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I've said it here before, but The National were praised for how great they are live and I saw them finally in 2017 they are so massively overrated live. So many better acts.
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May 1, 2023 19:00
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T Bowl posted:I've said it here before, but The National were praised for how great they are live and I saw them finally in 2017 they are so massively overrated live. I mean when I listen to the 1-2 punch that is Alligator and Boxer... they probably were back in those days. Then they just became this sedated "Sad Dad" caricature and by 2017 (I saw them that year too) it was just... not great.
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May 1, 2023 20:33
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Matt's voice sounds like poo poo now too, I thought he had a lovely singing voice in the older days and now it sounds whispery and croaky.
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May 1, 2023 20:47
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Also you’re apparently rolling the dice these days on whether Matt will ruin the show by being incoherently drunk. I’m actually seeing them for the first time later this month so we’ll see!
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May 1, 2023 21:15
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I saw them on the Trouble Will Find Me tour and it was fantastic, but haven't seen them since. I like the new album more than any they've done since Trouble Will Find Me, but that's a pretty low bar. I don't hate it, but it's definitely background music. I could see myself chucking it on over wine and cheese or whatever. Easy listening for sad dads God I'm old now.
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May 1, 2023 22:07
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I loved Trouble Will Find Me, but that album did come out like a decade ago, didn't it?  I've never seen them live but I did watch their 2+ hour long Live at Sydney Opera House show on YouTube and it was pretty cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWd0EWKpH94
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May 1, 2023 22:17
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Big City Drinkin posted:Also you’re apparently rolling the dice these days on whether Matt will ruin the show by being incoherently drunk. I’m actually seeing them for the first time later this month so we’ll see! Only time I saw them Matt got drunk during the show, which honestly did help him loosen up. In local news the new Tiny Ruins album dropped last week for anybody that likes our kiwi branded indie https://youtu.be/s4feBg1lmrU
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May 1, 2023 22:30
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Rageaholic posted:I've never seen them live but I did watch their 2+ hour long Live at Sydney Opera House show on YouTube and it was pretty cool: Yeah, I saw them play four days before that Sydney gig so the video is pretty much exactly the same as my experience. It was great, and probably the reason I keep listening to them even after a few pretty dire albums.
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May 1, 2023 22:44
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I’ll still go to bat for The National but I’m a sucker for their whole vibe and probably always will be. I think most people have bands they continue to like way beyond when they were Actually Good and I guess they’ve become one of mine, so it goes
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May 1, 2023 22:54
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I’m completely the same. I just love those guys and am always happy to hear new music.
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May 2, 2023 00:03
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I'm not even opposed to the slower style they do now but it all sounds*exactly* the same. Like the past 20 songs just sound like demos of the same song. It's just so droning and uninspired.
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May 2, 2023 00:21
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BonoMan posted:I'm not even opposed to the slower style they do now but it all sounds*exactly* the same. Like the past 20 songs just sound like demos of the same song. It's just so droning and uninspired. I think you just need to change it up a little. Maybe instead of something by The National, something produced and written by one of their members but for a different artist https://youtu.be/K-a8s8OLBSE
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May 2, 2023 00:28
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Funnily enough the Taylor Swift duet on the latest album was probably the best song there
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May 2, 2023 00:39
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i thought Sleep Well Beast and I Am Easy to Find were two of their most distinct-sounding albums, between the former's more electronica-type beats and the latter's emphasis on backing vocals (which then carried over to Serpentine Prison). Easy to Find in particular has a lot of my favorite songs from their whole repertoire First Two Pages is way more scattershot in comparison and i thought it had more outright duds than anything else they've put out, but in any case the relative homogeneity of their sound is something you sign up for going in. at this point in my life my musical tastes are defined by: a) is this something i listened to fifteen years ago b) does this remind me of something i listened to fifteen years ago c) does it make me go "oh that's nice" in the first ten seconds
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May 2, 2023 01:00
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I will say that I thought Matt Berninger’s solo album was dreadful, so even I have a line
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May 2, 2023 01:02
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BonoMan posted:I'm not even opposed to the slower style they do now but it all sounds*exactly* the same. Like the past 20 songs just sound like demos of the same song. It's just so droning and uninspired. That's the double edged sword of being a successful band for 20 years. You stick with the same sound, people complain it's gotten stale. You try and change up your sound like Arcade Fire, and people say they just want the same sound they had 20 years ago.
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May 2, 2023 01:02
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Yeah, the only band I know of that’s pulled the hat trick of “after 20 years, now for something completely different” successfully is Low. Maybe Liars counts too, but they kind of did a different for thing every album and it didn’t always work (but I still love Liars)
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May 2, 2023 01:16
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Bowie's final album was A. Pretty different to everything else he'd done and B. One of his very best, I reckon. Edit: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have changed their sound up pretty regularly, and the only bad album they've ever released is Nocturama imo
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May 2, 2023 01:46
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Shining Toaster posted:Yeah, the only band I know of that’s pulled the hat trick of “after 20 years, now for something completely different” successfully is Low. Maybe Liars counts too, but they kind of did a different for thing every album and it didn’t always work (but I still love Liars) I only know their most recent album, but when I bought the vinyl at a local record store, the guy at the register started enthusing about the band, saying that every other album they did was experimental, then they'd go back to their usual sound. cptn_dr posted:Bowie's final album was A. Pretty different to everything else he'd done and B. One of his very best, I reckon. That was very good and I should listen to it again.
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May 2, 2023 01:48
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cptn_dr posted:Bowie's final album was A. Pretty different to everything else he'd done and B. One of his very best, I reckon. Oh these are great examples. I should really listen to Bowie more often
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May 2, 2023 02:06
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cptn_dr posted:Bowie's final album was A. Pretty different to everything else he'd done and B. One of his very best, I reckon. Yes to both of these. Blackstar is amazing. Also I'd argue U2 has done some good style changing. Boy/War/October UF/JTree/R&H AB/Zooropa/Pop ATYCLB (sort of the hangover catharsis to the 90s) Shame they didn't make anything after that.
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May 2, 2023 03:32
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bows1 posted:Did you watch the opener Yeah Baby?
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May 2, 2023 05:08
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Apropos of nothing I feel like I may be the only person who much prefers Jessie Ware’s earlier, torch song type stuff to her disco reinvention. That’s fine and all but man Tough Love and Devotion are just two fantastic albums.
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May 2, 2023 05:21
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Love that this kicked off the most engaged day for this thread since these bands were at their peak, hah! I've thrown around my love bands too, clearly The National stick with most of you more than they do for me, we all love our own stuff. Give me Jim James and Robin Pecknold forever.
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May 2, 2023 07:38
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cptn_dr posted:Bowie's final album was A. Pretty different to everything else he'd done and B. One of his very best, I reckon. There are a ton of examples of seasoned musicians releasing stellar work later, but yeah... Bowie nailed a few albums over three decades into his career.
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May 2, 2023 07:43
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Shining Toaster posted:Yeah, the only band I know of that’s pulled the hat trick of “after 20 years, now for something completely different” successfully is Low. Maybe Liars counts too, but they kind of did a different for thing every album and it didn’t always work (but I still love Liars) I think Belle and Sebastian have crossed over the 20 year mark distressingly enough. Stuart really wants to be an electro pop band n some ways.
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May 2, 2023 09:41
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I first saw The National live just after Boxer came out and they were absolutely phenomenal, but that was 15 years ago and I’m not surprised the band is in a different place now, though I know that’s disappointing to many. I will say that when I saw them last, in August of last year, they weren't on top form, but given the difficulties in making the album they've been discussing in recent interviews (Matt giving up drinking and dealing with heavy depression and writer's block), I can forgive them and I'm glad they're still putting out music. I find FTPoF is a less interesting album at first blush than SWB or IAEtF, and it's not going to convert anyone who wasn't already a fan, but it’s still a very good album in my opinion, with a couple of excellent tracks. I think IAEtF also got an initially cold reception from a lot of people due to the female vocalists and the film tie-in, but I think that proves there’s no pleasing everyone. For my money, SWB and IAEtF are some of their best work, but there's definitely a significant group of fans who'd prefer something more like Boxer or High Violet.
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May 2, 2023 14:07
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Magic Mango posted:I first saw The National live just after Boxer came out and they were absolutely phenomenal, but that was 15 years ago and I’m not surprised the band is in a different place now, though I know that’s disappointing to many. I will say that when I saw them last, in August of last year, they weren't on top form, but given the difficulties in making the album they've been discussing in recent interviews (Matt giving up drinking and dealing with heavy depression and writer's block), I can forgive them and I'm glad they're still putting out music. Alligator is objectively the best album. Boxer is good but drat Alligator is *amazing*. Also didn't realize that Matt actually quit drinking. Did he really??? Good for him if he did. He drank way too much on stage to where, even to a casual observer, it kind of seemed like a problem.
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May 2, 2023 14:48
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BonoMan posted:Alligator is objectively the best album. Boxer is good but drat Alligator is *amazing*. This article mentions him giving up booze and weed, though I’m not sure if it’s for good. The first time I saw them, Matt drank multiple bottles of wine though the set and it definitely seemed like A Problem.
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May 2, 2023 15:02
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I’m surprised by the number of articles I’ve seen that now point to Sleep Well Beast as being the start of some band-ending quality drop, I thought that album was excellent and as I recall its initial reception seemed to agree? At least the reviews I can find are in line with that. I know I Am Easy to Find was a harder sell, and I’ll agree it could have cut a few tracks, but overall I think it’s strong (and perhaps controversially, I think the cuts should have come from the Berninger-centric songs that don’t feature female vocalists front-and-center). Sleep Well Beast is solid through-and-through, though, and is just as good as Trouble Will Find Me in my book. As for First Two Pages of Frankenstein, I’m still forming an opinion but I do like it. Like all their other albums, I liked it more the second time I listened to it, so it’s going to take more spins before I can compare it to previous releases. e: and just to prove I listen to things besides The National, I’m super into that new Wednesday album y’all, just an absolute treasure Shining Toaster fucked around with this message at 01:35 on May 3, 2023 |
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May 3, 2023 01:30
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Alan Palomo/Neon Indian put out his first song since, 2018? Either way it's got Mac Demarco on it and I'm pretty much exactly the target market for this, plus the video is a great Leisure Suit Larry sendup featuring Joe Camel and Ernest Borgnine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGgNhwhNz44 RedneckwithGuns fucked around with this message at 04:52 on May 3, 2023 |
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May 3, 2023 04:46
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Did not know about that video thanks for sharing it’s amazing lol
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May 3, 2023 12:18
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It's nice hearing lyrics again over his music. I swear I ignored his last album just because the first track he released was instrumental. And I just assumed the whole thing would be, doh!
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May 3, 2023 22:08
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https://youtu.be/XVKHeBRox0k Was not expecting this but I’ll take more Hives for sure
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May 3, 2023 23:52
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Yeah that was quite the surprise! I relate to dad-hives more than ever
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May 3, 2023 23:55
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Mac endorsed music video for “ball for the coach”, made with AI. https://youtu.be/tEyiCSkm5_M
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May 4, 2023 03:56
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It's hilarious everyone has a The National story. Here's mine: Saw them at The Metro (small venue) for a Lolla aftershow in 2018. When I got there the line was wrapped around the loving building. I waited until they started letting people in, acted like I was taking a picture of the marquee and just snuck in line, so I was one of the first ~50 people in. Total poo poo move in retrospect to everyone that was waiting for hours, but it was late and I didn't care. So I was up near the rail for most of the show. They played until like 2 AM. Matt was drinking mixed drinks the entire time and was definitely hosed up by the end, but honestly that probably made the acoustic Vanderlyle ending much, much better. It was an amazing show, maybe because of the venue/time, but it was so good. I've seen them once since then and it was not the same at all.  
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May 4, 2023 20:21
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Polyvinyl and American Football bought the American Football house. https://polyvinylrecords.com/news/5931
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May 5, 2023 15:17
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Hot Diggity! posted:Polyvinyl and American Football bought the American Football house. lol awesome
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May 5, 2023 15:29
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOU-HjwfJgU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLEiQ2jImxY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMC6vZrk4aE
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May 6, 2023 06:24
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