I'm the new blue blood, I'm the great white hope
From the opening chords we know we're dealing with a great American single. Matt Berninger and the boys from Cincinatti have created a song with almost unlimited appeal. High praise, I know, but listen to the damn thing -- it's incredible. I can listen to the chorus "I won't fuck us over/I'm Mr. November" til the cows come home -- and I have no idea what Mr. November is. I'm pretty sure he's a quarterback, but he could be a dude who posed in a Calendar for all I know. It's not important.
What is important is that Mr. November will fuck us over. He has to. There's so much desperation, so much to lose, there is no other way. He's buried in all this old pride, this leftover bravado, but it's not worth a shit. None of it matters because whatever he's attempting now is bound to fail. Even though the song is absolutely bursting with hope, I can't help but feel it's false.
What's even more wonderful is that Mr. November is just the tip of the iceburg on The National's new album -- an album that is easily in my top 5 of '05 so far. I can't stop listening to it. From the very first song, this album just reeks of accomplishment and craft. It's an excellent American indie rock album. I'd rank these guys right up with Spoon in terms of melody, action and writing. It's highly recommend it. I'm surprised you don't already own it.
Now, people are bound to say "Hey -- you're just plugging these guys because they're on your compilation," and sure, that's part of it. But the song on our comp is from several years ago, and the band has grown by leaps and bounds since then. An interesting note is that the lyrics to "High Beams," which is on the comp, show up again in "All the Wine" from Alligator, which was also on the Cherry Wine EP. You can connect the dots, and see the growth! Plus, none of us are making any money from the comp, but the band will make money from Alligator. You can buy it, and all their other cds, direct from the band
And for the more visually inclined among you, check out the new video for the excellent single, Abel:
