THE NATION OF THE NATIONAL
Filled with catchy riffs and approachable melodies, Trouble Will Find Me is perhaps the closest we will ever get to a “pop record” (Michael Stipe once advised them to create one). At once subtle and aggressive, it is not really a drastic departure from their previous three records; it is a showcase of a more refined, leaner sound. It takes one into a pleasant rollercoaster ride: It builds its momentum, then occasionally pulls back, and then soars off. Ever present are the artful dynamic between the two sets of brothers with their curious melodies which mirrors some of that vacillation—ebbing from quiet to loud, delicate to harsh. From the melancholy “I Should Live in Salt” to the self-effacing “Demons” to the deceivingly upbeat but lyrically dark “Sea of Love” to the heartbreaking “I Need my Girl” and “Pink Rabbit” and “Slipped,” Trouble Will Find Me has at its core the visceral National quality which has taken years of hard work to create and polish, the National magic which has managed to captivate the emotions of their audience, willing and unwilling. “[Trouble Will Find Me] is sort of a cautionary tale about how easy it is for things to go wrong, even when you think everything is alright,” the band said. “Many of the songs are quite personal and direct—speaking to specific people or characters about [their] troubles and issues, and trying to work things out. There are also songs about death and the afterlife, about what happens when we are gone, the people we leave behind, what we do in life and how that may be what the “afterlife,” the sort of “karmic circle.” ” The most obvious change this time around is the band’s perspective. Because most of them have families now, the band’s narrative’s focus has shifted toward that aspect of their lives. They are not anymore singing about the world as they see it, the world as they know it. They see the world now through an altogether different lens, see it through the eyes of their children. Mistaken for Strangers is the title of a song off the record Boxer, and Mistaken for Strangers is also the title of the “rockumentary” Tom Berninger, Matt’s younger brother, directed and produced and the one I am talking about here. It was the opening film in the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival which began in April and concluded in May, and although one would think that the film is about the National, it actually has little to do with them.
Mistaken for Strangers, which comes with a tagline “a year on tour with my brother’s band,” is exactly that: Following the release of High Violet the band went on a year-long tour, and when Matt asked his brother if he wanted to come along as a roadie, Tom agreed. He brought with him a camera, to film a documentary about the band, he says. What he ends up filming, however, is his experience being an admittedly inept roadie—forgetting things, getting drunk, and being generally irresponsible. Instead of the band being the film’s subject, they become the frame with which to highlight what increasingly becomes clear as the true subject: Tom and his relationship with Matt. Right off the bat one sees how different these two brothers are. Tom is pudgy; Matt is inherently lanky. Matt has his life figured out; Tom has lived his life in insouciance. One is a follower, the other a leader. Peppered with clips of the band on tour, Mistaken for Stranger gives the viewers an inside look on what the band is like in its natural habitat as it delves deeper into Tom’s narrative, which primarily is a self-deprecating account of his struggles to come to terms with his brother’s success and his decision to make something worthwhile. That Mistaken for Strangers is a film of juxtaposition—hilarious and serious, direction and misdirection, personal and impersonal—is one of the many foundations which make the film work. Its charm is found in Tom’s being at once in the film and out of it, and the interweaving narrative he gleans through that process. “It’s more interesting and special as a story about brothers—sad, funny, and ultimately a triumph for Tom who worked very hard to make it happen.” Scott said. “Seeing it in a theatre was a fun surprise. I was happy it wasn’t just a band ‘rockumentary,’ even though the band does play a role and you get to learn something of our personalities and interactions.” As it happened, Sting asked for a copy of Mistaken for Strangers bechause he had to “see it right away.” If Sting has shown interest for the film, no wonder Judd Apatow showed great interest in the film and Tom Berninger himself. Time passes, things change. But some things do not. There is still for example Matt Berninger and his wine to aid with the pre-performance jitters which he never quite grew out
165