Tag Archives: The National

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New National: Laugh Track (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)

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Video: The National – “Laugh Track” (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)

Directed and animated by Bernard Derriman. From Laugh Track, out now on 4AD.

I often think about the tweet where a guy went to see the National in concert: “The singer asked ‘how’s everyone doing tonight?’ and the guy next to me shouted ‘I’m getting a divorce’.”

That’s still funny.

Losing my momentum, losing my mind
Not enough to mention, not enough time
I can’t even say what it’s about
All I am is shreds of doubt.

Sure, the National is the embodiment of sad sack dad rock. But apparently the kids dig ’em. And why not? As Phoebe Bridgers recently told Amanda Petrusich in the New Yorker, “Something middle-aged men and teen-age girls have in common is the act of finding yourself, and being kind of self-conscious. Maybe some beliefs that you’ve held on to for a long time are finally being shed. The teen-age girl in me is obsessed with the National, and feels very spoken to and seen by them, maybe for the exact same reasons that they speak to middle-aged men.”

So there.

The National: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
Shorties

New National: Your Mind Is Not Your Friend

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Video: The National – “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)

Directed by Jackson Bridgers. From First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, out April 28 on 4AD.

The song is good but the video is definitely worth watching. Matt Berninger’s brother Tom is our protagonist who’s having a bit of a psychotic episode at a playground. It’s a little flippant in its portrayal of mental illness but it still manages to be moving at the same time. You sympathize with Tom as he mopes around the playground, wanting to feel better. Teenagers are laughing at him and he’s making moms uncomfortable. (Phoebe Bridgers’ cameo is perfectly executed.)

You are like a child
You’re gonna flip your lid again
Don’t you understand?
Your mind is not your friend.

In the video Matt Berninger represents Tom’s mind, promising him joy but leading him astray. It’s goofy but well done. Directed by Phoebe’s brother Jackson, who also directed the video for the very first song we ever heard by his sister, her duet with Conor Oberst “Would You Rather” from way back in 2017. Lots of brotherly love going on here.

The National: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
Shorties

New National: Eucalyptus

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Video: The National – “Eucalyptus”

Directed by Chris Sgroi. From First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, out April 28 on 4AD.

At this point every time the National releases something new, we have to ask if it would’ve made a better Taylor Swift song, right? In this case, I think it was the correct decision to keep it for themselves. If Taylor’s going to write a divorce anthem she’s not going to argue about divvying up the Cowboy Junkies and Afghan Whigs records.

Matt Berninger says, “Throughout the record there’s a lot of looking into the abyss and wondering if a relationship has run its course. ‘Eucalyptus’ is about a couple splitting up their possessions after a breakup — like, ‘What are we going to do with the spring water we get delivered, what’s going to happen to all these plants?’ It’s about all those little things you end up having to think about when you’ve become so connected to someone.”

It’s still weird to me that this band is as famous as they are. I like them fine, and I think “Bloodbuzz Ohio” is one of the great songs of its era, but what I like is rarely a good barometer of determining whether or not something will be popular. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The National: web, bandcamp, amazon, apple, spotify, wiki.
Articles

Lollapalooza 2010, Day 3: Where’s the Skateboards?

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LollapaloozaI had really wanted to sleep in on Sunday. But at 6:30, my three-year-old demanded my attention. “Papa! PAPA! PAH PUHHHHHH!” And with that, my day began. Not atypical for a Sunday morning, but most of my Saturdays these days are not spent running ten miles back and forth across a park all day while pounding beers and falafel.

So we got the idea to bring my kid down to Lollapalooza for a couple hours. We figured we could eat some breakfast, get dressed, and get down there by noon, hang out in the “Kidz” area for a while, take a quick peak at Johnny Marr’s latest band at 2pm, and then head home, drop him off with the sitter, and head back in time for Erykah Badu at 5pm. Perfect plan, right?

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Articles

The National – High Violet

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The National - High VioletThe National – High Violet (4AD)

I didn’t think a band was supposed to work this way in these times: follow up the most successful album of your career with one that could potentially become the least likely to succeed.

But I can’t say enough about High Violet, the National‘s fifth album and most ambitious release to date, not only in terms of how its woe ultimately takes the wind out of any momentum that Boxer may have provided it, but how focused, smart, and goddamn good it sounds in those dark corners of personal abyss.

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Sasquatch! Music Festival Lineup Announced

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Sasquatch Festival 2010 Being relatively new to Portland I am still getting up to speed on the various summer festivals out this way. One that gets the most talk is the Sasquatch Festival, which true to Pacific Northwestern ways includes camping in the Columbia Gorge. Getting in and out of this festival can be a challenge, I’m told, but who cares when you can return to your Westy for a nap and a couple veggie burritos?

This year’s line up looks pretty tasty, by the way, including the recently reunited Pavement, Massive Attack, My Morning Jacket, Ween, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Kid Cudi, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Band of Horses and others.

Marking it’s ninth year, this year’s Sasquatch Festival returns to The Gorge in Quincy, WA May 29-31 (Memorial Day Weekend).

Tickets go on sale Saturday, February 20 at 10:00am through TicketMaster (booo!!!).

Camping is available for May 28, 29, 30 and 31 and can also be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com

Sasquatch Ticket Information

Beginning February 20:

Single tickets, per day / $70.00

Discount 3 day pass / $170 (available on sale weekend only)

February 20—May 23:

Single tickets, per day / $70.00

May 24—May 28:

Single tickets, per day / $80.00

Day of show:

Single tickets, per day / $86.00

Full line-up after the jump…

Our recent Festival coverage:

Lonely at Lollapalooza 2009

Rothbury 2009: Not a Dead Head? You’d Still Have a Blast

Scion Rock Fest 2009

Notes from the Pitchfork Music Festival

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The National: Live in Milwaukee

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The National Live in MilwaukeeThe National, Pabst Theater

Milwaukee, September 21, 2007

“You know, the last time we played Milwaukee there were about 20 people,” bewildered guitarist Bryce Dessner remarked midway through The National’s set to the screams of a packed audience. The National has been making a slow yet steady rise in the collective consciousness of the music world ever since 2005’s Alligator topped critics’ year-end lists, and whether this theater was packed because of indie-kid-blogosphere-bandwagon-hopping or genuine appreciation for the music is unclear and frankly irrelevant.

The appetite of this crowd was insatiable, fed on a diet of 2007’s excellent Boxer, and if anything their performance was an indication that indie rock truly belongs to the masses now, considering the fact that a great portion of the audience looked like the type of guy who would have kicked the band’s asses in high school, standing like tree trunks in the front row and repeatedly calling for them to play “Fashion Code.” This is not exactly new, this Frat Guy Takeover of Indie Rock. In fact, bitching about it has become cliche among music writers in and of itself. It’s still jarring to experience, however, especially when half of the between-set conversations going on around you seem to be the same burly dudes drinking PBR and talking about how hot that St. Vincent chick is.

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