The National debut two new songs for Canadian Radio ("Rylan" and "I Need My Girl")

The band played these gems for Toronto’s Q1 LIVE. I love the direction the band is taking, but I want more! Listen and download below:



The National - Rylan [mp3]



The National - I Need My Girl [mp3]

The National + Local Natives + Wye Oak - Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks (acoustic)

this is so beautiful. I woke up with this version stuck in my head this morning.

presale password: The National at the Aragon (+more)

The National will visit Chicago on December 6th at The Aragon. Local Natives and Wyk Oak will open.

presale tickets will be available on Friday at 10AM. presale password: VIOLET
buy tickets HERE

look below for more on-sale times and passwords and visit The National's website to find links to buy them

November 2011:
15: ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA / THEBARTON THEATRE // w/ THE WALKMEN // TICKETS ON-SALE 14 SEPTEMBER

17: PERTH, AUSTRALIA / METRO CITY // w/ THE WALKMEN // TICKETS ON-SALE 14 SEPTEMBER

29: VANCOUVER, BC CANADA / ORPHEUM THEATRE // w/ LOCAL NATIVES + WYE OAK // ON-SALE: 9/16 @ 10AM

30: SEATTLE, WA / NEPTUNE THEATRE // w/ LOCAL NATIVES + WYE OAK // PRE-SALE: 9/15 @ 10AM - 9/16 @ 10PM Password: STG / ON-SALE: 9/17 @ 10AM

December 2011:
01: SEATTLE, WA / NEPTUNE THEATRE // w/ LOCAL NATIVES + WYE OAK // PRE-SALE: 9/15 @ 10AM - 9/16 @ 10PM Password: STG / ON-SALE: 9/17 @ 10AM

03: SAN FRANCISCO, CA / BILL GRAHAM CIVIC AUDITORIUM // w/ LOCAL NATIVES + WYE OAK // PRE-SALE: 9/15 @ 10AM Password: VIOLET / ON-SALE: 9/18 @ 10AM

04: AUSTIN, TX / AUSTIN MUSIC HALL // w/ LOCAL NATIVES // C3 Concerts PRE-SALE: 9/22 @ 10AM Password: NATIONALLOCAL / KROX PRE-SALE: 9/22 @ 10AM-10PM Password: 101x / KGSR PRE-SALE: 9/22 @ 10AM-10PM Password: 933KGSR / ON-SALE: 9/23 @ 10AM

08: TORONTO, ON CANADA / AIR CANADA CENTRE // w/ NEKO CASE + WYE OAK
ACC PRE-SALE: 9/12 @ 130PM - 9/13 @ 5PM / COLLECTIVE PRE-SALE: 9/14 @ 2PM - 9/15 @ 10PM Password: fakeempire / ON-SALE: 9/16 @ 11AM

09: MONTREAL, QC CANADA / CENTRE BELL // w/ NEKO CASE + WYE OAK // PRE-SALE: 9/22 @ 9AM-6PM / ON-SALE: 9/23 @ 12PM

12: NEW YORK, NY / BEACON THEATRE // w/ THE WAR ON DRUGS // AMEX PRE-SALE: 9/14 @ 11AM / ON-SALE: 9/16 @ 11AM

13: NEW YORK, NY / BEACON THEATRE // w/ SHARON VAN ETTEN // AMEX PRE-SALE: 9/14 @ 11AM / ON-SALE: 9/16 @ 11AM

14: NEW YORK, NY / BEACON THEATRE // w/ SO PERCUSSION // AMEX PRE-SALE: 9/14 @ 11AM / ON-SALE: 9/16 @ 11AM

15: NEW YORK, NY / BEACON THEATRE // w/ WYE OAK // AMEX PRE-SALE: 9/14 @ 11AM / ON-SALE: 9/16 @ 11AM

The National announce a new tour, fans rejoice

well, I rejoiced.

11-06 Singapore – Esplanade Concert Hall
11-09 Tokyo, Japan – Duo
11-12 Melbourne, Australia – Harvest Festival
11-13 Sydney, Australia – Harvest Festival
11-15 Adelaide, Australia – Thebarton Theatre *
11-17 Perth, Australia – Metro City *
11-19 Brisbane, Australia – Harvest Festival
11-29 Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum Theatre #
11-30 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre #
12-01 Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre #
12-03 San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium #
12-04 Austin, TX – Austin Music Hall !
12-06 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom #
12-08 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre ^
12-09 Montreal, Quebec – Bell Centre ^
12-12 New York, NY – Beacon Theatre &
12-13 New York, NY – Beacon Theatre %
12-15 New York, NY – Beacon Theatre $
12-16 New York, NY – Beacon Theatre @

* with the Walkmen
# with Local Natives and Wye Oak
! with Local Natives
^ with Neko Case and Wye Oak
& with the War on Drugs
% with Sharon Van Etten
$ with So Percussion
@ with Wye Oak

must watch video: Zach Condon of Beirut joins The National for "Fake Empire" at Paleo

when I first watched this video via the live stream a few days ago, I literally screamed out loud when Zach Condon came out. his addition to the song is beyond breathtaking, and very much worth a view (or ten)

I've uploaded the entire concert on youtube, and it's a spectacular set. they even played "Secret Meeting" and a couple of really old tracks from their second album, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers

set list:

set list:

Start A War

Anyone's Ghost

Secret Meeting

Conversation 16

Slow Show

Squalor Victoria

Afraid Of Everyone

Bloodbuzz Ohio

Sorrow

Available

Lucky You

England

Abel

Fake Empire

Mr. November

Terrible Love

watch: The National's entire set at Fox Theater last year

last May, The National played Oakland's beautiful Fox Theater. karmafia captured the show as part of a graduate research project, and the audio/visual quality is amazing. you can watch the songs individually on the youtube channel or enjoy the entire set below.

set list:
1) MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS
2) ANYONE'S GHOST
3) BLOODBUZZ OHIO
4) AFRAID OF EVERYONE
5) BABY WE'LL BE FINE
6) BRAINY
7) SLOW SHOW
8) SQUALOR VICTORIA
9) ALL THE WINE
10) LEMONWORLD
11) LITTLE FAITH
12) CONVERSATION 16
13) APARTMENT STORY
14) GREEN GLOVES
15) ABEL
16) ENGLAND
17) FAKE EMPIRE

18) RUNAWAY
19) SORROW
20) MR. NOVEMBER
21) TERRIBLE LOVE
22) ABOUT TODAY

The National will rerelease the Cherry Tree EP in June

I first listened to Cherry Tree after hearing the band's Black Sessions. I was listening to it this morning and figured I'd post about the upcoming vinyl 12" reissue of the EP. The original 10" is super rare, I can't seem to find it anywhere. 3000 copies of the reissue will drop on June 28th (500 of them will be red vinyl), you can buy it HERE

Tracklisting:

1. "Wasp Nest"
2. "All the Wine"
3. "All Dolled-Up in Straps"
4. "Cherry Tree"
5. "About Today"
6. "Murder Me Rachael" (Live)
7. "Reasonable Man (I Don't Mind)" (feat. Padma Newsome of Clogs)

in the meantime, the band is giving away "About Today" at bandcamp, head on over or grab the track below.

The National - About Today [mp3]

The National perform "Baby We'll Be Fine" for SPIN in 2005

new music: The National - Exile Vilify

The National - Exile Vilify [mp3]

Matt Beringer + Sharon Jones - Representing Memphis

listen HERE

new music: The National "Think You Can Wait"

this song was inspired by Win Win . that looks like a movie worth watching.

The National "Think You Can Wait" [mp3]

Matt B says: “It’s about very normal and good people trying to do their best and the struggle to be good.”
damn.

video: The National - Conversation 16

LOOK, IT'S ROGER!!! and Mel from Flight of the Concords, minus the craziness.

The National

this is actually my favourite National song and I listened to it a LOT yesterday. the video is...strange. but so are Matt's lyrics.

must watch video: The National on La Blogotheque

this version of "Ada" is magical.

and here's an older song of theirs that I just heard today:

The National - All Dolled-Up in Straps [mp3]

from the Cherry Tree EP (2004)

BONUS:

download The National's Black Sessions from 2003 and 2005 (French Radio)

"you're the only thing I ever want anymore"

this song scared me the first time I heard it. that's how good it is.

new song: The National - You Were a Kindness

The National - You Were a Kindness [mp3]
why are they so brutal? I think I have a codependent relationship with Matt Beringer, who is abusive to the core.

must watch video: The National's entire set at Glastonbury

via PMA

I really love High Violet but this set made me really nostalgic for Boxer.

Band of the Week: The National

having posted The National as band of the week twice in the past, I feel obliged to do it once more. there are no words to describe how much richer and tear filled my life has become since hearing High Violet for the first time. epicness.

record review: The National - High Violet

'Your voice is swallowing my soul'
-"Afraid of Everyone", High Violet

Every once and a while a record is released that temporarily ruins all other music for you. High Violet is one of those albums. Much like on their previous work, the songs on The National’s fifth full length release force you to come to terms with the most morbid depths of your secret shames and sorrows. Much of The National’s appeal stems from the fact that we as humans need a harsh blow of emotional realism every once and a while, just to keep things in perspective. Just like our fascination with tortured artists such as Edvard Munch, we can seek refuge in the complexities of Matt Berninger’s baritone rather than attempt great artistic expression ourselves. The music, therefore, transcends individual dispositions; you can be a cheerful person or a gloomy person and I will guarantee that you will be completely enamoured with High Violet (and Alligator and Boxer, for that matter).

Without a doubt, the most admirable thing about High Violet is its relentless pursuit of aural hyperbole. It is so loud, so unforgivably layered with echoes and mesmerizing drum beats. It doesn’t flow like its predecessor, but this fact is easily overlooked by virtue of the heart-wrenching amounts of raw emotion found on the album. Its frostiness is crippling, yet there is hidden warmth which emerges as surreptitiously as the blood rush induced by icy vodka shots. If you ever find yourself hunched over some street corner in the blistering cold, alone and confused yet oddly at ease with the world, rest assured that there is a perfect soundtrack to the moment lurking in The National’s phenomenal discography.

4.8/5

High Violet was released today. Don’t waste another minute. Get.it.now.

The National announce new album + tour

the untitled fifth baby from the Brooklyn band will see a release in May. yay!

tour dates below:

26-28 MARCH: KNOXVILLE, TN - BIG EARS FESTIVAL 2010 / TENNESSEE THEATRE
22 APRIL: RICHMOND, VA - THE NATIONAL
23 APRIL: RICHMOND, VA - THE NATIONAL
06 MAY: LONDON, UK - ROYAL ALBERT HALL
07 MAY: PARIS, FRANCE - LE ZENITH w/ PAVEMENT
09 MAY: BERLIN, GERMANY - ASTRA
22 MAY: LOS ANGELES, CA - THE WILTERN
23 MAY: SAN DIEGO, CA - SPRECKELS THEATRE
27 MAY: OAKLAND, CA - FOX THEATRE
02 JUNE: BOSTON, MA - HOUSE OF BLUES
05 JUNE: PHILADELPHIA, PA - ELECTRIC FACTORY
06 JUNE: WASHINGTON, DC - DAR CONSTITUTION HALL
08 JUNE: TORONTO, CANADA - MASSEY HALL
16 JUNE: NEW YORK, NY - RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL

The National -Brainy (alternate) [mp3]

visit them on MYSPACE

Band of the Week: The National

so technically I've already posted them as band of the week but I've been listening to Alligator all day (one of my favourite albums ever) and I just can't help myself. I'm sure this post will inspire some new listeners, so it's not a waste at all. plus the album landed on a bunch of best-of-decade lists so I feel quite vindicated about this post.

The National's albums are like Van Gogh's paintings. At first you are enraptured with the bold beauty and the sweeping colour (of sound), but then you realize that this beauty is filled with anguish and heartache when you become more intimately acquainted with them.

In the end, you're left hopelessly in love, inspired, and depressed. Crying tears of empowerment.

The National - Lit Up [mp3]

buy Alligator on AMAZON. really, do.