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When producers of the Showtime series "Weeds" asked Death Cab for Cutie to cover "Little Boxes," the band knew it wanted its version of the song to sound different from the original.
The quirky, fast-tempo waltz by folk singer Malvina Reynolds opens the series each week. But come next season, premiering Monday, the comedy that stars Mary Louise Parker as a pot-peddling widow will feature a revolving door of artists from Elvis Costello to Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley performing the theme song. Up Monday, Aug. 21 — Death Cab.
"Everybody's probably going to do folk versions or cover
it just the way it is," says Ben Gibbard, whose band kicks off a two-night engagement at the Greek on Sunday. "We wanted to be the complete opposite. So, ours sounds like Death Cab trying to be early XTC."
Giving a classic like "Little Boxes" the rock band treatment isn't like Death Cab, which tends to steer clear of other people's music for the most part.
"We're not the kind of band that has a repertoire of 100 cover songs," Gibbard says. "But any opportunity we get to be forced into a situation where we have to learn a new song is probably good, especially since we've been on tour since the beginning
of time and will be until the end of time."
Death Cab for Cutie began in 1997 as the first of many solo projects for Gibbard, who's also known for his band the Postal Service.
Prior to its inception, he recorded as All-Time Quarterback. But that band was eclipsed by the underground success he began having with Death Cab, which borrows its name from a song by the '60s Brit-rock ensemble Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
And so, Gibbard began assembling a team of musicians.
Death Cab released its "Something About Airplanes" debut album on the Barsuk label a year later. Its early days would see band members come and go. But the lineup solidified by the time Gibbard and company Nick Harmer, Jason McGerr and Chris Walla began work on 2003's breakthrough "Transatlanticism."
It made Death Cab one of the most popular indie-rock bands in the country — at least until the band made the move from Barsuk to Atlantic Records in 2005.
That same year Death Cab issued "Plans," which Rolling Stone called "their sharpest so far" and mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, praised for its "heartfelt meditations on morality," thanks in part to Gibbard's "intensely introspective lyrics" and the band's "unapologetically
dramatic arrangements."
The combination is a winning one, earning the band recognition on "The O.C.," widespread radio play, magazine covers, soundtracks and now the opportunity to reimagine a quirky tune about suburban monotony for an episode of a hit cable-TV show.
You can hear Death Cab's version of "Little Boxes" on Aug. 21.
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
Where: The Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles.
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
Tickets: $30 to $44.50. (213) 480-3232 or www.ticketmaster.com.
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Sandra Barrera,
(818) 713-3728 sandra.barrera@dailynews.com | 
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