The Postal Service was an American indie pop supergroup from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals.
named after: United States Postal Service
real name: Jimmy Tamborello, Ben Gibbard
members: Ben Gibbard, Jenny Lewis
formed in: Seattle
labels: Sub Pop
genres: indie pop
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The group formed after Ben Gibbard contributed vocals for a song by Jimmy Tamborello called "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan", from the Dntel album Life Is Full of Possibilities. The song sparked an EP of remixes of other artists, including Lali Puna, The Flaming Lips, Safety Scissors, Barbara Morgenstern and Superpitcher, and was so well-received that the two artists decided to further collaborate. The third member of the band, Jenny Lewis, recorded vocals for several tracks before eventually becoming a full-fledged member of the band, sharing vocals and instrumentation in their live shows. The group were influenced by acts such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Depeche Mode and the Human League.
Underlined songs have their story further down.
"Such Great Heights" is a song by American indie pop band The Postal Service. It was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, Give Up, in 2003 through Sub Pop Records.
The single includes a previously unreleased track, "There's Never Enough Time", and two cover tracks by The Shins and Iron & Wine of "We Will Become Silhouettes" and "Such Great Heights", respectively. It reached its peak at 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart.
"Such Great Heights" came together late in the recording process, and was one of the last songs the duo the Postal Service completed in June 2002. Its genesis came together "incredibly quickly," according to Ben 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, "where it's a song about being in love and how it's rad, rather than having your heart broken."
The music video for "Such Great Heights" was directed by Josh & Xander, and premiered in April 2003.
Ben Folds covered "Such Great Heights" on Australian radio station Triple J in 2006, using a piano, forks, tin foil, and glass. He also played the song live during shows from 2006 through 2010.
"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 and Styrofoam.
The title track has been used in a Honda Civic commercial. Indie band The Shins recorded an acoustic cover of the title track, which was included as a B-side on the Postal Service's earlier single "Such Great Heights".
The video for this song, directed by Jared Hess, consists of incongruously lighthearted footage of a family (consisting of band members Ben Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello, frequent collaborator Jenny Lewis, and two young children) playing and singing the song, then riding bicycles into the desert and, at the very end, watching the sun set in the distance. Their odd clothing, the worn down houses they pass by, abandoned streets, and the lyrics may suggest the video takes place far in the future, post-nuclear attack.
The song was covered by Jenny and Tyler in 2013 as a part of their For Freedom EP.
The song was used in the trailer for the 2009 film Funny People, and also appeared in the movie Love Happens the same year.