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/
The National blog http://tntl.tumblr.com
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/
City Middle
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where it's random and it's common versus common, la la la
Karen, take me to the nearest famous city middle where they hang the lights
Where it's random and it's common versus common, la la la
I got 500 in twenties, and I've got a ton of great ideas
I'm really worked up
I'm on a good mixture, I don't wanna to waste it
I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners
I'm really worked up
Karen, take me to the nearest famous city middle where they hang the lights
Where it's random and it's common versus common, la la la
Karen, take me to the nearest famous city middle where they hang the lights
Where it's random and it's common versus common, la la la
I have weird memories of you wearing long red socks and red shoes
I have weird memories
I have weird memories of you pissing in a sink, I think
I have weird memories of you
I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners ?
I'm really worked up
I want to go gator around the warm beds of beginners
I'm really worked up
Karen, take me to the nearest famous city middle where they hang the lights
Where it's random and it's common versus common, la la la
Karen, take me to the nearest famous city middle where they hang the lights
Where it's random and it's common versus common, la la la
I have weird memories of you wearing long red socks and red shoes
I have weird memories
I have weird memories of you pissing in a sink, I think
I have weird memories of you
Parking your car, you said "I'm overwhelmed"
You were thinking out loud, you said "I'm overwhelmed"
You were parking your car, you said "I'm overwhelmed"
You were thinking out loud, you said "I'm overwhelmed"
You said "I think I'm like Tennessee Williams"
I wait for the click, I wait, but it doesn't kick in
I think I'm like Tennessee Williams
I wait for the click, I wait, but it doesn't kick in
I have weird memories of you wearing long red socks and red shoes
I have weird memories
I have weird memories of you pissing in a sink, I think
I have weird memories of you
I have weird memories of you
The National’s song “City Middle” is open for interpretation, like many of the band’s songs. It seems to be about the playful and tumultuous times of urban life, with a longing for adventure and excitement, even if it means stepping out of line or doing something a little wild. The first two lines are addressed to Karen, with a request to be taken to the center of the nearest famous city with bright lights, where randomness and commonality meet.
The singer in the song is worked up, full of excitement and energy, with plenty of great ideas, but also a sense of urgency not to waste this feeling. There is a desire to experience the thrill of being in uncharted territory, taking the chance to explore and be a beginner all over again. The reference to gators that come up twice in the song can be taken in a literal sense, as the Florida Everglades play a significant role in the USA’s cultural imagination.
The song concludes with more weird memories of Karen, wearing long red socks and shoes and even possibly pissing in a sink, followed by a real-time exchange where Karen is heard parking the car and saying how overwhelmed she is. In between, there is a Tennessee Williams reference, portraying a sense of existential angst and longing similar to that of the renowned playwright known for his tragic and dark stories.
Line by Line Meaning
Karen, take me to the nearest famous city middle where they hang the lights
The singer wants to go to a busy, well-lit area with Karen
Where it's random and it's common versus common, la la la
The area should feel like it is full of diverse people
I got 500 in twenties, and I've got a ton of great ideas
The singer has some money and creative energy
I'm really worked up
The artist is feeling very excited
I'm on a good mixture, I don't wanna to waste it
The artist is on some kind of substance and doesn't want to waste the high
I wanna go gator around the warm beds of beginners
The singer wants to explore and have new experiences
I have weird memories of you wearing long red socks and red shoes
The singer has strange images of Karen
I have weird memories of you pissing in a sink, I think
The artist has more strange images of Karen using a sink as a bathroom
Parking your car, you said 'I'm overwhelmed'
Karen expressed feeling overwhelmed while parking a car
You were thinking out loud, you said 'I'm overwhelmed'
Karen was verbalizing her feelings of being overwhelmed
You said 'I think I'm like Tennessee Williams'
Karen compared herself to the author Tennessee Williams
I wait for the click, I wait, but it doesn't kick in
The artist is waiting for something to happen, but it doesn't
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRYCE D. DESSNER, MATTHEW D. BERNINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind