That right there is Mr. Delicious Baritone Matt Berninger of The National, my favorite band of the moment. I can't stop listening to their most recent disc, "Boxer." They are one of those indie bands whose later discs I love much more than the first ones. It might be because the sound is more muddy and reverb-y than their previous songs, but the main reason is this: The National really knows how to write a bridge. For me, songs live and die by the bridge, and the songs distinguish themselves from each other and all possess a very intoxicating bridge. They have great melodic sensibility, effortless harmony, and perfectly obscure and sometimes kind of poetic lyrics. It doesn't hurt that there's almost always a running beat, which is kind of like my crack.Being addicted to AI this year has forced me to sit through some of the most boring and annoying songs ever written (uh, QUEEN) and I was thinking about how many songs in the world I really do not love. Donnie & I were driving to and from Sanford today listening to the XM station I think called Hiltlist or something like that, which plays songs, like I told Donnie, that I would always skip if I owned the disc. I'm not going to say they're bad songs, per se, but not aesthetically pleasing to my ear. You know the type: "Bad to the Bone," "Maneater," "Jesse's Girl," anything by Billy Idol (except the freaky and nonsensical and awesome "Eyes Without a Face"). It's happy radio hits, basically, and I'm not some goth who hates happy, but give me minor and melancholy at least some of the time. I definitely wouldn't choose "Glory Days" when there's "I'm On Fire" available, I'm saying. And p.s. Donnie has this crazy secret talent of knowing every word to most of the Hitlist songs. I don't know if there's an XM station out there where I could compete. Maybe if there was a Mormon Hymns one. I do know most of them.
6 comments:
Do you remember how Toni Ensign and Sister Darchuck (I can't remember her first name) used to know the words to practically all songs too? I remember singing them at girls camp. Anyway, way random, but I love to sing in the car. James is singing Clay Aiken now, belting it out thanks to his mother, the Claymate. :-)
You could compete in a Tori XM station for sure. And also maybe Rush Roll the Bones. :)
It was Julie, Bean. And I totally don't remember that about them. That's so funny.
Why does it happen? Because it happens. Roll the Bones.
For the record, the station is "Big Tracks." I'd also know all the words to every song on "Top Tracks" (which is mostly classic rock type stuff, but a little more "southern" about it), Oldies, Highway 16 (country), and probably the 80's and 90's stations.
Thanks for giving me a new band to listen to! I've been unable to listen to any of my old music lately, because it all makes me too sad, so now I have something brand new. Went out and bought a cd today. I'm just mad that I missed their NYC concert earlier this spring! It probably would have been so good.
hey lis: all i gotta say is DITTO to the national. a fantastic choice for fantastic listening!
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