With The National you get out whatever you want. In my opinion Gospel ties the strings of Boxer. It certainly isn't the most noticeable of tracks, some of the others will probably get repeated over and over on your itunes, but Gospel is a treasure.
Obviously there are a selection of themes within Boxer: relationships, responsibility, western culture, modernity/post-modernity, appearance/reality. Berninger's monologue wrestles through the internal questions, anxieties and emotions the band’s character feels attempting to make sense of our Western normatives and behaviours. As we saunter along the album's route we realise that, assuming you are of a similar inclination to Berninger, we are fated to pretend (to steal from MGMT). To be truly free spirited is impossible. Perhaps to some the recent war on terror is a good metaphor for these struggles. Whilst my psyche prefers to look at The National's songs from an individual perspective, one cannot help but dock one's cap to the world policing, empire building themes. After all without every individual performing actions in a certain way, we would have no geopolitics.
Anyway I divulge. Gospel, like Slow Show and Apartment Story is clearly about love. Unabashed love. Whether we like it or not, the comfort of a partner we carry with us through life's charade appears to be, for Berninger, the most pure and wonderful tonic. It is such a beautiful song it makes by senses soar, almost bringing tears. The 'magazines' line lets us in to how well meaning the character wants to be. A simple action without the pomp and circumstance of so many of the image laden performances the youth are supposed to pull off with merry gusto these days. In my experience tonnes of magazines are usually brought to someone who is ill, cause they aren’t up for doing much else.
So perhaps we have love as the healer in Gospel, rather like the actions of the main protagonist in the book from which the song title is taken. The angel wings malting, the killers calling, for me again, are the demons and destructive influences of adulthood and ego, coming from within ourselves and from others. With someone to rely on these mental wounds can he healed, we can feel better and more free. Berninger clearly longs for a return to childlike playful humanity, and Gospel aims to take us there, holiday rainbow lights and all.
With The National you get out whatever you want. In my opinion Gospel ties the strings of Boxer. It certainly isn't the most noticeable of tracks, some of the others will probably get repeated over and over on your itunes, but Gospel is a treasure.
Obviously there are a selection of themes within Boxer: relationships, responsibility, western culture, modernity/post-modernity, appearance/reality. Berninger's monologue wrestles through the internal questions, anxieties and emotions the band’s character feels attempting to make sense of our Western normatives and behaviours. As we saunter along the album's route we realise that, assuming you are of a similar inclination to Berninger, we are fated to pretend (to steal from MGMT). To be truly free spirited is impossible. Perhaps to some the recent war on terror is a good metaphor for these struggles. Whilst my psyche prefers to look at The National's songs from an individual perspective, one cannot help but dock one's cap to the world policing, empire building themes. After all without every individual performing actions in a certain way, we would have no geopolitics.
Anyway I divulge. Gospel, like Slow Show and Apartment Story is clearly about love. Unabashed love. Whether we like it or not, the comfort of a partner we carry with us through life's charade appears to be, for Berninger, the most pure and wonderful tonic. It is such a beautiful song it makes by senses soar, almost bringing tears. The 'magazines' line lets us in to how well meaning the character wants to be. A simple action without the pomp and circumstance of so many of the image laden performances the youth are supposed to pull off with merry gusto these days. In my experience tonnes of magazines are usually brought to someone who is ill, cause they aren’t up for doing much else.
So perhaps we have love as the healer in Gospel, rather like the actions of the main protagonist in the book from which the song title is taken. The angel wings malting, the killers calling, for me again, are the demons and destructive influences of adulthood and ego, coming from within ourselves and from others. With someone to rely on these mental wounds can he healed, we can feel better and more free. Berninger clearly longs for a return to childlike playful humanity, and Gospel aims to take us there, holiday rainbow lights and all.