It's almost impossible to
dissect this track without discussing its near exclusion from the Catching
Fire soundtrack. Originally entitled "Dying is Easy", the
label balked at the National's morose title, conveniently forgetting their
source material, as frontman Matt Berninger pointed out "it's about
killing kids; I don't know how an album can be darker than that?" However,
the frightening Darwinism on display in the series is easily outshone (or more
appropriately overshadowed) by much of the band's maudlin output. One of the
"bounciest" numbers on this year's Trouble
Will Find Mefound Berninger attempting to dull his pain any way he
could and evincing suicide. Child-killing is cringe-worthy, but such bleak
existentialism is soul crushing.
Renamed "Lean", the
Brooklyn by-way-of Cincinnati band's contribution remains sullen. A skeletal
guitar figure trudges in from the cold, as Berninger ruminates about the
oncoming end of the world. In the opening couplet he's not seeking a friend for
a last hurrah; he's hailing humanity’s dying gasps. "Love will lead us all
to smithereens" he sings in a graveyard baritone, before a pedal steel
crosses over into a skyward chorus. Much of Trouble Will Find Me
concerned resignation and the original title (retained here in the chorus)
continues the weary theme. The leaden basslines and trilling string sections attempt
takeoff, but Berninger halts any departure. "I'm gonna let it in," he
half-whispers under a hail of thundering drum fills in the bridge. The easiest
thing to do when you've got nothing left is to open up. The Hunger Games: Catching
Fire soundtrack drops
November 22 through Lionsgate/Republic.
Kanye West engagements with the media haven't always seen the greatest results from his paparazzi skirmishes to diatribes masking as blog posts, but he was able to set some of that contention aside when he said down for a four-part interview with the BBC Radio's Zane Lowe. In part 1 of the illuminating interview (out now), West discusses his duty to go against the grain of radio and "f*** s*** up". Yeezy also finds time to state his intentions for Yeezus, what Michael Jackson's success means to his own career, reterms his infamous "rants" as motivational speeches, abd proclaims rap "the new rock and roll". The monster's come alive again and you can check him out below.
Look for parts 2-4 to appear throughout the rest of week and catch Kanye West on tour with Kendrick Lamar starting in October.
Chance the Rapper announces North American Tour
Chicago spitballer Chance the Rapper's ecstatic Acid Rap mixtape remains one of the most dizzying releases of the 2013 and now Chance is taking that potent high-octane concoction out on the road. Out on the "Social Experiment Tour" Chance will be accompanied by fellow Chi-town natives DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn. Check out the concert dates below (tickets go on sale tomorrow), which Chance says he's "changing the rules for". And while you wait, listen to his head-spinning verse on James Blake's "Life Round Here" remix.
Tour Dates:
10/25 Champaign, IL - University of Illinois 10/26 Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar 10/27 Washington, DC -The Fillmore 10/29-30 New York, NY - SOB's 11/3 Montreal, Quebec - Club Soda 11/4 Toronto, Ontario - The Danforth Music Hall 11/7 Buffalo, NY - TBA 11/8 Oxford, OH - Brick Street Bar 11/10 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall 11/12 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre and Cafe 11/14 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre 11/17 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey 11/19 Tempe, AZ - Club Red * 11/20 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater * 11/22 Dallas, TX - Tree's * 11/23 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live * 11/25 Atlanta, GA - The Loft @ Center Stage * 11/26 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom * 11/29 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre * 12/03 Oberlin, OH - TBA 12/4 Indianapolis, IN - TBA 12/5 Columbia, MO - TBA 12/7 Miami, FL - TBA
"Life Round" (Remix) ft. Chance the Rapper
The National wrote a song for the Hunger Games
Taking a page from Coldplay, the National recently announced in NME that the band penned a track for the forthcoming Catching Fire soundtrack. The still unheard "Lean" was originally entitled "Dying Is Easy", but as frontman Matt Berninger told NME, "the song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for the Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because it's about killing kids, I don't know how a song can be darker than that?"
There's no official tracklist yet, but look for Coldplay's "Atlas" to make an appearance along with "Lean", and check out the tie-loosening video for Trouble Will Find Me highlight "Graceless" below. Also the band's Dessner brothers have begun recruiting the likes of Vampire Weekend, Bon Iver, and Kurt Vile for a Red Hot charity album covering the Grateful Dead.
Check back tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).
The song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for The Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because It's about killing kids, I don’t know how a song can be darker than that? Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/the-national/72808#cXeAumdCAxW90XSk.99
The song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for The Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because It's about killing kids, I don’t know how a song can be darker than that? Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/the-national/72808#cXeAumdCAxW90XSk.99
The song almost didn't make it because it was too dark for The Hunger Games soundtrack, which I thought was sort of funny because It's about killing kids, I don’t know how a song can be darker than that? Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/the-national/72808#cXeAumdCAxW90XSk.99
