Be Better Than Good with Ben Gibbard: Live From Home

We have often, in the past, cited the complexities of the world in which we’re living. The moral intricacies of being a functioning human being in this world could never be far from anyone’s mind, what with the accessibility of information and the connections made resultantly bare between the purchase of a pack of Uncle Ben’s Fried Rice and the climate-destroying release of toxic quantities of methane and nitrous oxide, and the tacit support of civil war era racism.

But now we’re in a new kind of reality where it would seem that morality is a little less complex and more akin to the simple axiom, “don’t be a dick”. Mainly because the catastrophe we’re facing is collectively fear-inducing, the rules for avoiding proliferation of the problem have been made very clear and also, thanks to a lot of people being dicks, there’s no more fried rice on the bloody shelves, rendering that moral quandary obsolete.

It’s catastrophes like this pandemic that generally bring populations together (in a figurative sense). And with that axiom in place it can be difficult to define oneself. We all now know the simple rules to follow to be a good person, but without the middle class moralities of a pre-pandemic society, the question of how to differentiate oneself as even better than someone who doesn’t rob an old woman of a marble rye Seinfeld-style has arisen.

The answer?

Indie alt rock.

Yes, Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard has begun a series of live-streamed performances from his home studio, as many fans continue to self-isolate due to the coronavirus outbreak. Dubbed ‘Live From Home’, the shows will see the singer perform from his home studio, where he may be joined “digitally” by various guests. Fans will also be able to request songs.

Despite the world being thrown into the kind of chaos which more clearly defines the difference between good and bad, there is one thing that remains an indestructible indication of one’s superiority: blasting Ben Gibbard from your open window.

The world will return to normal. But your neighbours will never forget the days of the months-long quarantine when all they saw was a hunched silhouette and all they heard was Champagne From a Paper Cup.

That’s credibility you just can’t get without a global epidemic.

 

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