Death Cab, like Radiohead, is one of those bands that I play all the time to the point that I wonder if it’s healthy for my son.
To give you an example, one day we were driving along the countryside in Dekalb county (Georgia, Atlanta area). It was a bright and sunny day, and as always iTunes was piping through the stereo. Death Cab’s “I Will Possess Your Heart” was playing. And my 5 year-old was singing it verbatim.
I realized that this must have been the thousandth time he’d heard this tune, and for a moment I wondered if it was normal, after all it’s a pretty intense song.
But then again, what is normal? I recalled the dark and hyper-sexualized songs I’d grown up listening to and never caught the real meaning until I was in college (some even later, like Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” I had absolutely no idea that was about reaching orgasm until the new millennium, but I’d never seen this banned version of the video either, eewww!). I figured he’d be fine as long as I continued to balance out the Death Cab with Backyardigans, The Wiggles, The Muppets and less dark, more family-friendly bands like Coldplay and U2.
This particular tune has a play count of over 300 in my iTunes. That was after my computer crashed and wiped out my play counts. It’s right up there with the most popular songs from my Blood To Blood playlist, but ironically it’s not on that playlist. Nonetheless, I crafted a good amount of Justin’s interior monologue while listening to it:
I imagined Justin saying these lyrics, or something like them, in his head whenever he spent any time with Angel:
How I wish you could see the potential,
the potential of you and me.
It’s like a book elegantly bound but,
in a language that you can’t read.
Just yet.
You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart.
You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart.
There are days when outside your window
I see my reflection as I slowly pass,
and I long for this mirrored perspective
when we’ll be lovers, lovers at last.
You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart.
You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart.
I will possess your heart.
I will possess your heart.
You reject my… advances… and desperate pleas…
I won’t let you… let me down… so easily.
So easily.
You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart.
You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart.
You gotta spend some time, Love.
You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find, love
I will possess your heart.
I will possess your heart.
I will possess your heart.
That’s *so* Justin. Wow. Now that I’m thinking of him again, I need to run and write some more of the Justin story I’ve been working on.
