Welcome to the 25th Songs of the Week of 2023. Songs of the Week was on hiatus for the last month because Wendy and I were on a much needed vacation to England and Iceland.
The National have shared two new songs, “Alphabet City” and “Space Invader.” They follow the April release of the band’s latest album, "First Two Pages of Frankenstein," and are out now via 4AD.
Article: The Candy-Colored Mushroom Cloud - Review of the film Asteroid City directed by Wes Anderson and starring a loaded cast. I liked it a lot and say why.
As The National unflinchingly traversed the depths of listeners’ anxieties and self-doubts, its indie empire held strong. The alternative rock staple – composed of Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Scott Devendorf and Bryan Devendorf – electrified Griffith Park on Wednesday for the second Los Angeles stop of its tour celebrating the band’s album, “First Two Pages of Frankenstein.” Despite the tour’s peg to the group’s ninth album, the 26-song set list made space for shiny new songs and reliable classics, reminding the audience of the band’s poignancy and potency as an indie powerhouse with longtime fans.
The National, a long-running alternative rock band, in 2023 sounds a lot like it did 20 years ago, only now with more celebrity cameos. The lack of change sounds like a bad thing, but it isn’t. In these uncertain and unpredictable times, a little bit of predictability in art isn’t necessarily unwelcome. “First Two Pages.