Death Cab For Cutie, Transatlanticism, and The Secret of NIMH Theory
After a few users commented on my Transatlanticism at 20 Years video covering Death Cab For Cutie from earlier this year, noting similarities between the album art and the 1982 children’s animated film The Secret of NIMH, I decided to do an exploration into the thematic elements of the two. In this video, I take a look at The Secret of NIMH, in particular the character of Jeremy Crow, and do a deep dive into the thematic elements of the 2003 album. Transatlanticism by indie rock band Death Cab For Cutie.
DISCLAIMER: There’s a fair share of analysis here. Some of it is pulled from sources online, and others draw from my own interpretations of the artwork, the lyrical content, and the conceptual nature of the album.
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Lore of the Transatlanticism Cover Art
1:55 A Brief Overview of The Secret of NIMH
2:36 What You Need to Know About Jeremy Crow
4:42 Transatlanticism: Transportation and Distance
8:11 Transatlanticism: Love, Longing, and Heartbreak
12:28 The Symbolism of Crows
15:14 The Red Thread of Fate
16:57 The Verdict: Correlation vs Causation
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WATCH NEXT:
✓ Transatlanticism at 20 Years: https://youtu.be/ZgElJ8WqJZE
✓ 7 Fun Facts About Pixies’ Doolittle: https://youtu.be/RqHVyf084Mc
✓ My 10 Most Listened to Albums on Vinyl: https://youtu.be/P8r5YLkABH4
🎥 FensePost Covers Death Cab For Cutie: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLylroYWVYWWXGsWTH-Q6vDxJb3LL2WULF
Check out the Transatlanticism album by @abigaildevoe here: https://youtu.be/zr8F5fypke4?si=ajx3SYiyB62Ogh3I
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GET THE GOODS:
🔥 Transatlanticism 20th Anniversary: https://amzn.to/47ih8aR
🔥 The Secret of NIMH on Prime Video: https://amzn.to/47eGTbU
🔥 The Secret of NIMH DVD: https://amzn.to/3G5lYMt
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#deathcabforcutie #transatlanticism #thesecretofnimh #secretofnimh #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #vinylunboxing #vinylreview #albumreview
@AndyFenstermaker
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
Next, check out my album review of Transatlanticism at 20 Years Old: https://youtu.be/ZgElJ8WqJZE
@iancomings7098
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
I cannot possibly describe the level of disappointment felt when I realized this was referring to a music album titled transatlanticism as opposed to the political movement calling for greater integration between the USA and Europe through organizations such as NATO
@TheRealGovika
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
OMG no wayyyy you're talking about my favorite album of all time. This is gonna be good
Edit: Wow just read the pinned. Checking out the review now!
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
sorry. i actually think i'm the problem after that last one. i thought it was a joke, but i think i just called myself all the way out. they tell you to dance and i throw peanuts and call it deconstruction. i'm sorry. you're a person, a person i don't know apart from your public persona, but i thank you for this thought provoking content. when i can see my comments i frequently rethink them and take 'em down f no one has responded, but if someone has it'd be cheating to take down then and i'd have to use my words to express why i was wrong
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
thanks. i love it! i hadn't heard of this red string of fate, but it's a thread i can readily weave into a tapestry i've been weaving, and sometimes unweaving, lol! can't unsay it, i'm taking it with me, but how 'bout i throw you a scooby sn- i mean sub
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
yeah, maybe in the story it's not so accidental, what i said a moment ago, now that you got me thinking. the story is about what you'll do for family. mrs frisby/brisby moved a giant (to her) cinderblock for love, with love. jeremy is tied by his quest for a mate into a cycle of commodity seeking and even the rats, even though they vary on how, want the best for their community (and yeah, personal glory too)… and we all do what we can against the cat
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
it's probably not intentional, nor relevant to your point, but it's there, the string, and the "shinies", are commodoties, valued not in and of themselves, but as a signifier of jeremy's fitness as a mate
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
i live near a lot of crows this time of year
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
most of the time better of dead was on right after the secret of nimh, when cartoon express finally wrapped up after all morning and afternoon sunday
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
oh yeah, the movie that taught me to hate jack black and peter gabriel, and john cusack until being john malkovich, when i had so enjoyed better off dead, probably because i wanted to kill myself, and of course the funny paperboy…2 dollars
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
ja, he's a regular samwell tarley when you frame him that way, a real brave coward
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
oh yeah, leia, luke even han, i sure didn't like any of them, as people, especially yoda. them jedi are worse than the catholics on their worst day, but still insignificant next to the bene gesseret. like, seriously? you think tatoine is a desert world? as yakov smirnov said, on tatooine you need protocol drone to talk to the vaporators which draw moisture from the atmosphere, on arakis atmosphere draws moisture from you! hey, come to think of it, i hated all the atreides too( almost, sheanna was kinda okay, but wild atreides dna) they only looked good next to harkonnens
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
well, cause that hot rat was pretty important, and timothy was instrumental, the struggle between meanie bo beanie and nicodemis, and we all do what we can against the cat, dragon, so jeremy was pretty important for a ly-ber driver
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
oh, thanks. i thought my brain was stroking out a mandela effect, btw, in my home universe, they're the brown stain bears
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
ja, i grew up on that film
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
yeah, youtube broke reading for me and it only took 15 years… or maybe it was ollie. the first half of mrs. frisby and the rats of nimh is the last book i read, a year ago… well, last month, slaughterhouse 5 and 1 1/2 y.a. slice of life dealies. i'm like juaquin told the marquis in quills now, a poor writer who writes more than they read. i'm a particularly prolific yt commentor
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
thank her, you'd pull off encyclopedia brown with that hat, at best
i'm really proud of that sentence
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
you're welcome
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
yeah, i'm still here, but just cause that cover… you're on to something. hey what i want to know
different bandwhat is in a burning black hole in devon? i know a cover of time is not something one wants to be… or how 'bout this what was tori amos talking about ever? (besides her vag, thank you gene belcher, ik she's not subtle) ok, i sound nuts, but it's good for al gore's rhythm@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
well, makes me feel unwelcome. good luck to you, mate! keep the click
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
ugh! why's everything always gotta be alice in wonderland. i guess at least it's not oz, chocolate factory or titanic, but still… not even looking glass once in a while? btw, where's my other comment? i felt bad for you you didn't have any but if you're blocking them [shakes fist]
@intellectually_lazy
April 30, 2026 at 10:42 pm
idk, until recently i just thought that band was all about some dying lady… is it?
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