Their self-titled debut album"The National" (Brassland 2001) was recorded and released before they had played even a single show. They cut the album with engineer Nick Lloyd and formed a label with writer Alec Bemis, so those recordings could be released. Kerrang! magazine gave it four Ks, calling it "the stuff underground legends are made of."
The National made a second album, "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers" (Brassland/Talitres 2003). The staff was the same, though Peter Katis, who produced "Turn on The Bright Lights" and "Antics" by Interpol, helped produce and mix, and Australian composer Padma Newsome from Clogs collaborated on arrangements and strings.
Following the first session of several for Bernard Lenoir on France's Radio Inter, an in-between EP was released, Cherry Tree, containing what would become the blueprint for the sound on their next record and the session of Sad Song's standout Murder Me Rachael. After these accolades and being impressed by their live show, Roger Trust signed them to Beggars Banquet.
A show at their favorite bar became a van ride to neighboring cities, became a plane ride to Europe, became two summers overseas. Their ties to those good jobs slackened. And they continue on their own path, moving out even further out in Brooklyn to Ditmas Park, where there is space and familiar suburban streets and even Geese on Beverly Road. Their album, "Alligator", much of which was recorded at their homes in Ditmas Park, was engineered by Paul Mahajan, who has worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio. Padma Newsome camped out for a month with the band, and Peter Katis added more production and mixed the record at his house in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Berninger's potent baritone still intones about matters fraught and funny and sad; about record collections, missing persons and medium-sized American hearts. But the record's not simply gothic or miserablist -- more like the plays of Tennessee Williams, it's full of peculiar intimacies and awkward grace. Alligator's heroes are reckless and possessed seducers, but they are apologetic ones. In The National's imaginings, in songs alternately lush and spare, there is something twighlit and dreamy worked out in the basement of our brains.
"Abel," "Secret Meeting," and "Lit Up" were released as singles.
On May 22, 2007, The National released their follow-up to Alligator, Boxer, on Beggars Banquet. Taking advantage of the fact that nobody had heard their first album and earliest demos, Matt proceeded to steal lyrics and melodies from them and give them the attention they deserved while keeping the intimacy that made them special. They even managed to convince new friend Sufjan Stevens to lay down some piano tracks for them, and recorded the album in a scant 6 months after coming off the long post-Alligator road.
"Mistaken for Strangers", "Fake Empire" and "Apartment Story" have been released as singles. The band have just finished touring North America and are on a large European autumn/winter tour after playing high slots at several large festivals. In their Dec. 07/Jan. 08 issue, Paste magazine named Boxer best record of 2007.
The band's fifth album, High Violet, was released on May 10, 2010 by 4AD Records. "Bloodbuzz Ohio", "Anyone's Ghost" and "Terrible Love" were released as singles.
In 2013 their sixth studio record Trouble Will Find Me was released and named "Best New Music" by Pitchfork. The album contained the single "I Need My Girl". In 2015, the album outtake "Sunshine On My Back" was released.
Four years after Trouble Will Find Me, marking the longest timespan between albums in their career so far, they released their seventh album Sleep Well Beast on September 8th, 2017 and were yet again met with great critical success.
The National homepage: http://www.americanmary.com/
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The National on Twitter http://twitter.com/TheNational
The National on Instagram http://instagram.com/TheNational
Brassland homepage: http://brassland.org/
Beggars Banquet homepage: http://www.beggars.com/
Fake Empire
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Picking apples, making pies
Put a little something in our lemonade
And take it with us
We're half awake in a fake empire
We're half awake in a fake empire
Tiptoe through our shiny city
With our diamond slippers on
Do our gay ballet on ice
Bluebirds on our shoulders
We're half awake in a fake empire
We're half awake in a fake empire
Turn the light out, say goodnight
No thinking for a little while
Let's not try to figure out everything at once
It's hard to keep track of you falling through the sky
We're half awake in a fake empire
We're half awake in a fake empire
The National's song "Fake Empire" paints a picture of a society that's half asleep and living in a fake world. The lyrics are filled with references to things that are commonly associated with happiness and prosperity, such as apple-picking, pie-making, and diamond slippers, but these things are all presented in a slightly surreal, almost dreamlike way. The chorus, "We're half awake in a fake empire," seems to suggest that the characters in the song know that they're living in a world that's not quite real, but they're not quite sure what to do about it.
The use of the word "we" throughout the song adds to the sense of collective unease that's being portrayed. The characters are all going through the motions of their lives, but there's a sense that they're not really present, as if they're all sleepwalking or going through the motions of some larger, scripted plan. The reference to a "gay ballet on ice" feels particularly poignant, as it suggests that even the happiest, most carefree pursuits are tinged with a sense of artifice and falseness.
Overall, "Fake Empire" is a dark, haunting song that speaks to the sense of unease that many people feel about modern society. It's about the sense that we're all just going through the motions, living in a world that's not quite real, and trying to find some way to make sense of it all.
Line by Line Meaning
Stay out super late tonight
We plan on staying out very late tonight
Picking apples, making pies
We will spend the night picking apples and making pies
Put a little something in our lemonade
We will add something extra to our lemonade
And take it with us
We will bring our spiked lemonade with us
We're half awake in a fake empire
We are only partially conscious in a society that is not genuine
We're half awake in a fake empire
We are only partially conscious in a society that is not genuine
Tiptoe through our shiny city
We walk silently through our glitzy city
With our diamond slippers on
We are wearing fancy shoes
Do our gay ballet on ice
We dance gracefully on ice
Bluebirds on our shoulders
We have birds perched on our shoulders
We're half awake in a fake empire
We are only partially conscious in a society that is not genuine
We're half awake in a fake empire
We are only partially conscious in a society that is not genuine
Turn the light out, say goodnight
We turn off the light and say goodnight
No thinking for a little while
We don't want to think for a short period of time
Let's not try to figure out everything at once
We should not attempt to understand everything immediately
It's hard to keep track of you falling through the sky
It is difficult to keep up with your unpredictable behavior
We're half awake in a fake empire
We are only partially conscious in a society that is not genuine
We're half awake in a fake empire
We are only partially conscious in a society that is not genuine
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Bryce David Dessner, Matthew Donald Berninger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind