The National - High Violet - Page 2

Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks finally kicked for me on the walk to the house from Wilshire and La Brea. Also, someone hooked me up with the first High Violet-related insult: "Sounds like SOMEBODY needed to have the geeks explain everything to HIM."

POW, motherfuckers.

That comment made sense to me. "Terrible Love" sounds considerably different live; on the album, the guitars, horns, and drums are muffled. It really changes the dynamics of the thing. But what works live doesn't always work as well as a recording, so I don't think it's a misstep. As a stand-alone, I can see a preference for the shinier live version. The Fallon performance was particularly great in this regard, but it looks like that's been pulled; here's another.

fucking cannot wait for next Friday

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeee

Hey hey read this hey

Didn't this band play on Letterman last night? If so...I need to buy this cd sooner rather than later. I haven't bought much new stuff in a while and never really heard of this group before. But what I'm reading here and elsewhere tells me they'd likely be a good fit for me.

Mmmmyep.

I suspect you won't be the only new fan they win over from that appearance. I like how their touring lineup has expanded to nearly Arcade Fire proportions (plus bonus Sufjan Stevens on backup vocals for the Letterman performance).

Bonus Sufjan is glorious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5C2W...ayer_embedded#!

Loving this album. They've really perfected the slow-burn-gets-better-every-time-you-hear-it formula.

I had to buy fucking mezzanine SEATING for this because Saturday was sold out and Friday was almost sold out. Oh well, hopefully it still rules, but I'd rather be on the floor.

I was in the way back when I saw them and it didn't really effect the show. I did want to be closer when he went apeshit on Mr. November, but other than that it was a fairly low key show. It sounded amazing though.

I'm pissed I missed the Sufjan cameo on Letterman too. Way cool.

ETA: Jesus, I got chills from that YouTube video! A fucking YouTube video from Letterman. They're even better live than I remember.

Their live streaming concert on YouTube (directed by D.A. Pennebaker) tonight was amazing. The performance I caught of theirs in Omaha during the "Boxer" tour was great, but the added live instruments, performers, and the overall confidence of the band (especially Matt Berninger) has elevated these guys to a "must see" band for anyone that gives a shit about rock.

And it figures that they have no plans to come to Omaha yet with their current tour. I'm jealous of you guys.

By the way, did anyone here pick up the limited edition version of "High Violet" at their local indie record stores? If not, its not a huge deal since there weren't any extra tracks on it. But the packaging was kind of neat.

FUCK. FUCK.

Did you miss it? If so it looks like they're replaying it right now.

As an added bonus, Sufjan Stevens continued to perform with them for this performance (for 3 songs I believe).

Nah, just flipping out because I already bought tickets for Friday and can't go because I told a friend I'd come to his show long before the tour dates were posted. ARRRGGHHHH

Unless he is a blood brother I would probably think of a great excuse to bow out of your friends show to make it to The National show on Friday. They could very well be at their peak level right now.

Actually having trouble reselling the ticket, so this might be the ticket. Sorry, but that's $40, bro. I'll check his shows later.

Anyone watch the streaming concert. The new songs sounded gorgeous live.

This album is a masterpiece.

SAAATURDAY. Hopefully FedEx actually leaves my goddamn tickets at the door tomorrow instead of refusing to just stick the fucking envelope into the mailslot.

#3 album in the country. Good for them.

Yeah, I was worried when I said that before it might be a bit premature. The more I listen to it the more I'm convinced. It is.

That's the first time I've listened to a full album three times in a row for a long-ass time, just magnificent, towering stuff. Great fucking year for music.

Ohmyfuckingod I'm at the Wiltern and AAAAAAAAAAA

Jesus christ, this band. Go see them. Beg, borrow, steal money, rape a dude, whatever. Just go see them. Matt Berringer losing his mind on Abel was worth all $90 I spent for the weekend trying to shuffle tickets around.

EDIT: Berringer? Fuck. Berninger. Matt Berringer, meet Tom Bernenger. I am a retard.

Just paid a shit-ton for tickets to see them in Brighton, England next month at the Corn Exchange which only holds about a 1000 people. Going to be awesome.

The last time I saw The National it was right after Boxer had come out and it was their home town of Cincinnati. I was lucky enough to stand next to Berninger's cousin who was one of the loudest, most obnoxious individuals I've ever encountered at a concert. Throughout the show he kept on shouting at Matt hoping to get his attention. When he finally did Berninger said, "The only thing thing bad about coming back to your hometown is your family comes to the show". His mother was also right in front of me.

hey listen to this

http://www.eachnotesecure.com/the-na...re-a-kindness/

put this in again after a while of not listening. Such a wonderful album.

Lemonworld is really clicking for me right now.

Tired of hearing little bitches on the internet whining that the band's ripping off their fans. This is a great band who happens to want to give us more greatness. Is that such a bad thing?

I'm new to the band. But this album just demolished the last Arcade Fire. It's so good.

People are actually complaining about this? I'm gonna be in line with a chainsaw for this fucking thing. Haters gonna hate.

Eh, it's a little more complicated than that. They're not "ripping off their fans," because no one's forcing anyone to buy anything, but it's still a little shitty. If they just wanted to "give us more greatness," they wouldn't bundle it with a bunch of greatness that most fans already have.

This whole "deluxe edition released a year or less after the original release" is a pretty cynical model, actually, and to understand why, you just have to ask yourself for whom this set is intended.

Diehard fans who somehow didn't pick up High Violet and need the album, plus outtakes?

Lukewarm fans who never bothered with High Violet at all, but are now going to be drawn in by an even-more-expensive option that includes both the album they couldn't be bothered to buy on its own, plus a bunch of tracks that they're probably even less interested in?

Probably not either of those, primarily. It's intended for fans who already have High Violet, but want those extra tracks. Which means that their intent is to sell the album twice, rather than simply offering the new tracks at EP price or something.

It's difficult for bands to make money, I realize, and the band and label don't "owe" the fans anything. But this is a really sneaky, dubious trend that seems anything but fan-friendly.

Yep, this crap has to stop, too many bands/labels are doing it nowadays and it's just such a shitty practice.

Remember when bands used to release EPs? Now they just package it with the record you already bought and charge full price.

Jesus christ...It's not like people are pissed off because the band is kindly releasing more music.

Anyway, against my expectations the band has scheduled a date 30 minutes away from here on November! I'm so pumped. Usually we'd get a band like this in some shitty festival (like Arcade Fire this summer). I got my tickets just this morning.

So true. Was thinking the exact same thing.

Don't necessarily agree that the target audience for the reissue is for the folks that already bought the album. You figure the word-of-mouth on this band is still escalating, especially after their live shows, and their audience is growing and widening by the minute. I can see a good number of people buying the Expanded Edition that never owned a National album before.

Hey, I'm not necessarily disagreeing with some of your points, but I don't think it was the band's original intent to make everyone buy the album twice. Also, for all we know, the second disc may be available as a separate purchase, ala Lady GaGa's The Fame Monster.

Obviously that wasn't what I meant. Just tired of people using the internet as a soapbox to whine, whine, and whine some more. If you don't want to buy the album, then don't. I highly (no pun intended) doubt that the band had this grand scheme from the very beginning to rip off their fans.

The bands, probably not. The labels, on the other hand, have just that intent in their minds. While it might be a somewhat good strategy to ride the tremendous word of mouth that High Violet has been receiving since the release, this tactic is being used more and more for albums that really don't warrant a reissue in such a short time. The labels confide that at least part of the already established fanbase will buy the product again to get the additional content - and it's certainly working 'cause they're doing it more and more.

It's just the same shit the studios pull when they release a movie in dvd and nine months later they barf out another edition stacked with extras. In that case too nobody's forcing you to buy it, but I think we can agree that it's shady way to do things and pointing it out doesn't make you a "little bitch".

You're preaching to the choir, buddy (and I don't say that in a sarcastic tone). I realize the labels want to make money. That's been their intent since...the dawn of record labels. In 2010, there are no set rules in the way albums are released and marketed. Expect the unexpected or the expected. If reissuing the album garners the band newer fans, then it was worth it from my perspective. Yeah, re-releasing it 6 months down the line may seem...cynical and even tacky...but 6 months, 12 months, 24 months down the road really is irrelevant. This is the year of The National. Makes sense to push out their name to the masses as much as possible.

Pointing it out doesn't make you a little bitch. Complaining about it like the band committed a sin of the highest order certainly does.

Also, they just did an XMU Sessions show. It aired Friday morning, and will air again this weekend-- noon on Saturday, I think? Pretty good performance, but the chick asking questions was not great.

So, I finally saw them yesterday in Milan, it was the sort of performance that makes you a fan for life. Really fantastic show, they don't lose an ounce of the elegant scope of their music, I actually think that Devendorf's drumming actually sounds even better live where it's a little less upfront in the mix.

The setlist, for whoever might be interested, went as follows:

“Runaway” “Anyone’s Ghost” “Mistaken For Strangers” “Bloodbuzz Ohio” “Slow Show” “Squalor Victoria” “Afraid Of Everyone” “Available / Cardinal Song” “Conversation 16″ “Sorrow” “Apartment Story” “Abel” “Daughters Of The Soho Riots” “England” “Fake Empire” “About Today” “Lucky You” “Mr. November” “Terrible Love”

The coupling of Squalor Victoria/Afraid of Everyone blew everyone away. Both tracks are unbelievable live.

What a band.