Death Cab for Cutie were one of many indie rock bands that found an unexpected gateway to a wider audience through The O.C., but that newfound popularity came with a somewhat predictable side effect. During an appearance on 2004: The Year Indie Rock Broke, frontman Ben Gibbard recalled how being written into the teen drama’s plot expanded their audience substantially but also left many loyalists disgruntled. The growing pains that ensued were hardly unprecedented in their line of work, where wider exposure still comes at the expense of credibility.
Indie Rock and Mainstream Success
The group was referenced multiple times in the series as lead character Seth Cohen’s favorite band, with their songs “A Movie Script Ending” and “A Lack of Color” appearing in the first season. The band subsequently made a cameo on the show, where they can be seen performing “Title and Registration” and “The Sound of Settling” at a concert venue. The series introduced an entire generation of television viewers to music they might otherwise have missed, and played a key role in bringing wider recognition to several bands that would go on to become household names.
“You have this odd dynamic at the shows, where you have the OG fans who are angry, I guess, at us for having the music on the show, and then you have the people who are, at least at that time, probably not as immersed in the culture as the dyed-in-the-wool indie rock fans,” Ben Gibbard said during a recent episode of the podcast. “It was very obvious early on who had seen us on the show and who also had Blonde Redhead records. In our small little world, before 2003, we were Bleach, and then in 2004, we were Nevermind — on a much smaller scale, of course.”
Nirvana’s Similar Experience
The analogy is fitting. Nirvana’s 1989 debut arrived via independent label Sub Pop and made them fixtures of the Pacific Northwest’s underground punk and alternative rock circuit. The trio’s leap to superstardom after signing a major-label deal two years later brought on the same rift Ben Gibbard was talking about: the friction between day-one fans’ sense of ownership and the band’s newfound mass appeal. From Mac DeMarco to Turnstile, the push and pull between early devotees and newfound audiences has become a familiar story.
The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz also appeared on the same podcast episode and recalled the criticism he received from fans of Death Cab for Cutie who weren’t particularly thrilled about their crossover into television. “We did a panel for the show early on, and somebody raised their hand and was basically like, ‘I’m a Death Cab fan. Stop playing their music,’” he remembered. “I took it to heart. I was a fan as well.”
Lasting Influence of The O.C.
Of course, the show’s influence extended far beyond just one band from Washington state. The Killers, Modest Mouse, and Imogen Heap were just some of the now-celebrated names that gave The O.C. a second life beyond the screen. If you’d like to revisit The O.C. or watch it for the first time, you can purchase the complete series on DVD at Amazon.
In conclusion, Death Cab for Cutie’s experience with The O.C. is a prime example of the double-edged sword that is mainstream success. While it can bring a band to a wider audience, it can also alienate loyal fans who feel that the band has sold out. This is a phenomenon that has been seen time and time again in the music industry, with bands like Nirvana and Mac DeMarco facing similar challenges. Despite this, The O.C. remains a significant cultural touchstone, introducing many iconic bands to a new generation of music fans.
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