Mr. November - The National
It’s thanksgiving and one thing to be thankful for is that U.S. citizens voted to change the direction our nation was headed. The promise of change has come in the name of Barak Obama. While this song, Mr. November, was originally written about John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election, Barak Obama is Mr. November. The National sold t-shirts with Obama’s face and “Mr. November” printed on them and gave the proceeds to the Obama campaign. The Obama campaign took a liking to The National, having them play at a few campaign rally’s and putting together a promo video about change to an instrumental version of The National’s “Fake Empire”. The piece which first aired at the Democratic National Convention was again aired right before Obama’s victory speech on November 4th.
I saw the National twice this summer. First I saw them open for Modest Mouse and R.E.M. Later I saw them put on a masterpiece of a performance in Central Park’s Summerstage theater. The National, who hail from Brooklyn, were humbled to be playing in the middle of NYC and totally rocked the show, cementing them as one of my favorite bands of 2008.
I think all of their albums are great. If you want an introduction to them, you can start with their latest album, Boxer or check out this fan made video for “Fake Empire” on YouTube.
Purchase The National on Amazon.
