National | |
Number of songs: 7 | Total weeks on charts: 14
Appearing in a total number of: 7 charts | Total period running: 48 days
Appearing in a total number of: 7 charts | Total period running: 48 days
Songs by National
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Biography
The National is an American indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, in 1999, and currently based in Brooklyn. The band's lyrics, which have been described as "dark, melancholy and difficult to interpret", are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone. The band's music is composed and performed by Aaron Dessner (guitar and keyboard), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). The band has recorded six studio albums; the most recent, Trouble Will Find Me, was released in May 2013 and was nominated in the 2014 Grammys for Best Alternative Album. 

In 1991, Matt Berninger and Scott Devendorf met while attending the University of Cincinnati's DAAP college of graphic design program, where they also met Mike Brewer, Casey Reas and Jeff Salem. Together, the five of them formed the lo-fi garage band Nancy, named after Berninger's mother, aspiring to sound like Pavement. The band was together for five years, but only released one album, Ruther 3429, on Wife Records before breaking up after Berninger, Devendorf, Reas and Salem moved to Brooklyn. 
Bryan, Bryce and Aaron were childhood friends who played in several bands together over the years. When their last effort, Project Nim, broke up in 1998, they joined Matt and Scott in Brooklyn via the Devendorf relationship. 
When the band was formed in 1999, it was called The National, although the domain name of the band's website is americanmary.com because, according to Matt Berninger in an interview with Sixeyes, " t's a song off our first record. We never thought of changing the (website) name, although we should have." Several of the members continued to work day jobs while performing free Sunday night shows regularly at the highly regarded NYC Lower East Side venue, Luna Lounge, throughout the early years, including being involved in New York's dot-com boom in the late 1990s. 

Their first album The National was eventually released in 2001 on Brassland Records, a label founded by band members Aaron and Bryce Dessner, along with their friend Alec Hanley Bemis. When reviewing the album, Jason MacNeil of No Depression wrote, "...The National has created nearly a dozen picture-perfect Americana bar-soaked gems with its debut album. From the opening notes of 'Beautiful Head', the delicate line between polished roots-oriented pop and alt-country has rarely been walked so deliberately with the payoff so favorable." 

The National's second album Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, released in 2003, was the band's first collaboration with record producers, Paul Heck and Peter Katis, who would later also produce the band's critically acclaimed albums, Alligator and Boxer. After the release of the album, renowned DJ Bernard Lenoir invited them to perform on his Black Sessions twice on France Inter. Publications such as Uncut and the Chicago Tribune named it an album of the year. 

In 2004, they released the Cherry Tree EP which included live favorite "About Today," as well as "All the Wine," which would appear on their next record. The release of the EP garnered further success and landed them on a successful tour with The Walkmen. Also in 2004, the band quit their day jobs and signed to a new label, Beggars Banquet Records, because the process of running their own label was becoming "too complicated." Their first album on Beggars Banquet, Alligator, was released in 2005. The album was met with much critical acclaim and featured highly in "Album of the Year" charts in the Los Angeles Times, Insound, Uncut, and many other publications. The album allowed the band increased exposure. NME and Pitchfork Media ranked Alligator as a top album of the 2000s. 

Alligator brought the band increased attendance at concerts, including sold-out shows at The Troubadour in Los Angeles and Webster Hall in New York. They also played at numerous festivals including the 2006 Pitchfork Music Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Pukkelpop, and more. 
Alligator went on to sell over 200,000 copies worldwide. 

February 28, 2013, they announced the upcoming release of a documentary chronicling the lead singer's brother Tom Berninger's journey of touring with the band. The film, titled Mistaken for Strangers, premiered at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival on April 17. Mistaken for Strangers has been described as "a funny, eccentric and finally deeply poignant depiction of art, family, self-sabotage and the prickly intricacies of brotherly love." The film had a theatrical release in theaters across the United States and Europe. 
In 2013 they contributed the song "Lean" to the official soundtrack for the movie The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 
The band performed "Graceless" and "I Need My Girl" on the March 8, 2014 episode of Saturday Night Live. 
"Fireproof" was used in 2 episodes of the USA network's "Covert Affairs" Season 4 - "Vamos" and "River Euphrates". 
"Hard to Find" was used in an episode of the USA network's "Suits" Season 3 - "Conflict of Interest". 

"England" was used in an Apple iPhone 5S commercial during the 2014 World Cup. In an interview published in June 2014, Berninger stated The National would try a new approach to writing and recording an album, with plans to start in October 2014. 

On April 2, 2015, The National released the single "Sunshine On My Back". The song is provided as a free download for renting or buying the band's documentary Mistaken for Strangers at its official website. The song comes from the Trouble Will Find Me recording sessions and features Sharon van Etten. 

Aaron and Bryce Dessner write and develop the music which Matt Berninger then responds to, building lyrics on the music Aaron and Bryce have written. Matt has said that the melody and the rhythm come first and then words and imagery will start to stick to a melody. “I never sit and fill a journal with lyrics.†

Band members: 
Matt Berninger - lead vocals (1999–present) 
Aaron Dessner - guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, harmonica, mandola, backing vocals (1999–present) 
Bryce Dessner - guitar, keyboards, piano, backing vocals (2001–present) 
Bryan Devendorf - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999–present) 
Scott Devendorf - bass, guitar, backing vocals (1999–present) 

In support of High Violet, The National spent summer 2011 playing a wide range of festivals including Heineken Open'er Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Sziget Festival, Rock Werchter Festival, Skanderborg Festival, Electric Picnic and St. Gallen Open Air Festival. Summer 2011 also saw The National take a turn headlining their first major European festival, Latitude. 

In October 2011, The National discussed their career with Dr. Atul Gawande and performed an acoustic set with string quartet at the New Yorker Festival. Other participants in the festival included luminaries like Jhumpa Lahiri, Colson Whitehead, and the entire cast of Arrested Development among others. 

In December 2012, The National curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Camber Sands. The National played at a few major festivals in the summer of 2013, including The Boston Calling Music Festival in May, Bonnaroo in June, Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati and two of the biggest European festivals Roskilde Festival and Rock Werchter in July. They then returned to North America for Lollapalooza and Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in August, St. Jerome's Laneway Festival in September, and Austin City Limits in October. 
The National returned to headline The Boston Calling Music Festival in September 2014, along with Lorde and The Replacements. 

In June 2014, The National played 3 consecutive shows at the Celebrate Brooklyn Music Festival. The band closed the summer of 2014 with performances at major festivals throughout Europe, including Pukkelpop, Way Out West, and Lowlands, and continued to headline festivals in the U.S. and Canada throughout the fall. 

In 2008 the band designed a t-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise money for Safe Space NYC, an organization which provides safe refuge for underprivileged children and families in Southeast Queens. The band supported Barack Obama's presidential candidacy in 2008. In July of that year, the band designed and sold a t-shirt featuring Obama's image above the words "Mr. November," a reference to both their song from Alligator and the month of the U.S. presidential election. All proceeds were donated to Obama's campaign. 
On October 16, 2008, The National played a rally for Barack Obama on Fountain Square in their hometown of Cincinnati with The Breeders. Buses for early voting were available before the show to take voters to the Hamilton County Board of Elections. On September 28, 2010, The National played in front of over 25,000 people before a speech by President Obama at a rally in Madison, Wisconsin. 
The National were also involved with efforts to reelect President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. On September 1, 2012 The National opened for the President at a campaign rally in Urbandale, Iowa in front of a crowd in excess of 10,000 people. 
In October the band traveled to Ohio where they played two free shows and visited university campuses as part of Barack Obama’s GottaVote campaign to encourage young adults to register to vote and to cast their vote for Obama. 
The National have supported Partners in Health throughout the Trouble Will Find Me tour by working with Plus One to donate $1 from ticket sales at select shows to raise money for Partners in Health. 

On February 17, 2009, Dark Was the Night, the twentieth Red Hot Organization compilation, was released by 4AD. Curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner, this album comprised songs by bands and artists such as Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, Beirut, David Byrne, Sufjan Stevens, Spoon, The Dirty Projectors, Feist and The National, among others. Over one million dollars of the proceeds from album sales were donated to the Red Hot Organization, an international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS. 
On May 3, 2009, Aaron and Bryce Dessner curated a concert for Dark Was the Night at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Performers included David Byrne, The Dirty Projectors, Feist, The National, and several other artists who contributed to the compilation. Red Hot Organization founder and director, John Carlin, was quoted as saying, "Dark Was the Night encapsulated the spirit and creativity of a new generation of musicians whose work struck a chord and got people to actually purchase the album and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight AIDS." 

The National have played numerous benefits for a range of organizations, including MusiCares, Artists for Peace and Justice and the Robin Hood Foundation. They have also played at Philip Glass's Tibet House (an organization that is dedicated to preserving Tibetan culture) at New York's Carnegie Hall twice: once in 2009 and once in 2014. The annual show is organized to help raise money for "the cultural institution" of the Tibetan heritage. 
The National has been compared to Joy Division, Leonard Cohen, Interpol, Wilco, Depeche Mode, U2 and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. 

Discography: 

The National (2001) 
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2003) 
Alligator (2005) 
Boxer (2007) 
High Violet (2010) 
Trouble Will Find Me (2013)
Sources: Wikipedia, Top40-Charts.com Editorial team
National in the news
More songs by National
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