the national :: the black sessions
the national is one of those bands that may take some time to listen to. it comes in slow doses, categories of so-called emotion seeking, trying to decipher something that triggers deep inside, that must be found somewhere else visually in the music. after a few sessions, the feeling develops into an ongoing story, as if you’re sitting on a train with a soundtrack set to the cast of a melancholy city and the rest-assured personality that carefully follows along.
dj bernard lenoir has organized the black sessions on france radio inter for many years. referred to as the french john peel, lenoir discovered many amazing underground english and french artists, influencing their musical career and success.
back in 2003, the national’s sophmore album “sad songs for dirty lovers” became lenoir’s favorite album of the year and he invited the cincinatti band several times to play his acclaimed live sessions.
black session // 11.17.03
a collection of material from the national’s self-titled debut, cherry tree ep and the album sad songs for dirty lovers.
son
thirsty
slipping husband
all the wine
cold girl fever
murder me rachael
90-mile water wall
lit up
pretty forever
cherry tree
available
about today
black session // 04.29.05
a collection of material from the national’s cherry tree ep and their third album alligator.
all the wine
secret meeting
driver surprise me
lit up
cherry tree
baby, we’ll be fine
geese
city middle
looking for astronauts
mr november
daughters of the soho riots
abel
wasp nest
“Pop Art has always been my favorite style. I like how it’s simplistic in a sense but it’s also a way to capture split-second emotions. It’s blatant and there aren’t too many undertones. I also like the feeling of looking through a window of a store or gallery or standing twenty feet away from a painting and being able to see every detail. I think once I started painting all the time, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I just wanted to be a painter.”
artwork by lucas vidana
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April 16th, 2008 at 7:35 am
I agree with every word..
April 17th, 2008 at 11:48 am
thanks for understanding..
April 17th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Thanks for these sessions, I didn’t even know Berninger played France in 2003. I love your description “it comes in slow doses, categories of so-called emotion seeking, trying to decipher something that triggers deep inside, that must be found somewhere else visually in the music.” Great post!
April 17th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
P.S. Fantastic art as usual =)
April 19th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
thank you :)
April 28th, 2008 at 1:14 am
The ‘lit up’ from ‘05 is the same as the ‘03 sessions. I’m guessing that was a mistake. Please fix it? and thanks for posting them.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
sorry about that christopher… ive replaced the file :) thanks for letting me know!
also, ive added zip files for each show to make things easier.
May 10th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
thanks! great great stuff!