Before Its Time: The Doomsday Heartache of the Postal Service

Back in 2003, before the United States Postal Service was at risk of imploding, its biggest kerfuffle was the cease and desist letter they sent to a certain indie band.

This band, of course, was the Postal Service—the new project of Ben Gibbard, who had already established himself in Pacific Northwest rock by this point as the frontman of Death Cab for Cutie. The USPS accused Gibbard and his bandmate, producer Jimmy Tamborello, of violating the agency’s trademark mere months after their only album, Give Up, was released to generally positive acclaim.