{"id":18877,"date":"2026-07-22T01:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T00:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roglacup.com\/klaus62\/?p=18877"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:58:59","slug":"morning-song-the-national-fake-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roglacup.com\/klaus62\/2026\/07\/22\/morning-song-the-national-fake-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning song #The National #Fake Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Released 15 years ago this week, the National\u2019s acclaimed 2007 record Boxer<\/em> is the subject of a new volume<\/a> in the lauded and long-running 33 \u2153 series, where music writers explore classic albums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on extensive original interviews with the band and others, author Ryan Pinkard \u2014 <\/em>a former TIDAL editor \u2014 <\/em>obsessively reconstructs a transformative chapter in the National\u2019s story, revealing how the Ohio-via-Brooklyn five-piece found the sound, success and spiritual growth to evolve into one of the biggest indie-rock bands of their time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other themes, Boxer<\/a><\/em> is inspired by the presidency of George W. Bush, whose wars in Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9\/11 terrorist attacks cast a shadow over the mid-2000s. Anyone familiar with Boxer<\/em> knows it begins with \u201cFake Empire<\/a>,\u201d a defeated track about getting drunk and tuning out the news in light of the doom and gloom many Americans felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, Pinkard shares an excerpt from the book, which tells the story of how a song about political hopelessness became an unlikely anthem for the hope and change of Barack Obama\u2019s first presidential run.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Posted from: https:\/\/tidal.com\/magazine\/article\/the-national-obama\/1-84989<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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