THE POSTAL SERVICE

One of the few things that could have made this poster better is if the headliner was, in fact, The Postal Service.

Two Saturday’s ago we played a good show in Reno, NV. The spot we play is a tiny bar called Satellite. I’m going to call it our “spot” because we’ve played there at least four times, not counting that one time at a different venue through the same promoter—or the show we’re doing there in ten days. Shows at Satellite are fun. The crowd is always young and excitable, and they’re not going anywhere else anyway, so you know someone close to your age and drunk will be ready to get down.

Another cool thing about Satellite is that the employees and owners are friendly and attractive. That Saturday, the only thing better than the drink specials was the bartender’s iPod mix. In quick blurs of audacity, she would cut off a recognizably great song (like the blurpy first seconds of “SexyBack”) and, in a flash, be playing something totally better.

The primary example being this peach gumball from electronic artist John Tejada: a remix of Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” Tejada slows it down; if James Scott Tamborello’s original mix was a frantic, impassioned dash towards distant love, Tejada makes it a confident jog, like indie rock Fabio Lanzoni approaching Jenny Lewis on a white sand beach in the South Pacific. Oh my god, I just reread that last sentence. So “crit.”

When this came on at Satellite, it wasn’t instantly recognizable. But when Benjamin Gibbard’s vocals drop, sounding even clearer at the slower speed, I melted. I found the remix on iTunes. Turns out it sounds great when it’s not Saturday night in Reno, too. The things you learn in The Biggest Little City In The World.



Click to download “Such Great Heights (John Tejada Remix)” by The Postal Service, from the album Give Up as remixed by John Tejada.




The video for the original, un-remixed “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service.


The video of “We Will Become Silhouettes” by The Postal Service. Directed by the guy that did Napoleon Dynamite and featuring Jenny Lewis.

The Postal Service’s WEBSITE.
The Postal Service on MYSPACE.
The Postal Service on PUREVOLUME.
The Postal Service on LAST.FM, where, according to wikipedia, the song “Such Great Heights” has been in the Top 10 most played songs list since the website's inception.
The Postal Service on WIKIPEDIA.
The Postal Service on ELBO.WS.
The Postal Service on HYPEMACHINE.
The Postal Service on AMAZON.
Learn about the upcoming release from Tamborello’s other project, Dntel.
Support The Postal Service’s LABEL.