Alligator By The National
We were at our friends Alison and Nathan's house on Friday night, playing Trivial Pursuit and drinking Kahlua and cream---hey, we know how to do the weekend up right---when this amazing sound suddenly started coming through the iPod speakers, the sort of sound that stops you in your tracks and makes you sit up a little bit straighter.
"What is this?" I asked, like a vegetarian who's just tasted bacon. Or a person who's just tasted Kahlua and cream.
"Oh, it's a band called The National," Alison said.
"I must hear more!" I said, and so they played the whole album for me, and by the time I left that night, The National was my new favorite band. Yeah, yeah, I know, you've probably been listening to them since 2005, but in case you haven't, please do yourself a favor and check out Alligator and listen, in this order, to "Karen," "Abel," and then "Baby, We'll Be Fine. That last one is the absolute best song I've heard in as long as I can remember, the kind of song that makes you put off going to bed because if you go to bed you'll have to stop listening to it until the morning, and I've played it so many times tonight that my next door neighbor probably knows all the words. But oh, what damn fine words they are.
Baby, We'll be Fine
All night I lay on my pillow and pray
For my boss to stop me in the hallway
Lay my head on his shoulder and say
Son, I've been hearing good things
I wake up without warning and go flying around the house
In my sauvignon fierce, freaking out
Take a forty-five minute shower and kiss the mirror
And say, look at me
Baby, we'll be fine
All we gotta do is be brave and be kind
I put on an argyle sweater and put on a smile
I don't know how to do this
I'm so sorry for everything
Baby, come over, I need entertaining
I had a stilted, pretending day
Lay me down and say something pretty
Lay me back down where I wanted to stay
Just say something perfect, something I can steal
Say, look at me
Baby, we'll be fine
All we've gotta do is be brave and be kind
I pull off your jeans, and you spill jack and coke in my collar
I melt like a witch and scream
I'm so sorry for everything
May 05, 2008
okay, but now march yourself over to amoeba and buy yourself BOXER.
May 05, 2008
Oh I love new music suggestions! I'm going to itunes now.
May 05, 2008
Such a familiar reaction. My boss introduced me to The National recently and apparently I was the only person at the office who didn't know the band (well, me and my 60 year old colleague to be accurate.)
May 05, 2008
I second the Boxer rec. I listen to it at least once a day.
May 05, 2008
Now I've got to go check them out.
Love this line: "Baby, come over, I need entertaining/I had a stilted, pretending day..." feels true for me today.
May 05, 2008
If you haven't already, you should check out Paste Magazine. It's a music magazine based in Athens, GA, and each issue of comes with a CD of new songs. Your music taste and mine seem quite similar (judging by the songs that rotate through your music player thingie on this blog) and I'm always finding stuff I LOVE on the Paste samplers.
May 06, 2008
I just listened to this on my run and I didn't want to stop running because I didn't want to turn it off. Really, really awesome tunes and I am just embarrassed I'd never listened to them before.
May 08, 2008
I third the Boxer recommendation...and, seeing as we're throwing around stuff to listen to, Ray LaMontagne's "Till the Sun Turns Black" is positively sublime, and has some of the most beautiful lyrics. Ever. I mean, the guy quit his job in a shoe factory because a Stephen Stills song inspired him...now that's a love of music. Please, if nothing else, just listen to "Can I Stay". If it doesn't make you cry, you've a harder heart than I.
May 08, 2008
You know when you have a really terrible day, and then you listen to a song that makes you realize it will all be ok? That just happened...Thank you for the recommendation!
May 08, 2008
i know jim, abigail and tamara have all already noted this, but just to show how strongly i agree with them, i will be the fourth person to tell you...go now...to wherever you go...itunes, emusic, the corner store...and buy boxer. if you like alligator, boxer could possibly make your head explode.
May 08, 2008
I bought Boxer! I love it!
May 13, 2008
Those two CDs went into my CD player last summer -- and have never come out!! I'm sure my neighbors hate me. ;-)
May 14, 2008
To second bookgeekgirl's Paste mag suggestion, please also allow me to add that Paste called Boxer the best album of 2007.
Paste has Fantastic writing, and since I'm nearing 40, Paste keeps me on track with what the cool kids who really love music are listening to. And watching. And reading. And all of the other stuff 20-something's (yes, you, Holly) do that I seem to have some trouble keeping up with in my more ripe age...
The National are great and I adore them, along with 20 other bands I seem to come across every few months. There's a TON of outstanding music out there, and it's really hard to keep up with it all. Thanks to Paste, and friends, and blogs like yours who help to spread the knowledge.
Done blabbering now. Please carry on...