I'm afraid to even touch this topic. It's past 2:30am and I know it's already been said by others who are much more advanced in their musical musings but I want to say it:
The National's High Violet is one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life.
Maybe I don't have wonderful new words to describe its intensity and haunting beauty but I am obsessed. Obsessed in a way that doesn't fade after a few listens, obsessed in a way that continues to gain momentum with every listen and drive me crazy wondering how music like this can even be created. I can't decide which song is best because every song just keeps sounding better and better. I'm not well enough acquainted with these songs to give a full view of everything I'm thinking or will be thinking within a few more listens. You have to absorb these songs and give them time to settle in your brain. I give a lot of credit to someone who can write a coherent review of this without gushing all over it. There is not a single poor word to be said about this masterpiece. I don't even know how many layers fill up every second of each piece -- it makes me want to be a musician just so I can try to understand the complexity.
The amazing thing about Matt Berninger particularly is that he makes these incredibly complex, jarring, exquisite pieces relatable to even an untrained ear such as my own. His voice fills up the holes that inevitably occur for someone who can't translate the foreign language of these incredible instruments. His lyrics are both mystifying and real. This is not just music that sounds good (as my blog title would imply) - this is music that makes you feel something. And for that matter, it is not just "something" - it is the deepest, darkest part of your heart that is hardest to reach. It makes you remember that there is another layer of yourself as well.
I can't even believe I'm saying these crazy things about a set of a few songs. It's not unusual for me to be extremely excited about my favorite music but I assure you, this is not just music. This is a sound reminding me that I have more in me than I even realize. I am in my early/almost mid twenties. I am in a weird place in my life that I often try to ignore. It is a scary time in anyone's life but even scarier to be this age in the times we live in. I get scared a lot. Matt Berninger's voice reminds me of this and yet makes me feel like I should be brave about these fears. He openly admits his feelings of fear, inadequacy, and confusion... not in any way I have ever heard though. It is sophisticated, endearing, full of space to place yourself in his position.
I may never find the right words to express how I feel when I hear The National. It is so different from any other music I have ever experienced. When you hear Sam Cooke sing "A Change is Gonna Come", you feel something deep inside your gut that tells you this is the real thing. The National has this in every song. It is realistically magical and unfathomably honest and stirring. Matt Berninger sings "doo doo doo doo" and you feel the earth move.
This is the kind of song I want to live inside of. If people in Japan can marry virtural reality characters, I should be allowed to marry this song.
The sound is not so good but if you google the song or follow this link you can find the studio version that blows my mind. It is sexy, eerie, scary, and beautiful all at once (which is the way I'd describe The National in general).
Youtube user that uploaded this: Thank you for being incredible. I am in debt to you.
I am extremely liberal and very supportive of artists in any medium expressing themselves in the way they feel fit. I only begin to have a problem when a married mom is seen making out with women in latex, wearing red lingiere while riding some overly greased buff guy, and deliberately making it appear that she is having sex with a woman when we know very well she's heterosexual.
I am not making a judgment about all of this but just throwing my opinion into the ring. I think Christina Aguilera is exceptionally talented. I've been a semi-fan since I was probably 11 years old or something. She's got a great voice and her style is typically really neat. Also, it must be said that I usually love outlandish music videos. I actually like "Not Myself Tonight" as well but I think it is merely verging on a collection of images purposely provoking a reaction - and that's it. The song itself - other than her incredible voice - is really silly. The generic dance beat in the background is bland and the lyrics certainly aren't anything new. I think Aguilera knows this - and maybe she just likes to dance and have a good time - but I didn't realize that's the image she was going for. I thought she was a serious vocalist.
Not to retract that statement but I don't want anyone thinking I like my artists to come in a package: it's important for musicians to expand themselves into as many genres and styles as they please but why would one deliberately regress? It is not like she is trying to get a message out that's important to her: she did not write this song and seems a little angry overall, giving the camera the middle finger at points. But why is she angry? I'm so confused.
There's no denying she's thin, blonde, and beautiful but she can be all those things in a REAL video too. Why does she have to simulate oral sex with a woman and very graphically show scenes that look like they're right out of a porno? That's actually the thing that bothered me the most - I love women being sexy and taking control but those images were gratuitious. Like, it is fine to be naked in your music video or whatever but this is beyond that for no apparent reason. You can say it's for fun but who is having the fun?
I don't know. This is a tricky situation. I know some artists make music to turn people on and there have been musicians like David Bowie, Madonna, Prince, etc. shocking people for years. Compared to those, this probably won't get any notice except for her apparent 'blatant copying' of Lady Gaga. The only thing is I don't even see the Gaga copy because Lady Gaga wouldn't just do things for the shock value. I actually believe her when she says there is an underlying context to her performances and videos. She articulately explains that she just expresses herself in a different fashion than others and you have to look closer for the meaning. What could possibly be the meaning behind this Christina Aguilera video?
If people had a problem with Katy Perry's song "I Kissed a Girl" because it was portraying homosexuality in a fun, frivolous way for heterosexuals, I can't imagine what people would think of this video. Why do people continuously think it's sexy to dress in latex and make out with other girls? The gross, middle-aged guys that watch this alone late at night are not the audience I would think Ms. Aguilera was going for. And I'm just going to put this out there as well: I know music videos are acting but if I were her husband I would be pretty disgusted. He could be totally open-minded but if my boyfriend was gratutiously making out and basically having sex with a girl in a film or music video I wouldn't be able to look at him the same way. Tina Fey recently said that while filming "Date Night", both her and Steve Carrell felt awkward during the kissing scenes (that are really not sexual at all) because they're both married. I know it depends on each person, but I've heard that a lot in interviews - and I believe it. That has to be insanely awkward - if it's important to the plot of a scene I understand but once again, why in a music video?
I don't mean to sound so stiff but I feel like this video is making a mockery out of music videos and that offends me personally because it's already a dying breed and already seen as entirely too sexist. I love tons of sexist videos but this is just too much for no reason. I don't hate it but I just don't get it.
Also, when did she get her new British Aristocracy accent? I've lost count of how many pop stars are doing this now.
It seems very ironic now that she would complain in interviews all the time about not being taken seriously as an artist with songs like "Genie in a Bottle" that only accentuated her sexuality and not her voice. It makes me really sad to think that some music is just about the money..
Guess I have to just suck it up and go out and buy some bondage materials.
Not Myself Tonight Lyrics
Written by Polow Da Don
You know tonight
I am feeling a little out control
Is this me
You wanna get crazy
Because I don't give a...
1ST VERSE
I'm out of character
I'm in rare form
And If you really knew me
You'd know its not the norm
B SECTION:
Cause I'm doing things that I normally won't do
The old me's gone I feel brand new
And if you don't like it **** you
The music's on and I'm dancing
I'm normally in the corner just standing
I'm feeling unusual
I don't care cause this is my night
HOOK:
I'm not myself tonight
Tonight I'm not the same girl same girl
I'm not myself tonight
Tonight I'm not the same girl same girl
2ND VERSE:
I'm dancing alot and I'm taking shots I'm feeling fine
I'm kissing all the boys and the girls
Someone call the doctor cause I lost my mind
B SECTION:
Cause I'm doing things that I normally won't do
The old me's gone I feel brand new
And if you don't like it **** you
The music's on and I'm dancing
I'm normally in the corner just standing
I'm feeling unusual
I don't care cause this is my night
HOOK:
I'm not myself tonight
Tonight I'm not the same girl same girl
I'm not myself tonight
Tonight I'm not the same girl same girl
BRIDGE:
In the morning
When I wake Up
I'll go back to the girl I used to be
But baby not tonight
HOOK:
I'm not myself tonight
Tonight I'm not the same girl same girl
I'm not myself tonight
Tonight I'm not the same girl same girl
Yah, that feels good
I needed that
Get crazy
Let's go
That's right
Come on
Give it to me now, don't stop
01. He's able to turn a simple, two minute song into a treasure (see: "Fashion Coat")
02. His beard.
03. The business chic attire on stage and in all these new publicity photos.
04. Awkward, nervous, confident, quiet, pensive, creative, etc. personality.
05. "I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away."
06. Lives in the tri-state area.
07. This description of him from a recent article: "Their focal point is a frontman who admits he finds the idea of being the singer in a rock band 'sort of embarrassing'."
08. His desire for the new album to sound like "loose wool" and "hot tar".
09. His outrageous antics on stage (carrying a microphone stand on his back, throwing alcohol across the stage at a New York Magazine gala).
The amazing thing about Matt Berninger particularly is that he makes these incredibly complex, jarring, exquisite pieces relatable to even an untrained ear such as my own. His voice fills up the holes that inevitably occur for someone who can't translate the foreign language of these incredible instruments. His lyrics are both mystifying and real. This is not just music that sounds good (as my blog title would imply) - this is music that makes you feel something. And for that matter, it is not just "something" - it is the deepest, darkest part of your heart that is hardest to reach. It makes you remember that there is another layer of yourself as well.
