In 1998, the now-defunct TRL launched its reign over pop music, the Backstreet Boys and Third Eye Blind topped the charts, and an unknown band called Death Cab for Cutie released their first album, Something About Airplanes -- a carefully-crafted collection of tunes recorded in a house in Bellingham, Washington. Ten years later the band is still making songs but have since moved labels from Barsuk to Atlantic Records, made their own mark on MTV (recently winning a Video Music Award for the song “I Will Possess Your Heart”), and captivated boys and girls the world over who appreciate a little erudition with their music. This year saw the release both of Death Cab’s sixth studio album Narrow Stairs (which reached #1 on the Billboard chart in its debut week, scoring the band their first number-one album and a couple of Grammy nominations) as well as the re-release of Airplanes, with a bonus disc of the band’s first Seattle show in February of 1998. Ben Gibbard spoke to us about the re-release, his budding acting career, and the unintended benefits of being stung by a scorpion.

When it comes to road-trip music—and vehicles—Death Cab for Cutie are out of time.

CHRIS WALLA

1. "The One Thing,” from the third INXS record. Still the best.
2. "Mr. Roboto,” by Styx. Please tell us your secret.
3. Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long (All Night).” I love this song. (I love.)

Music makes images seem more urgent, or poignant. That’s the beauty of the video for "I Will Possess Your Heart," the 8-minute-plus single from Death Cab for Cutie’s upcoming album Narrow Stairs. Ben Gibbard doesn’t start singing until more than halfway into the song, and for that first bit, we’re watching a lone girl wandering through city streets and temples, sleeping on planes, waiting for trains. But it matters. The sonic urgency increases, and we wait for Gibbard to chime in, to serenade the girl we’re following. The song and the video are beautiful in their simplicity, and they know that all they need is each other to make perfect sense. Take a look for yourself after the jump.