the Hot 100 Singles Sales and the POS chart, was a music chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling physical singles in the United States, such as CD singles, vinyl single ...
chart, a ranking that only measured in-store purchases. Sub Pop offered a free download of the song on their official website, which had been downloaded over nine million times by August 2005; over four million users downloaded the song from the label's
MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
page. In January 2004, influential L.A. radio station
KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...
began playing "Such Great Heights", which bolstered the album's popularity. An acoustic rendition of the tune by
Iron & Wine Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live alb ...
aided in boosting its profile; both were simultaneously popular, with Iron & Wine's version used in the film and soundtrack for '' Garden State'', as well as in television advertisements for M&M's. The original version was licensed for commercials for
Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
,
Ask.com Ask.com (known originally as Ask Jeeves) is an answer engine, e-magazine, and former web search engine, operated by Ask Media Group. It was conceptualized and developed in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen (based in Berkeley, Califo ...
, UPS,
Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...
, and
Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP) is an American integrated delivery system, integrated managed care consortium headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield, Sidney R. Garfield, the ...
. The song was the original
theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
to medical drama ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'', and appears on its first soundtrack. Within two years of its debut, "Such Great Heights" was certified gold for sales of over 500,000 copies by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). "
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" is a song by the electronic music band The Postal Service, the second Single (music), single from their debut album, ''Give Up'', released July 8, 2003 on Sub Pop, Sub Pop Records. The single included a cover o ...
", the album's second single, peaked at number 3 on the
Hot Dance Singles Sales The Dance Singles Sales was a record chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling dance singles in the United States. Its previous names include Hot Dance/Disco 12-inch Singles Sales (1985–1987), Hot Dance Mu ...
chart. The LP did not debut on ''Billboard'' all-genre
Top 200 Albums The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recordi ...
chart until thirteen months after its release, which was credited to its slow-building online buzz and licensing in TV commercials. During its initial release, the album peaked at number 114. It spent 111 weeks altogether on the
Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...
chart, peaking at number three, and also peaked at number four on its
Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...
chart. ''Give Up'' spent nineteen non-consecutive weeks at the top of the publication's
Top Electronic Albums Top Dance Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums and Top Dance/Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling dance music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by Nielsen S ...
chart; in total, it logged over 90 weeks on the chart. It was number two album for that chart's year-end ranking for 2004, with ''Billboard'' Paoletta characterizing it as " the little album that could." Sales of the album and singles on the nascent iTunes Music Store were high, with ''Give Up'' also routinely topping the platform's Top Electronic Albums chart. By this time, the project's principal members had moved on to other projects, and their newfound mainstream success came as a surprise. For the music industry, its success was also unexpected; Paoletta viewed it one of "2004's biggest surprises." Kiewel was initially convinced the album could sell between 10–20,000 copies, though Tamborello "scoffed" at the idea. It became Sub Pop's second biggest-selling album in their history, second only to Nirvana's ''
Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...
'', which was released in 1989. The RIAA certified ''Give Up'' gold in February 2005; that month, the band released a third and final single from the LP, "
We Will Become Silhouettes "We Will Become Silhouettes" is a single by American indie band the Postal Service, released February 8, 2005, under the Sub Pop Records label. The single included a new track "Be Still My Heart" and two remixed tracks by Matthew Dear ("We Will B ...
", backed with a new song, "Be Still My Heart". The single charted best in Canada, where as a
double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
single the songs reached number seven on the national charts. Domestically, it was a mild crossover hit, peaking at number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 2005. Sub Pop tapped ''
Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...
'' director
Jared Hess Jared is a given name of Biblical derivation. Origin In the Book of Genesis, the biblical patriarch Jared () was the sixth in the ten pre-flood generations between Adam and Noah; he was the son of Mahalaleel and the father of Enoch, and lived ...
to helm the song's music video. Both clips for ''Give Up'' attracted rotation on the
Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...
network and
MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...
's ''Subterranean''. Over a decade past its release, the RIAA certified the album platinum in the U.S., indicating over one million copies sold. Chris Payne of ''Billboard'' considered "a testament to its ongoing popularity and influence." The tenth anniversary reissue of the album reached a new peak of number 45 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in April 2013. As of that year, ''Give Up'' had sold over 1.1 million units in the United States.


Critical reception

''Give Up'' was generally well received by music critics. It holds a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregate site
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Will Hermes Will Hermes (born December 27, 1960, in Jamaica, Queens, New York City) is an American author, broadcaster, journalist and critic who has written extensively about popular music. He is a longtime contributor to ''Rolling Stone'' and to National P ...
of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' wrote that "Ben Gibbard radiates claustrophobia, so the shut-in synth-pop of this side project fits him like a leotard", calling ''Give Up'' "the near-perfect pop record that's eluded his main group." ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
''s
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
praised the album's "staying power" and felt that "Gibbard's delicate voice matches the subtle electro arrangements far more precisely than it does the folky guitars of his real group". Reviewing ''Give Up'' for AllMusic, Heather Phares opined that while the album does not measure up to either Gibbard or Tamborello's main projects, it is nonetheless "far more consistent and enjoyable than might be expected." Michaelangelo Matos of ''Rolling Stone'' described the album as "a cuddly little new wave reverie" and wrote that "Tamborello's delightful pings and whistles fit Gibbard's whimsy perfectly." Devon Powers of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' remarked that "like any worthy match, the coming together gives each aspect assets that they'd be wont to find otherwise", concluding that the album "integrates the human and the humanoid to give soundtrack to the disconnected, yet earnest escapades of contemporary emotional life." Matt LeMay of ''Pitchfork'' called the album "a pretty damned strong record, and one with enough transcendent moments to forgive it its few substandard tracks and ungodly lyrical blunders". ''Pitchfork'' placed ''Give Up'' at number 104 on its list of the 200 best albums of the 2000s. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''Give Up'' as the decade's 86th best album.


Controversies

In August 2003, the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
(USPS) served the band with a
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...
letter citing tarnishing and dilution of their trademark. The band initially considered renaming themselves. Gibbard traveled to Los Angeles and met with representatives for the agency to come to a consensus. In the end, the duo inked a licensing agreement with the agency; the deal specified the duo could continue to use the name if it agreed to promote the actual U.S. Postal Service. The album was then sold on the USPS's official website, and its music used in advertisements. The two also performed at the annual USPS convention in Washington, D.C. in November 2004. Tamborello, in an interview with
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
, said the affair seemed "depressing" at first, but ended up "kind of fun". They performed only two songs, and briefly met with the
Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government official ...
. He noted that "Everyone was sort-of in on the joke." In 2006, the duo courted further publicity when they shared their discomfort with an
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
commercial, advertising a partnership with
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
, that shared similarities with the "Such Great Heights" music video. The two both share imagery of " space-suited scientists working in a sterile, futuristic laboratory." Both the TV spot and music video were helmed by the directorial team of Josh Melnick and Xander Charity, who were approached by Apple to re-create the video. All parties failed to inform Gibbard and Tamborello, or Sub Pop, until one day before it began airing. Gibbard shared a statement on the duo's official site, calling it a "shot-for-shot re-creation" and claiming disappointment that it "was executed without our consultation or consent." Apple later promoted the "Such Great Heights" clip on the main page of the iTunes Music Store, prompting it to become the most-downloaded video on the site for a time, ahead of videos by
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
,
Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' ...
and
The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...
.


Touring

The Postal Service—consisting of Gibbard, Tamborello, and Lewis—promoted the 2003 release of ''Give Up'' by touring that year. Nick Harmer, bassist of Death Cab for Cutie, joined the trio on the trek, managing the group and the visual accompaniment that was projected behind their performance. Rjyan Claybrook Kidwell, touring under the stage name Cex, was the opening act on the inaugural tour. All five musicians, plus their merchandise manager, toured in one van and slept in one motel room together. Gibbard looked back with humor on touring in such close quarters with people who were largely strangers to him. He acknowledged that with typical bands, touring could sometimes grow tiresome. Instead, he equated the band's initial tour to a honeymoon phase, noting that the six were largely having fun and drinking heavily. Initially, their
booking agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainment ...
had trouble explaining the project to promoters; Gibbard noted that the only selling points were that it featured members of Death Cab and Rilo Kiley. Despite this, The Postal Service sold out half of the venues they first performed at. As the album grew in popularity, some venues had to be switched to larger rooms to accommodate more fans—the final Los Angeles date of the trek switched from a 300-seat room to a 1500-capacity. "You could really see physical proof of the album getting popular as we went across the country," Tamborello recalled. The Postal Service toured for five weeks in the U.S. throughout April–May 2003, and two overseas in Europe that June. "It was a really fun tour, and then we all went back to our day jobs. Things kind of got crazy after that," Gibbard recalled.


Tenth anniversary tour

In 2013, The Postal Service reunited in celebration of the album's tenth anniversary, performing to larger crowds at much bigger venues than a decade prior. Lewis joined the band for all of the dates, which also added Laura Burhenn from
the Mynabirds The Mynabirds are an American indie pop band founded by singer-songwriter and pianist Laura Burhenn, who was previously one half of the Washington, D.C., indie duo Georgie James. Burhenn formed the Mynabirds in 2009, and shortly after signed t ...
on vocals and keyboards. The tour ran between April and August 2013 worldwide, upgrading from club capacity to arenas, such as New York's
Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...
. The group also performed at several festivals, including
Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...
and Sasquatch! stateside, and
Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as Primavera) is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish Noise rock, noise ban ...
in Spain. Tamborello noted in an interview that the original laptop he had employed in the album's making had over time failed, and he had to piece together the original stems from various external hard drive backups. The tour ended with an appearance at
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
in Chicago. Gibbard announced that the Lollapalooza after-show, performed at local club the Metro, would be the last Postal Service performance, formally ending the band's career. The following year, the band released a feature-length documentary
concert film A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...
titled ''Everything Will Change'', filmed during a stop of the tour in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
; a remixed live album of the same name was later issued in 2020. In addition, the Creators Project (a partnership between Intel and
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
) produced a 15-minute documentary on the tour and the album, titled ''Some Idealistic Future''.


Legacy

''Give Up'' was released during a period in which
independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties aff ...
first began to garner mainstream interest. It has been considered "one of the touchstones of a new generation of indie music." It was suggested that its success was a reaction to more heavy or aggressive indie rock, such as
the White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...
or
the Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
. In addition to the younger indie fanbase, the album also connected with older listeners, who appreciated its synth-pop influences. ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' editor
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young (American musician), Adam Young, who created the project while exp ...
and
Passion Pit Passion Pit is an American indie pop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formed in 2007, frontman and keyboardist Michael Angelakos is the band's primary recording member. As a touring act, the band currently consists of Angelakos (vocals, syn ...
. ''Give Up'' represented Sub Pop's second biggest-selling album in its history, only behind Nirvana's ''Bleach'' (1989). The Postal Service eclipsed
the Shins The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...
and
Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat was a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed to Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and Warner Records throughout the majority of their career. The band has released five full-lengt ...
as the record label's most popular act in the early aughts. Gibbard has remarked that between ''Give Up'' and Death Cab's ''
Transatlanticism ''Transatlanticism'' is the fourth studio album by Rock music, rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on October 7, 2003, by Barsuk Records. At this point in their career, the group had toured and recorded for nearly a half-decade. With tensions ...
'', "I’ve never had a more creatively inspired year." Though the album was by all accounts immensely successful, ''Give Up'' still stands as the Postal Service's only album. From its genesis, its creators intended it as a one-off experiment. Still, Gibbard and Tamborello continued to collaborate in the intervening years, this time sending their music to one another using the Internet. The duo completed two original songs in 2006—"Turn Around" and "A Tattered Line of String"—before determining the project should remain in the past. Both tracks, and the bulk of the rest of the band's recorded output, feature on a bonus disc of the tenth anniversary reissue of the album. As for the future of another album, both musicians have considered it unlikely. Gibbard said that the moment captured something special: "It was just this moment that was very inspired and unique." Tamborello concurred: " 'Give Up''came together in such a natural way that I feel like if it happens again, it has to feel like that, and maybe that's impossible."


Track listing

Note *The
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
version of ''Give Up'' was released on November 9, 2004, and featured a bonus 12" of B-sides, covers and remixes, all of which can also be found on the ''Such Great Heights'' and ''The District Sleeps Alone Tonight'' EPs:


Personnel

*
Benjamin Gibbard Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
– lead vocals, guitars , additional keyboards , electric piano , drums *
Jimmy Tamborello James Scott Tamborello, (born 1975) also known by his stage name Dntel , is an American electronic music artist and DJ. Aside from his main solo project, Tamborello is also known as a member of the groups The Postal Service, #Other projects, He ...
– keyboards, synthesizers, programming, accordion , electric drums, production, glitching *
Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child ...
– backing vocals *
Chris Walla Christopher Ryan Walla (born November 2, 1975) is an American musician, record producer, and film music composer, best known for being a former guitarist and songwriter for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Musical career Early bands While at B ...
– piano * Jen Wood – backing vocals , vocals


Chart positions


Week-end charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links


''Give Up''
at
Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...

''Give Up''
at
Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...
* {{Authority control 2003 debut albums The Postal Service albums Sub Pop albums