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Featured Replies

They probably wont ship til much closer to the event. I dont have mine yet.

It's usually two weeks out. My tickets for Atlanta haven't been sent out yet and that's June 16. 

Did you get your download code from them for the new album.


Speaking of that, got the Cherry Tree vinyl for the new album. Listen #2 in progress. I like it. It's very different. The lack of Matt is a little jarring. That last half of the album though is so good. 

The National are my favorite band and have been since "Trouble Will Find Me," but I'm not yet sold on the new compilation album of songs occasionally featuring Matt Berninger.  Need a few more listens.

Light Years is one of the best TN songs I've ever heard. If I get nothing else out of the album besides that and YHYSWY, then I consider it a success. Of course there are a few more tracks that definitely could (will?) go on a Best Of compilation, so this is a plus album IMO.

fucking love the 3 song string in the middle of the album: where is her head, not in kansas, so far so fast.  

Really struggling to like this album, after 2 turns.  The entire thing seems tedious, and as much as the duets are a nice twist, taking MB out of the vocals is a waste for me.

PSA: Live! Philly National on XM 35 right now.

50 minutes ago, Bottlecap said:

Matt sounds terrible. 

That's what I thought on what I figured had to be a new song (right before "Wasp's Nest") -- it's really long and he's basically talking. Sounded better on some older tracks.

Edited by C-Man

Pretty sure it was “Not in Kansas”

Hate the female vocals.

Great Album.

Weird dichotomy. I literally hate the female vocals. I love the lyrics.

Hate the female vocals.

Great Album.

Weird dichotomy. I literally hate the female vocals. I love the lyrics.




Not in Kansas is a beautiful song — until the chick’s part. Damn near ruins the song for me.

Matt singing this entire album would be pretty incredible.

I love the songs. His voice is an instrument and they've taken that away here. Why is he backing someone else?

Make another band if you want to do that.

19 hours ago, HoustonHorn said:

Hate the female vocals.

Great Album.

Weird dichotomy. I literally hate the female vocals. I love the lyrics.
 

 

This is where I'm at.  Some of my favorite bands have female singers, old and new.  But Matt's voice is the signature stamp of their sound.  Occasional female harmonies would have been fine.  But hearing half the songs with females singing lead makes this album my least favorite since probably their debut.

Loving some of the songs like Not in Kansas, but this isn't an album I think I'll ever be able to listen to straight through from start to finish.

  • 2 weeks later...

I'm coming around on this somewhat. I really like this album. It just should not be The National. Once you set aside the name of the band, it really has some great songs.

I'm trying to like it and loved the first two singles Light Years and YHYSWY, I like Harpin Turns, Not In Kansas (outside of the female vocals at the end). I can't pick out anything else that feels right on the album and granted I've spun it completely maybe twice.

Where Is Her Head is a pretty great song. Like a melding of The National with Arcade Fire. Rylan's still the best. 

On 5/24/2019 at 1:35 PM, HoustonHorn said:

Matt singing this entire album would be pretty incredible.

I love the songs. His voice is an instrument and they've taken that away here. Why is he backing someone else?

Make another band if you want to do that.

Speaking of which, what ever came of El Vy?  They had that one song and nothing else from what I've heard...

So reading through the Pitchfork interview on the album, this makes me love Light Years even more.

Quote

AD: That song was connected to grief. I wrote the music after my wife’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer. She was in a very swift decline, so we moved to Denmark [to be with her]. There was this beautiful old Swedish piano in the house we rented where I wrote this and “Carin at the Liquor Store” [from Sleep Well Beast]. I sent it to Matt, and it was one of those ones that just clicked. He sent the song back a day later.

MB: Aaron writes stuff, and a lot of it can be academic, but sometimes it comes purely from an emotional place. With “Light Years,” you can tell whatever’s on that piano is 100 percent pure liquid emotion. When I get one of those, it’s easy to go into that same water.

Link

  • 2 weeks later...

Took a Father’s Day trip to Atlanta to catch them at The Roxy next to the Braves ballpark. I finally got to hear them perform Secret Meeting.  Not sure why I never went to see them when Alligator came out. It was a great show. On a lot of the songs from the new album, Matt sang the female parts and switched places with Kate on a lot of them. I will say ending with Light Years isn’t as good as Vanderlye. 

Edited by mdmost

  • 2 months later...
On 5/18/2019 at 2:44 PM, mdmost said:

It's usually two weeks out. My tickets for Atlanta haven't been sent out yet and that's June 16. 

Did you get your download code from them for the new album.


Speaking of that, got the Cherry Tree vinyl for the new album. Listen #2 in progress. I like it. It's very different. The lack of Matt is a little jarring. That last half of the album though is so good. 

so....yall got your tickets yet? because i don't.

I had to get them at the venue in Atlanta when I went. You may just have to go to Will Call when you get there. I'd email them to make sure. 

On 9/4/2019 at 5:31 PM, mdmost said:

I had to get them at the venue in Atlanta when I went. You may just have to go to Will Call when you get there. I'd email them to make sure. 

i got them on saturday. cutting it a bit close, imo.

but i've got them, and i'm fired up. anyone got any details on the timing of COTA shows? i've never been out there, but i'd like to take my lady to dinner before the show.

Super late because of this storm. My god Austin 360 sucks as a venue for a show like this.  I hope Matt isn’t *too* drunk. Just the right amount of drunk.  

THAT PLACE SUCKS

only sold 4400 tickets at a 14,000 capacity venue. Moved everyone that had a lawn ticket to seats

 

spacer.png

I can say with full confidence that i will never visit COTA again for a non race reason. Jesus. 

That really sucks. Where do they normally play in Austin when it's not ACL Fest? They did a show at Stubbs last year. 

7 minutes ago, mdmost said:

That really sucks. Where do they normally play in Austin when it's not ACL Fest? They did a show at Stubbs last year. 

I’ve seen them at Moody and the old Austin Music Hall.  Both were great shows. 

Saw these dudes at the Santa Fe Opera House on Sunday. Good show. Seemed like they played a mellower set based on the venue. 

Going to show in Houston tonight as well. 

 

 

I took my teenage daughter (no pics) to the show last night. She’s really into Alvvays and I’ve liked The National since I saw their music video for Mistaken for Strangers.  So it was cool for both of us.  We were disappointed that Alvvays only got 6 songs but we had a good time.  I was surprised Matt interacted with the audience so much.  We were in the seats on the aisle and he climbed the guardrail right beside us. I think I’ve converted my daughter into a fan.  

 

Any idea deal why you think the ticket sales were so slow? It was kind of sparse in the seats.

10 hours ago, nolongerU2horn said:

oh they also cut 3 songs from the setlist because of the delay

Did you get a look at the set list and know what they cut? Seems like you got a good view of Matt

I didn’t see the set list but Aaron came up to the front after Terrible Love  and apologized for the shorter set (he even specifically said 3 songs were cut) because of the delay

I think ticket sales were bad because people hate the venue, they just came through last October, and people are not enthused about the new album

Houston setlist compared to Austin:

September 11, 2019 || Houston, TX

Rylan
Quiet Light
The Pull Of You
Hey Rosey
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Guilty Party
Oblivions
So Far So Fast
Where Is Her Head
Baby We’ll Be Fine
I Need My Girl
This Is The Last Time
Day I Die
The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness
Pink Rabbits
Light Years
You Had Your Soul With You
Hard To Find
I Am Easy To Find
England
Terrible Love
Not In Kansas
Mr. November
Fake Empire
About Today
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

 

Austin

Rylan
Quiet Light
The Pull Of You
Hey Rosey
Don’t Swallow The Cap
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Oblivions
So Far So Fast
Where Is Her Head
Day I Die
The System Only Dreams In Total Darkness
Pink Rabbits
Light Years
You Had Your Soul With You
I Am Easy To Find
Graceless
Terrible Love
Mr. November
Fake Empire
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

6 songs?

Edited by mdmost

Tribute to Daniel Johnston at their Houston show last night

 

 

9 hours ago, Larry Sellers said:

I took my teenage daughter (no pics) to the show last night. She’s really into Alvvays and I’ve liked The National since I saw their music video for Mistaken for Strangers.  So it was cool for both of us.  We were disappointed that Alvvays only got 6 songs but we had a good time.  I was surprised Matt interacted with the audience so much.  We were in the seats on the aisle and he climbed the guardrail right beside us. I think I’ve converted my daughter into a fan.  

 

Any idea deal why you think the ticket sales were so slow? It was kind of sparse in the seats.

Tuesday night in the middle of fucking nowhere. I will never go back to there for an evening event. 

You guys are spoiled. We drove in from Temple for the show. I saw Mumford at Austin 360 a few years ago and remember not liking the venue. However after going to a show at Stubbs and being packed together with some 6’4” dudes blocking my view the whole time, I liked the seats. Someone gave us pit tickets, so we alternated between the seats and the pit.

  • 6 months later...

The National are doing a special event tonight where they're screening a documentary of footage from the High Violet era. Also releasing an expanded edition of the album in June.

 

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