VIDEO: The National on Jimmy Fallon

I know, I know - two posts on The National in just two days. But this is pretty great.



And yes, there was a little Nico Muhly in there.

SONG(s): New Songs From The National

A huge thanks to nyctaper for recording The National's set at the Dark Was The Night benefit concert in NYC last Sunday. The National played two brand new songs, along with "Slow Show" and "Up Around The Bend" (their submission to the Dark Was The Night comp). For the full set, or to get the flac audio files, go HERE. To buy the fantastic Dark Was The Night album, go HERE. The songs are pretty amazing, and show off a bit of a different side for Matt Berninger & co. (i.e. the guitar solo in Vanderlylle Cry Baby - love it. UPDATE: apparently that's Bon Iver's Justin Vernon on the guitar there. I love it more). Enjoy.

(Thanks to stereogum for the pic.)

The National - England (Live at Radio City, NYC 5/3/09)


The National - Vanderlylle Cry Baby (Live at Radio City, NYC 5/3/09)


And as a bonus, here's two more new tunes from The National recorded at Carnegie Hall back in February. The sound quality isn't as good as the two above, but the songs are solid, and you can still get a sense of all the orchestration involved. These four songs, along with their work on Dark Was The Night and the Score! comp all seem to point to one thing -- The National's next record is gonna be tight, yo.

The National - Karamazov (Live at Carnegie Hall, NYC 2/3/09)


The National - Wake Up Your Saints (Live at Carnegie Hall, NYC 2/3/09)

MONTHLY MIXTAPE: APRIL

So I think we're gonna start putting together a mixtape at the end of each month. It'll be made up of some of the stuff that's been rocking our cubicle. Here's the first one.

mp3: Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - Meet Me In The Garden
mp3: The Henry Clay People - You Can Be Timeless
mp3: The Boy Least Likely To - Every Goliath Has Its David
mp3: Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game
mp3: M. Ward - To Save Me (with Jason Lytle)
mp3: Andrew Bird - Heretics (early version)
mp3: Matt & Kim - Lessons Learned
mp3: The National & St. Vincent - Sleep All Summer (Crooked Fingers cover)
mp3: Neko Case - I'm An Animal
mp3: Noisettes - When You Were Young (Killers cover) Live

VIDEO: The National & Dark Was The Night

The National contributed one of the stand-out tracks (of many stand-out tracks) to Red Hot's Dark Was The Night compilation released a few weeks ago. Pitchfork.tv posted this pretty great little behind-the-scenes look at the production of that song and the comp as a whole.

Enjoy!



The National - Tall Saint (demo)
from The Virginia EP (Amazon)

SONG: Sufjan's contribution to Dark Was The Night = mind-blowing

So, apparently we're gonna have six more weeks of winter. That doesn't worry me so much as long as I've got some good music to bundle up with in the interim.

Luckily, here's some samples from the highly anticipated Red Hot charity compilation, Dark Was The Night. Produced by The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner, it's a double-disc (triple-LP) compilation to raise money and awareness for HIV and AIDS. I've included the full track-list below, and it's pretty insane, actually. Names you might be excited about include Feist, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, Arcade Fire, Beirut, The New Pornographers, The National, and Andrew Bird (just to name a few). Yeah, like I said, insane.

Below are some streaming mp3's of what I think are a few of the stand-out tracks so far. The National and Bon Iver's offerings are both solid, as expected - but the Sufjan piece is something else altogether. A reinterpretation of 'You Are The Blood' by his label-mates Castanets, it's a sprawling 10 minute epic touching on just about every musical influence Mr. Stevens has entertained in the past - from electronica to symphonic pop, to Gershwin-esque piano solos. Take a listen below and see if it blows your mind like it did mine.

The album is out February 17th (in the US).



DARK WAS THE NIGHT

DISC 1
1 Knotty Pine – Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) – The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) – Feist + Ben Gibbard
4 Brackett, WI – Bon Iver
5 Deep Blue Sea – Grizzly Bear
6 So Far Around the Bend – The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
7 Tightrope – Yeasayer
8 Feeling Good (popularized by Nina Simone) – My Brightest Diamond
9 Dark Was the Night (Blind Willie Johnson) – Kronos Quartet
10 I Was Young When I Left Home (Bob Dylan) – Antony + Bryce Dessner
11 Big Red Machine – Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
12 Sleepless – The Decemberists
13 Stolen Houses (Die) – Iron and Wine
14 Service Bell – Grizzly Bear + Feist
15 You Are The Blood – Sufjan Stevens

DISC 2
1 Well-Alright – Spoon
2 Lenin – Arcade Fire
3 Mimizan – Beirut
4 El Caporal – My Morning Jacket
5 Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
6 With A Girl Like You (The Troggs) – Dave Sitek
7 Blood Pt 2 (based on original song “You are the Blood” by the Castanets) – Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
8 Hey, Snow White (Destroyer) – The New Pornographers
9 Gentle Hour (Snapper) – Yo La Tengo
10 Another Saturday (traditional song) – Stuart Murdoch
11 Happiness – Riceboy Sleeps
12 Amazing Grace (traditional song) – Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
13 The Giant Of Illinois (Handsome Family) – Andrew Bird
14 Lua – Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch
15 When the Road Runs Out – Blonde Redhead + Devastations
16 Love vs. Porn – Kevin Drew

CONCERT: This is why I love music.

Amidst all the great music we enjoyed at Sasquatch, there was one experience that stood out far above everything else, and that was The National's impromptu set near the end of the day on Saturday.

It was especially memorable because for about half of the day we weren't even sure if they'd be playing. Apparently they'd had automotive problems somewhere in Canada, so they weren't able to make their scheduled 4:20 time on the main stage. Since they'd actually been one of the major reasons why we made our pilgrimage all the way out to the Gorge anyway, we were all pretty disappointed when we heard they might not make it. But after some re-arranging and string-pulling, some of the festival's organizers made it possible for them to play later in the day on one of the smaller stages. We rejoiced, and likewise adjusted our concert schedules. We ended up not seeing Okkervil River and most of Modest Mouse's set in order to be front and center for when they finally came out after a personal introduction by Rainn Wilson (you know - he plays Dwight on some show on NBC).

The whole band looked a little beleaguered and very appreciative that we were still there to see them. With a short thank you, they started their set with 'Start a War', letting it gently build to its pounding conclusion, strings and drums galore. Matt Berninger's vocal delivery was absolutely mesmerizing to watch, as was the entire band's flawless dynamic - they played so tightly beneath Matt's morose voice that it was almost unbelievable that there were actually eight different people on stage. They all seemed to possess the same amount of care and urgency for the music on songs like 'Abel', 'Slow Show' and 'Apartment Story', seeming almost on the verge of tears at the end of each song's climactic finish - add that to the relief and appreciation that we felt for actually getting to see them, and you might have an idea of how it felt to watch this band close out the day with the sun slowly going down behind them.

The moment that summed up this entire experience for me was just after they finished their set with a heart-wrenching performance of 'Mr. November' and quickly got off stage. Fully aware that encores are not normal festival occurrences, we still refused to move, and instead kept cheering. I turned around and saw that the hundreds that surrounded the stage were being just as stubborn, even though Modest Mouse was just around the corner finishing up their set. We kept on cheering until I saw one of the techs smiling and emphatically waving the band back on. As the members of the National stepped back on stage, they looked grateful and maybe even a bit sheepish, as Matt gave us another thank-you and they launched into 'About Today', complete with strings and guitars wailing at the end. When they finished and finally got down, we all stood there looking at each other, speechless. This is what we'd come for.

Every now and then I hear a performance and I feel like just maybe it was as meaningful for that musician as it was for me, like there was some sort of connection between the notes and the shared experience we were all having. I may be completely wrong, but even if the members of the National didn't have the special experience that we did that night, well then its just a testament to the powerful music they're making and the great performers that they are. This is why I love music.

Here's the setlist:

Start a War/Brainy/Secret Meeting/Baby, We'll Be Fine/Mistaken for Strangers/Slow Show/Squalor Victoria/Abel/Racing like a Pro/Ada/Apartment Story/Fake Empire/Mr. November

Encore: About Today (from the Cherry Tree EP)

Here's some songs:

The National - Start a War

from the album Boxer (Amazon/iTunes)

The National - Secret Meeting

from The Black Session

And here's some pictures:

ALBUM: All safe and sound

Chris has already posted on these five gentlemen but it was our first post ever. So even if you've been with us since the very beginning (for which we thank you), explored our past posts, or are hearing about them from us for the first time, it's about time to talk about The National again.

I finally got a hold of Alligator, The National's previous album to last years Boxer.
My love affair with The National is renewed.
I now understand why the music community was worried if The National could ever produce another album as quality as Alligator. (They did. See: Boxer)
Much like their most recent release, Alligator is dynamic.
The music ranges from clean and clear to jarred and distorted, and all the while Matt Berninger's haunting voice carries you. Oh that voice. A million dollars and my first born to have that voice.
Enjoy a little snippet from Alligator now and if you like it, jump back to our humble beginnings and have a taste of Boxer.

The National - All the Wine
from the album Alligator (Amazon/iTunes)

ALBUM: A little something in our lemonade

Welcome to my first blog post ever! I've never posted one word on a blog before the one you're looking at right this very moment- and I won't lie, I'm a little excited. So let's all just take a deep breath and jump right in, shall we?

Lately I've been enamored with Boxer, last summer's offering from Ohio-based The National. Their fourth full-length, and follow-up to 2005's indie-popular Alligator, Boxer is a record that not only made me stop and listen the first time I heard it, but has succeeded in staying with me- it's songs are beautiful and haunting and altogether not easily forgotten. Sparse at times, rolling and orchestrated at others (they sneak in a rather impressive array of instruments- from strings to horns to accordians, even a showing by Sufjan Stevens on Racing Like a Pro, and Ada), it is Matt Berninger's baritone vocals that help tie all of the songs together with thoughtful and often unnerving lyrics.

oh we're so disarming darling, everything we did believe/is diving off the balcony/tired and wired we ruin too easy/sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave.

Highlights include the haunting ballad Green Gloves, the pounding Apartment Story, and the beautiful and poignant Slow Show (my particular favorite- it follows the ruminations of a poor chap who feels out of place at a party and just wants to get back home to his sweetheart). Fake Empire, the album opener, is also a favorite; listen as it ascends from somewhat mismatched piano chords to a sprawling horn-kissed crescendo. Enjoy.

The National - Fake Empire