For the first half of September, I’ll be selecting my Top 15 favorite songs from The National. A band that has rarely let me down — both in the recording studio and in concert. #FaveArtistTop15
The last show I saw before the pandemic was The National at the Beacon. It wasn’t a typical show. This was a band that was already a few years into playing at arenas. But in an intimate theater setting, they introduced their new album I Am Easy to Find, paired with a short film by Mike Mills (not of REM fame). It felt more like a visit to an art museum than a rock concert. It wasn’t exactly my favorite National show because the band’s energy just wasn’t at the levels I was used to. But in the introspective and artistic rhythms of the night, the band showed a new flair for a quieter, softer aesthetic. And the highlight was “Light Years”.
This is not a song that The National could’ve possibly written and performed in their early years. There’s a maturity and a wisdom here that had to marinate with time. It’s a somber realization about how far two people can be pulled apart until there’s barely anything left. It’s a story that’s years, maybe decades, in the making. The piano part has no irony. No musical unexpectedness or other. Just a beautiful fragility that give ways to a sad, beautiful reality.
“I was always ten feet behind you from the start.”