10/03/2025
Sharing some vintage lore about The National in a blatant attempt to get you to check out brassland.bandcamp.com on this Bandcamp Friday. Thanks to MAGNET Magazine for detailing an early run-in The National had with Bruce Springsteen back in 2006. Link to the full article in the comments.
𝙱𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚎 𝚂𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝 𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛, 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚕𝚢𝚗-𝚟𝚒𝚊-𝙾𝚑𝚒𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕, 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗: 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚞𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗’𝚜 𝙽𝚎𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚊 𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 “𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙾𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙷𝚒𝚕𝚕” 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎—𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚍𝚘𝚣𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚜—𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚆𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝙶𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚎. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍, 𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚣𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚅 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚂𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗.
“𝙷𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 (𝚐𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝) 𝙱𝚛𝚢𝚌𝚎 (𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚗𝚎𝚛) 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎’𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔-𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌, 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚜 ‘𝙰𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢,’” 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝙱𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛, 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝. “𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚚𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚕𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚜, 𝚜𝚘 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚎’𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚒𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚆𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙱𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚕𝚢𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚜. 𝚂𝚘, 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚘’𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘; 𝙸’𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚌 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎.”
𝚂𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗, 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕’𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍, 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚊 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟺 𝙴𝙿 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝙱𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚎𝚕 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍, 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝, 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙’𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟻 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝙰𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍’𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐-𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚞𝚛𝚊: 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚣𝚢 𝚊𝚝𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚐𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚛-𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚐𝚊𝚞𝚌𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎.
Also, a reminder that Brassland is now almost 25 years into our mission of helping new artists on their own “SLOW BUILD TO SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS” as Magnet's headline put it.
Take a listen to recent 2025 releases by Carrierstheband Briars of North America & LANZ, or explore more new music from established folks like Bartees Strange, Buke and Gase, Christopher Rountree & Wild Up.