Mark Kozelek + Ben Gibbard Discuss Jealousy, Jenny Lewis + More in E-Mails

No, the NSA hasn't turned its attention to middle-aged indie rockers. Not openly, at least.

Back in November, the Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek and Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard shared an e-mail exchange with the Thread in which the old buddies opened up about everything from Cameron Crowe's 'Almost Famous' to the gentrification of San Francisco. Because they "had such a nice time catching up, they kept at it" and the site has posted a continuation of the conversation.

In the new series of e-mails, Kozelek admits that he was slightly jealous of Gibbard's side-project, the Postal Service -- and Gibbard said he can relate. “I totally get that jealousy virus thing," he said. "For me, the writing/recording process has always been the hard work, with touring being the reward. When I'm struggling to finish an album, I can get irrationally envious of my friends who are on their own personal victory laps. Thankfully it goes the opposite way, too.”

The pair also discuss what it's like to see bands who once opened for them go onto huge success. Kozelek talks about not knowing who Modest Mouse or the Shins were when they first started playing together. "[The Shins'] first tour was opening for RHP, and we didn't pay attention to them at all," said Kozelek. "Nobody was there to see them. We'd show up at the end of their set. A year later, all I heard about was the Shins."

Gibbard also says seeing a show by his Postal Service collaborator Jenny Lewis helped him continue writing Death Cab's upcoming album, 'Kintsugi,' after guitarist Chris Walla announced he was quitting. "[Lewis] inspired some moments on the record I was struggling with and gave me some ideas about how our band could move forward," Gibbard said.

The pair also touch on the loneliness of touring Europe, the appeal of boxing and much more in their exchange. You can read the entire exchange here.

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