I knew the record was doing well, but they're moving some serious units now...

The Postal Service gets Gold Record award for hit album 'Give Up'

The Postal Service, the ethereal indie-pop/electronic-music side band formed by Ben Gibbard of Seattle's Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, will receive an RIAA-certified Gold Record award for the runaway hit album "Give Up."

The group will receive the award tonight at the Coalition of Independent Music Stores conference at The Triple Door nightclub.

To date, "Give Up" has sold 566,548 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's the second-biggest seller in Sub Pop's 17-year history and the Seattle indie label's first Gold Record since Nirvana's "Bleach." Gold Records are certified and awarded by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of more than 500,000 copies.

The Postal Service made news last fall when the U.S. Postal Service accused the band of copyright infringement, then reversed course and agreed to use the band to help promote the government agency. The group rarely performs because Gibbard and Tamborello live at opposite ends of the West Coast and are usually busy with their principal bands.

Damn
I did'nt know they were that popular.
Did they release a new single?

doesn't surprise me.

I noticed this about a month ago. Their album is still in the "Heatseekers" chart in Billboard, which means their record has never been in the Top 100 of the Album chart.

It's a word-of-mouth smash mostly thanks to The OC, I'm betting.

i keep reading this thing as "the postal service go bald"

Keep your fantasies to yourself!

"We Will Become Silhouettes" was getting a ton of airplay on 99.9 here in Chicago. 99.9 (aka "Nine" and simulcast on 92.5 and 92.7) is a newish "we play anything" format that does a good job of mixing it up (for commercial radio). I'm sure there are other stations across the country with similar formats, as this is the "big new thing," and most likely they were also tracking this song. Surprisingly, Nine has a bigger playlist than WXRT (4000 vs. 2400 songs according to a recent article).

In conclusion: Yay for PS!

ç

I have always wanted a gold vinyl record.

Subpop continues to be a great label.


I should sign up for their monthly single series...