The National (band)

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The National
Matt Berninger (2007)
Matt Berninger (2007)
Background information
Origin Cincinnati, Ohio; Brooklyn, New York
Genre(s) Indie rock
Post-punk revival
Years active 1999–present
Label(s) 4AD, Beggars Banquet, Brassland
Website americanmary.com
Members
Matt Berninger
Aaron Dessner
Bryce Dessner
Bryan Devendorf
Scott Devendorf

The National is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band formed in 1999, by friends from Cincinnati, Ohio. Influences range from Bruce Springsteen to Tindersticks. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger in a distinctive, deep baritone. The rest of the band is composed of two pairs of brothers: Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Scott and Bryan Devendorf. Aaron plays guitar, bass and piano, Bryce plays guitar, Scott plays bass and guitar, and Bryan is the drummer. Padma Newsome, from sister band Clogs, often contributes strings, keyboards, and other arrangements and instrumental flourishes.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings

When the band was formed in 1999 by a group of Ohio friends, it was called The National (although the domain name of the band's website is americanmary.com because, according to an interview with Better Propaganda, "[i]t's a song off our first record. We never thought of changing the (website) name, although we should have."[1] Several of the members continued to work day jobs throughout the early years, being involved in New York's dot-com boom in the late 1990s. Their first self-titled album The National was eventually released in 2001 on Brassland Records, a label founded by band members Aaron and Bryce Dessner, along with their friend Alec Hanley Bemis. Their debut album launched the band's career, as they had performed few live shows before its release.[citation needed] The release was followed two years later by another album, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers. In 2004, they released the Cherry Tree EP which included live favorite "About Today" and "All the Wine" which would also appear on their next record.

[edit] Signing to Beggars Banquet and breakout

In 2005 the band quit their jobs and moved to a new label, Beggars Banquet Records, because the process of running their own label was becoming "too complicated".[2] Their first album on this label, Alligator, was met with much critical acclaim and featured highly in "Album of the Year" charts in the LA Times, Insound, Uncut, and many other publications[3] . This album gave the band increased exposure.

Their latest album, Boxer, was released on May 22, 2007, and has also received widespread critical praise [1]. The album features contributions from various guest artists including Sufjan Stevens and Doveman (aka Thomas Bartlett). It received #2 best album of the year by stereogum.com and #1 album of the year by Paste Magazine.[4] Their song "Fake Empire" from Boxer was featured on NBC's new series, Chuck, and Southland, the CW's One Tree Hill in its current fifth season and the 2008 film Battle in Seattle.

In the summer of 2008, along with Modest Mouse, they opened for R.E.M. on the promotional tour for the new R.E.M. album Accelerate. That summer they also played many festivals in North America and Europe, including Coachella, Sasquatch, Glastonbury, Haldern Pop, Rock Werchter, Optimus Alive!, Oxegen, Benicàssim, Lowlands, O2 Wireless, T in the Park, and Lollapalooza.

On December 17, 2008, The band released a letter to members of their mailing list letting it be known that they were in the beginning stages of recording a new album and it could be expected some time in late 2009 or early 2010. During a Pitchfork interview in late March of 2009, Aaron Dessner said the album was still unnamed though lightheartedly suggested it would start with a "C" in the tradition of their previous two albums [2]. Tracks that have been performed live, to be featured on the album, are called "Wake Up Your Saints," "Blood Buzz, Ohio," "Vanderlylle Cry Baby," "Believe Me" (earlier called The Blue Sky and A Thousand Black Cities), and "Karamazov" (a reference to the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky called The Brothers Karamazov, a favorite of the band's members) which has also been known as "Runaway."

On February 17th, 2009, an album titled Dark Was the Night was released by 4AD, and was produced by Aaron & Bryce Dessner and is a 31 track compilation to benefit the Red Hot Organization. It also contains a new song by The National titled "So Far Around the Bend".

[edit] Political and Social Support

The band threw their support behind Barack Obama's 2008 bid for the White House. In July 2008, the band designed and sold a t-shirt with a picture of Barack Obama on it along with the words "Mr November", a reference to their song from Alligator and the month in which the presidential election occurs. All proceeds were donated to the Obama Campaign Fund.[5]

Their song "Fake Empire" was used by the Obama campaign at many high-profile events during the election. On August 28, 2008 "Fake Empire" was the back music to a video that was shown at Invesco Field during the Democratic National Convention the night that Barack Obama accepted his nomination.[6] On November 4, 2008, "Fake Empire" was the background music to a video that was shown in Grant Park prior to Barack Obama taking the stage to give his victory speech on Election night.[6]

On October 16, 2008, The National played a rally for Barack Obama on Fountain Square in their hometown of Cincinnati. Dayton's own Breeders opened the rally. Buses for early voting were available before the show to take voters to the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

In New York, on February 3rd, 2009, The National played at a benefit show for Philip Glass' Tibet House at Carnegie Hall.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

[edit] Film and home video

[edit] References

  1. ^ Better Propaganda Interview with Matt Berninger
  2. ^ Tom (6 August 2005). "The National – Interview". Sixeyes.blogspot.com. http://sixeyes.blogspot.com/2005/08/national-interview_06.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-20. 
  3. ^ "The National: Alligator (2005): Reviews". Metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/national/alligator?q=the%20national. Retrieved on 2009-02-20. 
  4. ^ Paste Magazine issue #38
  5. ^ http://www.merchco-online.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=506_518
  6. ^ a b Martinez, Chris. "Oh, What A Night: Chicago celebrates with President-elect Obama in Grant Park :: Local:Chicago :: Articles :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/11/oh-what-a-night-chicago-celebrates-with-president-.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-20. 
  7. ^ Billboard, Allmusic

[edit] External links

 This article's external links may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. (April 2009)

[edit] Interviews

v • d • e
The National
Matt Berninger · Aaron Dessner · Bryce Dessner · Bryan Devendorf · Scott Devendorf
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
"Abel" · "Secret Meeting" · "Lit Up" · "Mistaken for Strangers" · "Apartment Story" · "Fake Empire"
Related articles
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