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Post by Professor Pancakes on Feb 15, 2018 19:53:44 GMT -8
The National
To me, The National sounds like getting drunk alone and thinking about all the ways you’ve fucked up every relationship you’ve ever had, getting angry at the world but turning that anger inward where it seeths and oscillates between rage and depression. You destroy the house then cry about it. You blame everyone you’ve ever known but you know it was all your fault. They say that depression is anger directed inward and not many bands capture that quite like The National. Official website: www.americanmary.comMembers: Matt Berninger – lead vocals (1999–present) Aaron Dessner – guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, harmonica, mandola, backing vocals (1999–present) Bryce Dessner – guitar, keyboards, piano, backing vocals (2001–present) Bryan Devendorf – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999–present) Scott Devendorf – bass, guitar, backing vocals (1999–present) Touring musicians: Ben Lanz - Trombone, synths (2007–present) Kyle Resnick - Trumpet, background vocals (2007–present) Biography: (Via Wikipedia) The National is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in 1999. The band consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), Aaron Dessner (guitar, keyboards), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Founded by Berninger, Aaron Dessner, and Scott and Bryan Devendorf, The National released their self-titled debut album, The National (2001), on Brassland Records, an independent record label founded by Dessner and his twin brother, Bryce Dessner. Bryce, who had assisted in recording the album, soon joined the band, participating as a full member in the recording of its follow-up, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2003). Leaving behind their day jobs, the National signed with Beggars Banquet Records and released their third studio album, Alligator (2005), to widespread critical acclaim. The band's fourth and fifth studio albums, Boxer (2007) and High Violet (2010), increased their exposure significantly. In 2013, the band released its sixth studio album, Trouble Will Find Me, which was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2017 the band released the album Sleep Well Beast, which won the Grammy award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. Four of the band's albums were included on NME's 2013 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Kitty Empire in The Guardian characterised the band as exploring "literate rock that presents at first as artily sombre, and eventually as one of the most nuanced 21st-century iterations of what used to be known as “college rock”. (Wikipedia) Similar Artists: The National has been compared to Joy Division, Leonard Cohen, Interpol, Wilco, Depeche Mode and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. The band's lyrics have been described as "dark, melancholy and difficult to interpret." (Wikipedia) Suggested Listening To me, this song exemplifies everything I love about The National. It has it all: the crazy drum beats, Matt’s beatiful voice just barely letting loose into his pained screams, incredible guitar work (that little screechy doodle at the end of the lines in the chorus is everything to me), and even a proper guitar solo. Plus all the videos posted in the shitposting thread. Feel free to copy them over here too. Maybe I’ll do it, maybe I won’t. Physical Reaction/Live Show I know it is cliche to say, but you really have to see The National live to truly appreciate them. Their albums can sometimes sound very quiet and melancholy (guilty on the second count), but live they really shine. The instrumentation shines in a way that is hard to appreciate on a record. Bryan Devendorf’s drums can get buried in the studio mixes, but he is incredible to see perform. And Bryce and Aaron Dessner don’t sound like the flashiest guitar players, but when you see them live you can see exactly how innovative they are in creating some of the sounds they do. The closest live comparison I can think of for them is Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead) and that is high praise. And of course there’s Matt Berninger. While his baritone voice can be heard as boring or monotonous on record, when performing live he is anything but. Often appearing in varying states of intoxication and continuing to drink during the show he really lets loose and the depression heard on record explodes outward. If there is any criticism for his live performance it is that he often goes all out and doesn’t hit the notes the same way he does in the studio. Both times I’ve seen them, his voice was completely blown out by the end of the show to where he could hardly sing at all. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Personal Notes Like so many others here, The National took a while to really click for me. I just thought they were boring and monotonous (The Naptional, amirite) and didn’t understand why people liked them so much. But one fine evening in the spring of 2014, I was home alone drinking wine and decided to give Trouble Will Find Me one more chance and suddenly it just clicked and everything made sense. I don’t remember if I cried, but I might have. Then seeing them headline Sasquatch that year really sealed the deal and they have been one of my favorite bands ever since. My advice to anyone who is struggling to understand why some of us are so excited to see them would be to not give up yet. If need be, get a bottle of red wine, drink most of it alone and put on any of their albums. If that still doesn’t get you, at least check out some of their set this year. I give you my personal guarantee that you will not be disappointed.
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Post by Professor Pancakes on Feb 15, 2018 19:59:56 GMT -8
These older songs don't make it into the setlists very much these days, but their earlier albums seemed to capture more of the raw outbursts that personify their live shows than the more mature, almost Radiohead-y, work of their later albums.
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Post by Blacksmile on Feb 15, 2018 19:59:59 GMT -8
That Pitchfork video is a great live show, but this is my go to when I want to hear The National live. This video will give you a great idea of what to expect as well...
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Post by Professor Pancakes on Feb 15, 2018 20:02:06 GMT -8
That Pitchfork video is a great live show, but this is my go to when I want to hear The National live. This video will give you a great idea of what to expect as well... Yes. The Pitchfork video is them mostly featuring stuff from Sleep Well Beast , but this video is more representative of their full shows.
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Post by Blacksmile on Feb 15, 2018 20:03:16 GMT -8
These older songs don't make it into the setlists very much these days, but their earlier albums seemed to capture more of the raw outbursts that personify their live shows than the more mature, almost Radiohead-y, work of their later albums. The older stuff is great!
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Post by Pea on Feb 15, 2018 20:24:49 GMT -8
Imported from the other thread:
When Boxer first came out I was still in my death metal band and only starting to explore the wide world of indie rock. There was a thread on a metal forum that I used to frequent called "Beautiful Albums." It was a thread where us satanic worshiping, baby murdering metalheads could share and discuss music that we found, well, beautiful. It's where I first learned of bands like Sigur Ros and Iron & Wine, and when Boxer was released it was the first place I ever heard of The National. A lot of the board members were instantly blown away and took to the dark and melancholy nature of their sound, but it didn't click for me. Every time I revisited the thread the album cover would pop up again and I would wonder what I was missing. I'm not sure exactly when I finally decided to sit down and plug away at the whole album, but eventually I made it to the track Slow Show and everything clicked. 11 years later I still think it's one of the most fantastic songs written in my lifetime, and I honestly believe that if that song doesn't do it for you then they just aren't a band for you, because it truly represents The National at their best. I'll list a couple of my favorite "heavier" songs of theirs below as well since you dug Turtleneck. Abel is arguably another one of the best songs they've ever written, and it's a fucking doozy. Matt loves crawling around in the crowd for this one. The last one is a live version of Mr. November, mostly because I think it's important to showcase just how god damn awesome their drummer is. He gets buried a bit in their studio mixes, but really shines in a live setting.
As much as I love it when The National loses their shit and rocks out, when it comes to their heart-string-tugging songs there might not be another band on earth that I have more nostalgic feelings toward than them. Most of my sad and hopeless romantic moments from the past decade that involve music have songs of theirs permanently attached as audio memories. None more so than About Today. On the surface I can see how it might be viewed as a pretty monochromatic track, but it's pulsating beat and twinkly guitars with Matt's particularly sad voice drives me close to tears every time. When it showed up on the final scene of the movie Warrior I fucking lost it.
This one never made it to an album, but I'd also put this in my top 5-10 songs of them ever. It's certainly one of their most beautiful. It features Sharon Van Etten and she is an absolute angel on it.
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Post by mutt on Feb 15, 2018 20:39:13 GMT -8
This is great! Thank you!
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Post by chubbystackz on Feb 16, 2018 8:08:43 GMT -8
Boxer is my favorite album of all time. And the below song was my gateway song to The National. I've never looked back! Also fun fact, Boxer on loop goes really well with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [book].
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sayros
Baby Eating Ice Cream
Posts: 49
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Post by sayros on Feb 16, 2018 8:15:43 GMT -8
I saw them 2014 Sasquatch and wasn’t nearly as into them as I am now. If you’ve not gotten into them, at first glance they can seem like a chill watch from the hill band, but I think therein lay my mistake from 2014. It seemed pretty wild down in the pit and on ground level. He was crowd surfing (heck he crowd surfed while he sung a whole song) and it seemed very energetic. This year i’ll be down low for sure. From atop, he was banging his microphone a lot and it was kind of annoying tbh if you weren’t right down there in it.
I still can’t say I’ve gone through their whole catalog but I’ve been getting into their newest album lately. Trouble will find me will always have a special place for me because that’s when I really got into them. I think someone said that album doesn’t translate as well live and, perhaps, but it’s one of those albums where I know every word and every lick so i’ll always enjoy and be singing extra hard for those songs.
One of my best friends can’t make it to Sasquatch and The National is her favourite band. We saw them in Vancouver last year at one of their Queen Elizabeth theatre shows and that was top ten shows of my life for sure. I thought they would thrive in that kind of venue and they sure did. I wish she could make it the gorge to see them in that environment as well. Heck just to walk over that hill for the first time with the sun shining ... alas, I digress. Good times lay ahead!
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Post by chubbystackz on Feb 16, 2018 8:17:02 GMT -8
Also, I know it's been said a few times on here already but The National is an extremely slow burn. Like Pea, it also took me a really long time for them to sink in (and now they are my favorite band even more favorite than Tycho). I wasn't super impressed at all multiple times I had heard them but for some reason kept going back and eventually they clicked. To this day songs I've listened to hundreds of times still "click" for the first time. Most recently Apartment Story finally hit me despite having been playing it for years. I think it takes personal life experiences that relate to the lyrics and weird metaphors before any of their songs actually sink in, otherwise they are just "weird lyrics." That's what makes this band, in my opinion, the best band of my time. Happy nationaling.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Feb 16, 2018 8:17:40 GMT -8
Boxer was my first and is still their best IMHO. It was this song and performance that sold me. Thanks, KEXP!
No video because this was before they started filming their in-studios.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Feb 16, 2018 8:19:30 GMT -8
I think I still have this CD though.
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Post by stevebuscemi on Feb 16, 2018 8:22:30 GMT -8
Great thread, thanks for posting this!
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Post by chubbystackz on Feb 16, 2018 8:26:57 GMT -8
The lyrics in this one fucking gut me. It's such a real and raw and eloquent break up song.
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Post by Professor Pancakes on Feb 16, 2018 8:28:01 GMT -8
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beauty that is City Middle? I don't think it makes it into the set very often any more (I imagine the layered harmonies are kind of hard to pull off live), but it is such a fucking brilliant song and one of my personal favorites.
I got 500 in twenties, and I've got a ton of great ideas I'm really worked up I'm on a good mixture, I don't wanna to waste it I'm on a good mixture, I do not wanna waste it I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners I'm really worked up
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Post by chubbystackz on Feb 16, 2018 8:34:22 GMT -8
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beauty that is City Middle? I don't think it makes it into the set very often any more (I imagine the layered harmonies are kind of hard to pull off live), but it is such a fucking brilliant song and one of my personal favorites. I got 500 in twenties, and I've got a ton of great ideas I'm really worked up I'm on a good mixture, I don't wanna to waste it I'm on a good mixture, I do not wanna waste it I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners I'm really worked up This is an example of one that hasn't "clicked" for me yet. For now it's just a beautiful melody and a song I sing along to without truly connecting with it. I can't freaking wait until the day it hits me. UGH I LOVE THE NTNL
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Feb 16, 2018 8:37:03 GMT -8
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beauty that is City Middle? I don't think it makes it into the set very often any more (I imagine the layered harmonies are kind of hard to pull off live), but it is such a fucking brilliant song and one of my personal favorites. I got 500 in twenties, and I've got a ton of great ideas I'm really worked up I'm on a good mixture, I don't wanna to waste it I'm on a good mixture, I do not wanna waste it I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners I'm really worked up I'm not sure it ever did, they didn't even play it in 2008. www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-national/2008/the-gorge-amphitheatre-george-wa-43d5a387.html
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Post by Professor Pancakes on Feb 16, 2018 8:37:41 GMT -8
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beauty that is City Middle? I don't think it makes it into the set very often any more (I imagine the layered harmonies are kind of hard to pull off live), but it is such a fucking brilliant song and one of my personal favorites. I got 500 in twenties, and I've got a ton of great ideas I'm really worked up I'm on a good mixture, I don't wanna to waste it I'm on a good mixture, I do not wanna waste it I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners I'm really worked up This is an example of one that hasn't "clicked" for me yet. For now it's just a beautiful melody and a song I sing along to without truly connecting with it. I can't freaking wait until the day it hits me. UGH I LOVE THE NTNL Maybe it's just me because I feel just like Tennessee Williams. I'm not even sure what that means, but I relate so much.
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Post by Professor Pancakes on Feb 16, 2018 8:39:00 GMT -8
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate the beauty that is City Middle? I don't think it makes it into the set very often any more (I imagine the layered harmonies are kind of hard to pull off live), but it is such a fucking brilliant song and one of my personal favorites. I got 500 in twenties, and I've got a ton of great ideas I'm really worked up I'm on a good mixture, I don't wanna to waste it I'm on a good mixture, I do not wanna waste it I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners I'm really worked up I'm not sure it ever did, they didn't even play it in 2008. www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-national/2008/the-gorge-amphitheatre-george-wa-43d5a387.htmlThey also played it at least once last year, but it's still pretty rare I think.
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Post by Professor Pancakes on Feb 16, 2018 8:40:05 GMT -8
Boxer is my favorite album of all time. And the below song was my gateway song to The National. I've never looked back! Also fun fact, Boxer on loop goes really well with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [book]. This is one of my all time favorites of theirs too. I had pretty much given up hope if ever seeing it live, but then they busted out it in Seattle last time and I almost cried.
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