Azzurri

it's got some really good songs - Pioneer to the Falls, Mammoth, Lighthouse, and Wrecking Ball. Pioneer might be their best ever. But the rest is mediocre to terrible. not even close to their debut.

Ashcroft's solo stuff is not up to par with The Verve, except for maybe a few songs here and there. the first album was decent. the last one sucked.

i agree that Urban Hymns is great though.

this could be interesting.

New York folks ... just announced:

 

Tue Jun 26 '07 (8:00PM)

Hiro Ballroom

New York, NY

 

No ticket info, but that place is tiny.

how do you know when/where to get tickets for this? is it going to be some secret password/fansite bullshit?

i just spoke to my mom about the sopranos episode and she was like "did you see Paolo in the Sopranos..." anyway, i didn't recognize him without his glasses on, and i hadn't talked to him for years, but the guy who comes in with AJ, sits on the stool to drink coffee and walks past the family to go to the restroom has been a family friend of ours for many years. i even worked at his pizzeria when i was in college. as far as i know, this is his first acting role. Paolo is from the same town outside of Naples as my family.

i agree that Halloween Head will probably be the worst song on the record, but it's kind of fun. after a few listens, i don't hate it as much as i did when i first heard it.

i saw them on Thursday at one of the 5 bowery ballroom shows in NYC. amazing. they are truly one of the best bands right now. the songs are just great live, they really shine. they seem more relaxed on stage as well - matt berninger went into the crowd during "Abel" and let the crowd sing with him. it was a lot of fun.

i agree...i hadn't heard that much Dinosaur Jr before. but this album is awesome. that guitar solo in Pick Me Up is killer.

the cover art is just so gay.

didn't he beat up his drummer one night at a concert.?..i remember reading something about that.

yep, best of the year so far.

i am going to see them at the end of the month. they are doing a five night stint at the bowery ballroom in NYC. all five shows sold out. i think the band might finally break out, as Alligator raised their profile considerably.

not only is the musicianship impeccable, but there are so many cool lyrical snippets in the songs.

"...You

the show has signed on for another three years, at 16 episodes a season

Started this last night. It's pretty grim so far ...

it's gets even darker too. the ending may leave you in tears. extremely powerful.

McCarthy is just a genius. he will stand among the giants when all is said and done - faulkner, mellville, fitzgerald, hemingway, etc.

decent song, but doesn't excite me for the new record at all..

 

as much as i like Interpol, it appears as though their lyrics will never improve enough to not bother me

what, you mean the line "You wear those shoes like a dove..." is not brilliant?

yeah, i know where you are coming from...it's hard to look past such stupid lyrics sometimes.

that said, i heard a live version of another new song, Pioneer, and it was much better than this one.

the first album was great, but i coudn't even get through the new one. it's a totally different band now, but they changed for the worse.

Welsh Rich - i found this article on The National's website forum. Somone had transcribed an article that appears in Magnet magazine. This should give you some good background on the Springsteen thing:

THE NATIONAL

The Slow Build To Such Great Heights

Bruce Springsteen wanted to praise him for his lyrics,but Matt Berninger,singer for Brooklyn-vi-Ohio band the National,had already left the building.

The occasion:a tribute concert to Springsteen's Nebraska at which the National turned in a version of Mansion On The Hill before gathering on stage- along with a dozen or so other performers - to back the Boss on a woody Guthrie tune.But when it came time to socialize afterward,Berninger was already cozily settled in at home in front of the Tv while his bandmates downed whiskey with Springsteen.

"He told (guitarist) Bryce (Dessner) that he has all of our records,and we've heard that his walk-on music ,before he comes on stage,includes About Today",says Berninger,clearly tickled and still surprised,even nine months after the fact. "He was quoting songs and asking about lyrics,so it was pretty clear that he'd spent some time with our records,which is unbelievably flattering.

I think i was home watching 'The West Whing' while they were chatting with Bruce about lyrics.So,yeah,I wanted to kill myself next day. But i was intimidated to talk to somebody who's sort of a hero; I'd almost rather keep him as a mythic figure."

Springsteen,like a good chunk of the National's expanding fanbase,is apparently a diehard,picking a track from a 2004 Ep released by Brassland,an indie label launched,in part,to release the group's music. The wagon didn't get away until astonishing 2005 breakthrough Alligator, which perfectly captured the band's morning-after aura: a woozy atmosphere where Tindersticks and Leonard Cohen mingle,but where occasional guitar-rock anthem isn't considered gauche or unreachable.

"We've been lucky because it's been a very slow incline of people finding about us",says Berninger,who also cites a 2005 co-headlining tour with pals Clap Your Hands Say Yeah as a turning point. "Alligator definitely reached a lot more people than the records before it had,but it never exploded.It had been out three or four months before people starting paying attention.The only pressure has been internal,not wanting to repeat ourselves or phone something in."

For the National - which also includes Dessner's guitar-playing twin brother Aaron and another pair of siblings,Scott and Bryan Devendorf (bass and drums,respectively) - it's time to complete the year-long task of creating fourth album Boxer,which will be released by Beggars Banquet on May 22.

Berninger sounds relaxed for someone who still needs to finish lyrics for a couple of songs and get them recorded,mixed and mastered in seven days.

"I'm anxious, he says,though the timbre of his voice doesn't necessarily agree. "You can completely fuck up a song in the last minute if you're not careful,by sprucing it up too much or whatever.

There were a bunch of album titles thrown out that we all decided we hated.

'Green Gloves' was one.It's the name of a song,but as the title of a record,it conjures some sort of disgusting Spinal Tap image and Hamburger Helper.

We've quickly realized that most of the titles we've thrown around sound horrible.

Titles are hard.Naming our band.....We made a major mistake doing that."

Other decisions have been made with more precision and forethought.

The National whittled down almost 50 instrumental sketches into 12 songs that the band is "ecstatic" about,and Berninger has taken great care in finding the right words to suit the moods. He throws away tons of lyrics while trying to strike a balance between sincerity and humor. (And ,he says,trying "not to sound like an asshole.") Certain lines on Alligator caught special attention by mixing pathos and levity,particulary this charming couplet from the gorgeous "Karen":

"It's a common fetish for a doting man/To ballerina on the coffee table,cock in hand."

"Because there's a reference to holding my cock,that line sticks out,"laughs Berninger. "I don't think it's one of the best lines on Alligator,but it's funny.

There are similar moments on Boxer where it's also kind of absurd.

It's always a balancing act. I think there has to be about 30 percent stupidity, otherwise it's just obnoxious. I've achieved that; I've definitely got the 30 percent stupidity,so i'm proud of that. It's usually the less flowery lines and less 'lyrical' things that I prefer in the long run. Writing lyrics is weird. It's not poetry. If you think of it as poetry,you're gonna write some terrible lyrics.

To approximate an honest or truthful representation of anything-regardless of what the song is about-you've gotta have the balance of being sincere and little ridiculous."

apparently, Bruce Springsteen is a big fan of the band...ask them how that came about.

i'd also be interested to know what contemporary bands they are into...

good luck with the interview

Cormac McCarthy's The Road...again (Best Book of 2006):

Good to see Mr. McCarthy won the Pulitzer for this one. So very dark, but with the ultimate hope never lost...the last 5 pages had me in tears

this book should be required reading for all world leaders...

it's a classic, and McCarthy is up there with the giants of literature.

they have just added a fifth show at the Bowery - June 1st. the other four appear to be sold out. FYI for NYC fans.

me too. can't wait to see them at the Bowerly Ballroom in May.

i love the album, especially the last 4 songs: Guest Room, Racing Like a Pro, Ada, and Gospel. Gospel might be my favorite. but that may change. there are no weak tracks here.

i used to hate saying an album is a "grower," but that cliche applies here. it sort of floated by on first listen...now the melodies are in my head and i appreciate the layers more

yeah it is, i didn't mean it's a ripoff, just that it REALLY reminds me of that song, mostly in his vocal phrasing

 

especially on the "you get mistaken for strangers by your own friends" part... VERY similiar to the "It took a life spent with no cellmate" of Evil

i hear the similarities...but, of course, the lyrics to Mistaken for Strangers are much much better. as much as i like Interpol, the lyrics are just baffling to me.

these guys have to be one of the better bands out there at the moment...the drumming on this album is amazing.

it's emptiness, not emptyness

http://www.sendspace.com/file/agiqhj

this is radio rip of "Mistaken for Strangers", which is admittedly crappy quality, but it's another great song.

there is supposedly another song floating around the net, "Mistaken for Strangers."

there will probably be a leak of the whole album within the week

ugh, that guy kinda sounds like the lead singer from Crash Test Dummies.

so you don't dig the guy's voice...too bad, they are actually one of more intelligent bands out there. great in concert too.