not as good as their past two lead singles but it's decent
― ufo, Wednesday, 18 January 2023 21:41 (one year ago) link
why do you feat. Phoebe Bridgers but With Taylor Swift?
― corrs unplugged, Thursday, 19 January 2023 17:22 (one year ago) link
Maybe she co-wrote the song with them, and the others are just featured on songs that the band wrote?
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 19 January 2023 17:24 (one year ago) link
yeah possible
― corrs unplugged, Thursday, 19 January 2023 17:39 (one year ago) link
https://shop.americanmary.com/products/new-order-t-shirt
this is so stupid i have to get it
― 龜, Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:14 (one year ago) link
that’s great, definitely buying for my partner
― not too strange just bad audio (brimstead), Thursday, 23 February 2023 17:20 (one year ago) link
love the t-shirt
really wish I loved the song but it's so nothingy
can't hate, it's just got no melody, nothing to latch onto
― corrs unplugged, Tuesday, 28 February 2023 08:52 (one year ago) link
Album out Friday. NME (lol) has said it's their best in a decade and given it five stars. Have really liked the two more recent songs they've released from it though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSywJt3VlUM
― groovypanda, Wednesday, 26 April 2023 16:45 (eleven months ago) link
Of all the bands I'd totally expect to just keep putting out good albums it's this one.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 26 April 2023 16:48 (eleven months ago) link
A nice note is that Matt sliding the SM7 down on the mic stand at the end of the video is just faintly, barely audible enough to confirm that the video you're watching is a factual document of the final vocal performance
― flamboyant goon tie included, Wednesday, 26 April 2023 17:12 (eleven months ago) link
Their last one was the best to my ears; having female harmonists and co-vocalists leavened the preppy male angst.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 26 April 2023 17:23 (eleven months ago) link
this is probably their most mellow, middle-of-the-road, unexciting album yet
― ufo, Friday, 28 April 2023 08:41 (eleven months ago) link
which is a shame after the last two were a little more interesting and had some of their strongest material (there's definitely a case for i am easy to find as their best)
― ufo, Friday, 28 April 2023 08:56 (eleven months ago) link
Yeah. Shame that all the guest vocalists are strictly on backing duties, especially after the last album. At least Taylor gets a few lines to sing on her own I suppose unlike Phoebe.
― groovypanda, Friday, 28 April 2023 09:50 (eleven months ago) link
taylor's appearance is prominent enough but it's weird that the others get a feature credit for some backing vocals, especially compared to the last album where more prominent guest vocalists didn't
― ufo, Friday, 28 April 2023 10:13 (eleven months ago) link
ppl describing the new national album as “mor” gets me excited about it, actually
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 28 April 2023 13:24 (eleven months ago) link
it just feels like they're spinning their wheels here, there's nothing that comes close to "you had your soul with you" or "the system only dreams in total darkness" or anything
― ufo, Friday, 28 April 2023 13:37 (eleven months ago) link
The System Dreams in MOR
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 28 April 2023 13:38 (eleven months ago) link
Not every fan of the national is a divorced guy who owns an npr t shirt but every divorced guy who owns an npr t shirt is a fan of the national— eve6 (@Eve6) April 28, 2023
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 28 April 2023 17:27 (eleven months ago) link
I am so dead-center in the National’s supposed demographic (but married and no NPR t-shirt but I listen the shit out of NPR) but I just can’t get with the National. A little too close to home maybe.
― tobo73, Friday, 28 April 2023 22:00 (eleven months ago) link
Tuned out for no partic reason after Boxer, which I loved. Thinking of dipping back in but no sure where to start
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Saturday, 29 April 2023 12:52 (eleven months ago) link
trouble will find me!
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 29 April 2023 14:13 (eleven months ago) link
yeah that's the only really good post boxer album for me
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 29 April 2023 14:33 (eleven months ago) link
go backwards imo, alligator as good as boxer, sometimes better
two first have some jams
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 29 April 2023 14:34 (eleven months ago) link
I read the New Yorker profile, then I read a Washington Post profile, and clearly they are in the promo zone, because the overlap was remarkable.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 29 April 2023 15:49 (eleven months ago) link
I tried a pink rabbit thanks to The National.
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 29 April 2023 16:09 (eleven months ago) link
yeah that's the only really good post boxer album for me― corrs unplugged, sobota, 29 kwietnia 2023 16:33 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglinkgo backwards imo, alligator as good as boxer, sometimes bettertwo first have some jams― corrs unplugged, sobota, 29 kwietnia 2023 16:34 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
― corrs unplugged, sobota, 29 kwietnia 2023 16:33 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
― corrs unplugged, sobota, 29 kwietnia 2023 16:34 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
I think the run from Alligator to High Violet is pretty stellar. Trouble Will Find Me is good, too, but could maybe use a trim?
― ˈʌglɪɪst preɪ, Saturday, 29 April 2023 16:24 (eleven months ago) link
I thought the last one, I Am Easy To Find was excellent. As Alfred mentions, the guest vocalists give a fresh spin to their sound.
― groovypanda, Saturday, 29 April 2023 17:12 (eleven months ago) link
sleep well beast also has a crackling second side. only real dud on that album is “turtleneck” which should've been relegated to a lame resistance comp called rock against trump
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 29 April 2023 17:21 (eleven months ago) link
Every "Automatic for the People" has its "Ignoreland."
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 29 April 2023 17:23 (eleven months ago) link
guys this is a good record
― poster of sparks (rogermexico.), Sunday, 30 April 2023 22:50 (ten months ago) link
i bet! the subtler they are the better. will be listening finally tomorrow
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Sunday, 30 April 2023 23:39 (ten months ago) link
the subleties being less interesting this time than the last two albums are a big part of the problem too
― ufo, Monday, 1 May 2023 00:26 (ten months ago) link
listen… shhh
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Monday, 1 May 2023 01:19 (ten months ago) link
I mean I guess if you're still holding a torch for Alligator then Alligator will still be your favorite The National record *shrug*
this one's got the usual hooks that grow into earworms and sneaky compositions and wryly observed miserablisms and bryan devendorf and I'm not inclined to complain about any of that.
early standouts: once upon a poolside, tropic morning news, your mind is not your friend.
― poster of sparks (rogermexico.), Monday, 1 May 2023 04:26 (ten months ago) link
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, April 29, 2023
honestly the best The National record top to bottom. iykyk.
― poster of sparks (rogermexico.), Monday, 1 May 2023 04:27 (ten months ago) link
surprised so many people liked I am Easy to Find so much; I like it, but it didn't stick with me at all. I prefer this one by some measure.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Monday, 1 May 2023 07:47 (ten months ago) link
"eucalyptus" is like walking outside and noticing the temperature is nice and there's a cool breeze and then seeing black clouds hovering on the horizon, v powerful song
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 2 May 2023 14:44 (ten months ago) link
what about the cowboy junkieswhat about the afghan whigs
new album inspired a discog run and it's making me think about how much i ended up loving this band despite being resistant at every step of the way bc they so live up to their (reductive, revealed as grossly inaccurate as soon as you sink below the surface) reputation of making MOR indie rock for the recently or about-to-be divorced. i think ultimately what ensnared me were berninger and bessin's lyrics, which, in describing lives whose spasms of decadence and opulence inadequately disguise a void within, a routine sameness in their days they long to break out of and the process of breaking out leads them into quotidian surrealities, seemed to picking up right where john cheever left off. the opening lines of "fake empire" (stay out super late tonight / baking apples, making pie / put a little something in our lemonade and take it with us") were also immediate echoes of my first few weeks in new york, discovering that since i didn't have to drive anywhere i would spend some nights walking home in such a state of semidrunk that every block felt like waltzing across a crooked tightrope.
once the lyrics got to me, i was able to scale back from the grain of the words to the more nimbusy qualities of the music, the cloud that tightens around your head during a hangover and makes every event of your day slip slightly into unreality. it's a universe made of gestures and flourishes and subtleties, a shadowed theater where these pathetic characters drink, talk about their favorite records, fail to say what they mean to each other and only realize it later when it's too late and even that realization falls away into an increasingly unfocused landscape of emotional events. i feel like the only songs where i notice they're progressing through chords are the piano-based ones, otherwise i feel like their songs are sinuous tours through melody and counterpoint and syncopation (especially whenever devendorf, one of the greatest drummers alive, is driving the song as if he's the real lead guitarist).
anyway i'm listening to trouble will find me right now and it's still clearly their masterwork, everything i mentioned in the previous two paragraphs is present there in its most refined form. also "don't swallow the cap" is the only national song i've ever seen in a karaoke book and so it's the only one i've sung, surprisingly(?) a lot of fun
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 16:48 (ten months ago) link
as the free-fall advancesi'm the moron who dances
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 16:54 (ten months ago) link
Good post! My favorite National song is still "England," which gestures toward a faraway land he may not even want to reach ("Afraid of the house, stay the night with the sinners/Afraid of the house, cause they're desperate to entertain" is a chilling refrain).
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 3 May 2023 16:58 (ten months ago) link
Was worried I wouldn't get into the new one, but then they slot "Eucalyptus" second and I'm all in.
Has any band name-dropped as many real bands as the National?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 18 May 2023 22:13 (ten months ago) link
probably the hold steady
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, 18 May 2023 22:14 (ten months ago) link
Along with that, Brad totally otm re: this run:
the only songs where i notice they're progressing through chords are the piano-based ones, otherwise i feel like their songs are sinuous tours through melody and counterpoint and syncopation (especially whenever devendorf, one of the greatest drummers alive, is driving the song as if he's the real lead guitarist).anyway i'm listening to trouble will find me right now and it's still clearly their masterwork,
anyway i'm listening to trouble will find me right now and it's still clearly their masterwork,
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 18 May 2023 22:15 (ten months ago) link
Hold Steady or ... Gaslight Anthem, maybe?
They were, predictably, really good tonight. But they're always good live. Good span of stuff, maybe nothing from "I Am Easy to Find," but nice tastes of pretty much all their other stuff. First of four shows, so I assume they will shake it up here and there.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 19 May 2023 04:34 (ten months ago) link
I'm liking this album, sure it's one note but comfort food. I have only heard it a couple of times so it can go either way.
― Bee OK, Wednesday, 14 June 2023 06:19 (nine months ago) link
the more you listen the less it's one note. it's sneaky. it's good. half of it is great. the hooks take their time getting under your skin, but once they're in they're in.
in retrospect, high violet suddenly seems frantic and overstuffed.
― poster of sparks (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 4 July 2023 05:20 (eight months ago) link
The appeal of this band seems to be “divorced dads” but more extensively it is “white folks who find comfort in their mediocrity being writ large and celebrated”
― Nursenaries III: Health Is Wealth (flamboyant goon tie included), Tuesday, 4 July 2023 06:40 (eight months ago) link