15 Songs: The National

The National are a tough band to pick the best songs of. They have so many deep, meaninful songs with lush arrangements and thought provoking lyrics. But what the hell, here it goes.

In chronological order (no rankings on this one, except maybe Wasp Nest):

• Wasp Nest (2004, Cherry Tree)
• "You're eyes are broken bottles, and I'm afraid to ask"
• About Today (2004, Cherry Tree)
• "You just walked away, and I just watched you"

Album Review: The National: High Violet

The National: High Violet (2010), 4AD Records


Listen: 
Grooveshark


Purchase:
Beggars Group
Insound
Amazon mp3
iTunes

It's no small admission to say that The National are one of my favorite bands. Ever since i heard "Secret Meeting" in late 2005 (yes I know, I was pretty late to the bandwagon on that album). Alligator became one of me and my brother's favorite albums soon after. Adding to this was the first time I saw them live at Bonnaroo in 2007, right after Boxer had been released. For a show at a festival it was surprisingly intimate. They also were joined by Padme Newsome, violinist extraordinaire. His work on the violin that night made that show. It was some kind of intense mix of raw emotion and skill and showmanship. If you can track down a good quality audio or video of "Baby We'll Be Fine" from that show, snatch it up.

Ok, back on track

High Violet is the third truly great National album. It is the third album produced by the band and Peter Kalis (he of Turn on the Bright Lights and Midnight Organ Fight fame). When I speak about High Violet I tend to bring up both Boxer and Alligator a good amount. This is not to disparage High Violet in any way, it certainly has it's own style and thematic power. What is amazing about this album, though, is that it takes most of the great parts from both Alligator and Boxer. It combines them to make a powerful album. Pretty much the only thing it is missing is the emotional power and shredding vocal chords of Alligator's finer moments.

Let's begin our walk with the spiders

Track 1: Terrible Love
Such a grand opening track. The slow burn intro is a perfect launching point. Such a simple song until the end, when Matt kind of goes in to a bit of a frenzy. It's so powerful as an opening song just because of the immensely slow build. By the end of the song the drummer is absolute wailing on the drums, the beat is barely recognizable. The song is also just all around great. Reminiscent of Alligator's cryptic lyricism.
Verdict 9/10


Track 2: Sorrow
Awww. Sad song. But even when The National do sad, it is still a strong work. "Sorrow" is a good example of how lush their music has become. their are strings hidden in the background, as well as a light piano layer. This is the biggest separator when it comes to High Violet compared to its predecessors. It takes advantages of all of these additional sounds on virtually every song.
"It's in my honey, it's in my milk"
Verdict 8/10

Don't Look Back: The National

The National are an interesting band, just look at their members. Lead singer Matt Berninger is the only person without a sibling in the band. Guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dresner are twins, and drummer Bryan and bassist Scott are brothers. This gives The National a somewhat interesting dynamic, and I'm sure that it makes for a lot less band tension. The National have evolved from album to album, slowly becoming a powerhouse in the alternative rock scene. Couple that with an amazing live show and you have one of the best bands in America.

The National have 5 albums.

But Wait:

I don't like to rank EP's in this segment, but I would like to give something of an honorable mention to The National's 2004 EP Cherry Tree, which contains possibly my two favorite National songs. First of, the song that is without a doubt my favorite National song, "Wasp Nest". To me, the lyrics of this song describe the most perfect girl in the world. There is a certain piece of lyrics that goes something like
"Your eyes are broken bottles
And I'm afraid to ask
And all your wrath and cutting beauty
You're poison in the pretty glass"

That just speaks to me on maybe too high of a level. The musical arrangement is so beautifully subtle as well that it just makes it a near perfect song.

that's is the only video I could find, I don't know what's up with the girl.

The second song on Cherry Tree that needs mentioning is "About Today". "About Today" is the narrative of a couple that is slowly growing apart from each other. It has also become a live staple, which they have used during their encore every time I have seen them live. The violin in this song is intensely depressing, and it elicits strong emotions.

"Tonight you just close your eyes

and I just watch you slip away"

Ok, now that we have that out of the way. Let's get to it.

Stuntblogging The National

This guy knows how to party

This week I am going to write a couple of posts about one of my favorite bands, The National. This will probably include a ranking of their albums, a review of their new album High Violet, and a lengthy write up on why Alligator might be the best album of the decade.

See you tomorrow!

(for what it's worth the idea of stunt-blogging came from the great Max over on Hip-Hop isn't dead. check him out sometime at http://hiphopisntdead.blogspot.com/)

Album Review: The Walkmen: Lisbon

The Walkmen - Lisbon (2010) Fat Possum Records

The Walkmen's last album You & Me was amazing. Lush and subtle. It may very well be their best album. Two years removed from You & Me, The Walkmen return with Lisbon. As surprising as it is, The Walkmen are getting old. If you count their re-telling of Harry Nilsson's Pussycats, this is the band's sixth album. While we have seen them evolve through the years, even through a strange period where the members of the band all switched instruments for an album, they still technically play the same type of music. Jangly rock with stories about the city/living in the city/let's get out of the city lyricism. I don't want to say they are stuck in a rut, because they have proved that they still have the capacity to make great albums, but it certainly seems like they are becoming stagnant.

While Lisbon is a good, maybe even great Walkmen album, it leaves you wondering what could have been.

Links:

Grooveshark

Amazon mp3

iTunes

Buy Directly from Fat Possum

Track 1: Juveniles

"Juveniles" is pretty much your typical Walkmen song. The drums really pace this track. The other instruments seem almost subdued. Because of this, the "Juveniles" is centered on the lyrics, which seem to deal with a person trying to be two different people at once. Overall a good opening track

Verdict: 8/10

Track 2: Angela Surf City

Very reminiscent of a more whimsical version of one of their previous songs, "The Rat". We get a lot more energy from "Angela Surf City" than "Juveniles". You can feel that there is almost a calypso influence starting to permeate on Lisbon. The lyrics seem (to me) to deal with the singer liking a girl, and the girl feels at best indifference about him. Not necessarily new territory by any means, but I have to say I really like this song.

Verdict 9/10

Live Review: Virgin Free Fest At Merriweather Post Pavilion

Merriweather Post Pavilion is an amazing venue. I know there are people out there who will complain about its sometimes shoddy acoustics, or how the lawn seats can be hit or miss at best. While these points might be legitimate, they are still mostly minor problems. One thing I can agree with is how ridiculous prices for alcohol can be, but that is technically true for any high level venue. If you want to pay $3-4 dollars for a beer, go to Johnny Brenda's. What makes Merriweather and other venues of its ilk such as the Festival Pier in Philly so great is their ability to bring the festival experience to any random weekend of the year. One such festival is the Virgin Mobile Free Festival.

Virgin Free Fest has the distinct privilege of being free for the masses. Although some people used this as an opportunity to sell their FREE tickets on re-sell sites like Ebay, for the most part it is a great chance to enjoy a festival for free. As long as you don't mind paying $8 for a hamburger and $9 for a beer. This years lineup was pretty interesting. Headlined figuratively by the reunited Pavement, it also brought big time acts such as Jimmy Eat World and Joan Jett together with critical darlings such as Sleigh Bells, LCD Soundsystem, and M.I.A. Sadly, the schedule was tightly packed, making it hard to see most of these acts, but who I did see ended up being pretty enjoyable.

So without further ado, let's review this thing.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

I have to admit that I really didn't know much about this band past the point that they are played frequently on Titus Andronicus' Pandora playlist. I had heard that they are enjoyable live from word of mouth at this years Bonnaroo as well. Keeping this in mind, there really isn't much I can say about this band. Their show was very enjoyable and the crowd certainly seemed into them. I would certainly recommend seeing them live if you get the chance.



For what it's worth, I was a kid in the middle. And I was sitting down.

Book Review: Philip K. Dick: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

What about [my] books? How do I feel about them?
I enjoyed writing all of them. But I think that if I could only choose a few, which, for example, might escape World War Three, I would choose, first, Eye in the Sky. Then The Man in the High Castle.Martian Time-Slip (published by Ballantine). Dr. Bloodmoney (a recent Ace novel). Then The Zap Gun and The Penultimate Truth, both of which I wrote at the same time. And finally another Ace book, The Simulacra.
But this list leaves out the most vital of them all: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. I am afraid of that book; it deals with absolute evil, and I wrote it during a great crisis in my religious beliefs. I decided to write a novel dealing with absolute evil as personified in the form of a "human." When the galleys came from Doubleday I couldn't correct them because I could not bear to read the text, and this is still true.

-Philip K. Dick

*Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD

Philip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (from now on known as Sitgmata is about pure evil. Not in the sense of "the most cruel, unhuman, monstrous, etc. thing you can think of; no, it is about the cruelty of having a chance to attain what you could never have.

It is an evil analogous to the forbidden fruit (which is actually discussed in the novel). It goes so far as to explain why God answering every prayer may not be in the best interest of the universe as a whole. Philip K. Dick has always had an interest in trying to explain God. In this novel he creates a synthetic God. Not only does this end up having consequences, it becomes a symbiotic relationship in which humanity is fed on by a parasitic alien.

Stigmata mainly follows two people. Barney Mayerson, a pre-cog (someone who can see the future in vagaries, such as being able to read the headlines of a future newspaper) who works for the Perky Pat Layout company, and Leo Bulero, the head of P.P. Layouts, and the kingpin of a drug cartel which sells the drug Can-D.