Off the Beaten Path: Vol. 1 - The National

Off the Beaten Path
Written By Evan Hammonds
Artwork courtesy of Pat Hamou pathamou.com

Artwork courtesy of Pat Hamou pathamou.com

“Meet our friends out for dinner
When I said what I said, I didn’t mean anything
We belong in a movie
Try to hold it together until our friends are gone
We should swim in a fountain
Do not want to disappoint anyone”
— Conversation 16, The National
 

You can enjoy the Off the Beaten Path: Vol 1 - The National playlist in its entirety on Spotify. Just click on the included Spotify plugin.

Playlist Highlight: Conversation 16, The National

Myers-Briggs, Astrological signs, Enneagrams, DiSC, Hogwarts Houses, Which-Tiger-King-Character-Are-You-Buzzfeed-Quizzes are just a few of the personality tests out there that promise to help you learn about your “true” self and the “types” of people you might naturally get along with best.

I’d like to submit another entry to the list. I have a fool-proof, single-question quiz that has yet to fail me in determining whether or not I would get along with another person. Here it goes: Do you like The National?

If you answered yes, congratulations, I’m pretty sure we just became best friends. If you answered, I’m not sure, I haven’t really listened to their music, then keep reading, because this article will arm you with all the ammunition you need to become a card-carrying member of The National Fan Club. If you answered no, you’ve disappointed me greatly and can just forget about being invited to my next birthday party (which might have a pony and will have National records being played.)

What’s their appeal? Have you ever looked at an old, faded family photograph and felt happy and sad at the same time? It’s like your brain produced such a unique emotional response that words alone would be too clumsy to convey? That’s what The National’s lyrics and instrumental mood consistently does for me. It’s the reason why the first record I played in my current home was their album “Boxer.” (That’s right, I christened my house with The National!)

What makes The National so unique is that their soundscape is often built around suspense and tension. In other words, their style is more about potential energy than kinetic energy. It’s as if someone switched out Alfred Hitchcock’s movie camera with an electric guitar.

By way of example, take a listen to The Cincinnati quintet’s track “Conversation 16.” It’s about a relationship on the brink. The title suggests that the couple is having this exact same argument for what has to be the sixteenth time. Except it doesn’t seem to be an argument about anything in particular, just a perpetuating occurrence of wires being crossed.

In a song full of them, here’s the most heartbreaking line:

“Try to hold it together until our friends are gone”

Brutal. Can’t you just imagine this couple hosting a dinner party, both agreeing to an unspoken ceasefire for a few hours because breaching social etiquette in front of guests is somehow worse than the dysfunctional relationship itself? There’s just not a lot of other musical acts out there that explore that type of stuff - at least not as well.

The National - having been around since 2001 and still actively releasing music - has a deep bench of songs that rub elbows with a lot of different genres, so if you’re not in a self-reflective mood, that’s okay, our curated playlist offers a diversified portfolio.

Before we go, here are some other resources that should help you on your musical journey:

Happy listening!

What is Off the Beaten Path?

Discovering and falling in love with new musical artists is what Fresh Cuts Finds is all about, and Off the Beaten Path is designed to help in that endeavor by spotlighting a particular band we think you’ll really like. Inside, you’ll find a curated playlist, our favorite music video, our favorite live/concert video, and an article about the band (written by people who actually know what they’re talking about). Oh, one more thing. Since most people research a new artist by checking out their Greatest Hits album or scrolling through the most played songs on the band’s Spotify page, our playlist considers them off-limits for inclusion as we figure you already got those covered.

If you have a specific song that you’ve recently discovered or come to love, we’d love to hear from you. Just email us at freshcutfinds@gmail.com. We’re planning to roll out more content and a new playlist series in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Evan Hammonds
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Planted and Enchanted: Vol. 3 - April '20
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Unearthed Vol. 9 - April '20