For many days now, the world has been wondering: Is Ben Gibbard taking the attacks on the Postal Service personally?
It’s not that the president issued a fatwah on the actual superduo made up of Gibbard (also of Death Cab for Cutie fame) and Jimmy Tamborello. But if anyone were going to rise to the defense of the United States Postal Service — the non indie-pop version — surely it would be the rock hero who sometimes shares the name?
And so it has finally come to pass. In a livestream performance for the Democratic National Convention’s social stream, Gibbard performed the Postal Service’s — his Postal Service’s — “Such Great Heights,” with a fervent dedication to the USPS.
“I think more than any election in my lifetime, this one is of paramount importance,” Gibbard said, prefacing the song. “And one of the many institutions outside of democracy that is very core that is under fire is that of the United States Postal Service. For those who are not aware, I was in a band called the Postal Service. We put out a record in 2003 and we made this music by sending CDs back and forth to each other… I think in the midst of this global pandemic, nothing is more important than to being able to vote safely and securely and vote by mail has shown to be that over and over and over again.”
Gibbard also performed a Death Cab for Cutie song, “Northern Lights,” for the two-song set, part of a series dubbed #TeamJoeSIngs.