Oblivions

My wife bought the Target exclusive CD with the patch. They did a great job with all their packaging it seems. I really like the design on the smaller CD sized lyric booklet and the patch is less boring in person.

There are a lot of used options but you'll need to be at the right thrift/antique store at the right time to grab them in person.

Otherwise, eBay has a bunch of options. A lot are priced way too high but you'll find decent listings every so often.

If anyone a link to a cost-effective new option, please do share. I ended up just building my own temporary options:

21 minutes ago, psus2h said:

Rivers is a wonderful song writer, no doubt, but his focus is all over the map.  I almost feel like some of this poppy stuff should be released under his name or a different band name and the Weezer we all love under Weezer.  Such a let down after Everything & White.

I think we assume his loyalty is to the nerdy rock that we all love since he gained success with it first and it doesn't sound god awful but I think you're correct that he is just a dude who writes a ton of songs in various genres.

He's also like Dr. Manhattan or Bran from GoT where they'll do something great that helps humanity and, as they're being congratulated, their eyes glaze over and you realize they didn't do that thing to help you. It was just coincidental that helping humans/writing a good album happened to sync with whatever their soulless, hyper-intellectual plan was at that time. Pacific Daydream or the allowance of Earth's destruction is just around the corner.

Dear Lord. This is the worst one yet.

I really hope he is concentrating all these kinds of pop abominations onto one album and that the black album will be continuing from White/EWBAITE. Pray for us all.

Should be noted that the B&N National record had a few issues:

It wasn't mentioned that the signatures would be on a door hanger.

Some people got all signatures, some 4, some only 2, etc.

Some people had their pre-orders canceled yesterday with no notice or clear reason given.

Pope rips. Everyone buy this and then go snag up all their tapes.

1 hour ago, ditc586 said:

Anyone else get there B&N copy canceled without requesting to do so? I just logged in my account to see what was going on with it and the order status is canceled.  It also looks like the updated the title to "signed door hanger"

Happened to me too.

43 minutes ago, HoneyFrosted said:

'Heavy Goods' shipping in the US is 12 dollars for some reason, making it 48.99 for one deluxe double LP. Pretty steep. But I don't have this yet and I'd like to get that cassette... 

Click the link I posted above. The same LP with the cassette is $34 with free shipping from Bullmoose.

Sorry. I see now that it says unavailable. 

42 minutes ago, webdoggy said:

Where do you see that?

Very very understated but it's there at the bottom of the page (I highlighted it in yellow).

FYI the indie exclusive sold by Bullmoose also comes with the slip mat, for those who want the slip mat and the BM points.

Also available on  Bullmoose for a few dollars cheaper with free shipping: http://www.bullmoose.com/p/25744362/grandaddy-under-the-western-freeway-20th-anniversary-ed-2lp-sky-blue-green-vinyl

I think I found the National at the perfect time, just before Alligator was released, for them to still have enough of that early spark and shabbiness to grab your ears. On Boxer, they became very deliberate and composed, which pays off big on repeated listens but it makes their music easy to dismiss if you're half paying attention. I cringe a little when I think about this characteristic of their music because I know there are bands and records that I dismiss as bad or boring that probably share that same grower quality (*cough* War on Drugs *cough* Grizzly Bear).

I checked with one of my local shops about the 7" flexi and they said they saw nothing about any bonus or additional items being available when they ordered the blue indie exclusive copies. Does anyone know if they were offered by 4AD to specific shops or if certain distributors chose their favorite stores or something?

The irony is that, if we can't enjoy a silly Do Not Disturb door hanger promo item for a dour dad-rock album titled Sleep Well Beast, then we truly  are beasts in need of a Do Not Disturb door hanger.

5 minutes ago, nick059 said:

I think for me it really is just Turtleneck that I dislike.  I know it returns them back to the days of Alligator and whatnot, but it just feels like it doesn't belong on this record.  The song seems disjointed and not well put together in my opinion.  And after the cohesiveness and general smoothness of Trouble Will Find Me, it's an unwelcome change in my mind.

 

But I'm sure other people really love that song, so.........Opinions eh?

I think, for people who love/hate/mildly have opinions about Turtleneck, placing it right in the middle was the smartest choice. I like the song and it functions as a nice intermission between both halves of the album. To be nitpicky, it fits in the least as far as the songwriting and production, so I won't begrudge anyone who dislikes it.

19 minutes ago, thesewoodenideas said:

Seems to be some very divided opinions on this one. Particularly for those who loved TWFM. Whereas those who felt disappointed by TWFM seem to see it as a return to form. Opinions eh? I'm just happy to have another good album from these guys.

I feel like there has been unanimous praise for SWB, at least from critics and people I know in real life and with whom I have geeked out over this album. I was expecting more of a backlash, to be honest. The National are a band that get so much positive praise that they would serve as a great target for people who want to knock things down a peg and, even though they do it really well, adding a bunch of electronic sounds to your rock band is asking for strong critiques.

As far as the comparisons/contrasts to High Violet and TWFM, I think High Violet is their weakest post-Sad Songs album. There are some great songs on it but I think the band miscalculated on the arrangements and production on some tracks. It's the closest they've gotten to being a bit over-polished yet under-cooked. So, I'm glad that SWB shares little aesthetic with HV. TWFM is much better than HV, IMO, as it walked back some of HV's choices that would have been hard to sustain for them but it slightly suffers from being a lateral move sound-wise. It's an incredible guitar-based dad rock record that treads water. Conversely, SWB breaks into a new dynamic and feels more like a master stroke that matches the quality and subtle re-invention of the National's insane Alligator > Boxer breakthrough. You can say HV was a master stroke into a bigger, bolder arena rock sound and you'd be right but I was just not a fan of that choice so I am permanently omitting it from this long boring post.

TL;DR: I'm OK with SWB letting down people who consider HV/TWFM their favorite National albums. SWB is great and continues the subtle re-invention tradition of Alligator and Boxer.

12 minutes ago, Derek™ said:

Thanks for this.  And for all the input from everyone else.  If there's barely any fluctuation of opacity and the US press sounds great, I'm not sure the $40-$50 would be worth it for me.

 

Anyone end up with a truly opaque, solid blue?

I should note that I have a light source behind my Instagram pic, which might be misleading if you're expecting a clear blue (and is why I call it semi-translucent). It doesn't look as clear as the EU one looks in regular light but it isn't that creamier, thick blue that I was expecting it to be. Sorry if that clarification makes things more...opaque.

54 minutes ago, Derek™ said:

Interesting.  I'll probably just sit tight until I can verify then, either way.  I'm looking on Discogs and the barcodes are identical.  Is it unrealistic to assume they all came from one plant and there's just a fluctuation in translucency?  Or were they definitely pressed at separate plants in different countries?  Would love a weigh-in on the sound quality from anyone willing to chime in, too.

My semi-translucent US copy sounds great. Very quiet, even without a wet cleaning.

Also in California and mine is translucent-ish too.

10 minutes ago, Kanye West said:

Ok, so... on first listen... I wasn't blown away. Some stand-outs for sure but compared to previous albums, it doesn't seem like it fully holds up. The National are a cut above the rest in general, and I love Matt's voice so every song was "good", but there wasn't enough "great" on first listen to really excite me. I'm hoping it grows on me when I do a headphones listen. 

Check back in after you've listened to it 4-5 times.

This one is a different kind of grower than other National albums, as a majority of the songs build slowly, use very simple vocal melodies, and are driven by the drums & electronic layers rather than drums & shimmering Dessner guitars. IMO, once you start telling the slow songs apart from each other, you realize they are just as great as the obvious faster songs and have their own jittery, unsettling bite to them even though they're a bit stripped down.

26 minutes ago, jonrawks said:

Mine showed up today and I'm really not feeling the first disc.  The back half was much better, but still kind of feels like The National Lite.  I'm not opposed to a band experimenting with their sound, I just really don't think the direction they went in worked worked for me.  This is based one one listen though.  It might grow on me and I'm more than willing to give it a more chances.  Trouble never quite connected with me either, but I've grown to like it more than I initially did.

The slow songs blend together on the first few listens. Keep listening. Around listen 4 or 5, I started to separate the tracks better and hear what each was doing differently. Dark Side of the Gym has become my favorite song and I wouldn't have been able to tell you a single lyric or melody from it if you asked me about it after the first few spins.

Probably already discussed here but, if you buy tickets to some National shows, they'll send you a discount link to buy the LP or CD or download. The LP is the standard pressing for $22 with free shipping, which isn't that great of a discount but worth knowing if you've held out and want to save $4.

The Discographic app for iOS makes adding your collection to Discogs very easy. The interface is much cleaner and easy to use.

I think it's their best album in terms of cohesion and emotional liveliness. Their sterile moodiness (which I love and think they do very well) is replaced with a looseness that they haven't had since Alligator; that looseness is used very differently—Matt's direct lyrics, his wider range of vocal melodies, and the band's use of electronic layers instead of plain rocking out with guitars—but it definitely reminds me of the freedom of those earlier days. And 'Dark Side of the Gym' is just the most delightful and sweet song. Anyone else and it'd be a pedestrian and cheesy sentiment/tone but from the National it's a big sign of how confident and loose they've grown after all these years of playing the guarded intellectual posturing as depressed at the nice downtown whiskey bar.