(HD) The National - "Conversation 16" 2/1 Letterman (TheAudioPerv.com)

[jim1jz]

amazing song!

[rdamico1985]

I love people who don't get The National ...

"I was afraid I'd eat your brains...."

[shrubs0077]

Did any one notice that Arcade Fires Richard Reed Perry, is playing backup guitar, and vocals

[surfwaxafghani]

This guy is the worst fucking singer I've heard in quite some time.

[Jose04811]

@surfwaxafghani thats nice...

[Pink000Floyd]

what an awesome song love this band

[sissyfist]

He is off key a little over halfway through...this is good though...hard to really tell how much irony is being used here.

[TheMouradFG]

"Ah, The National" - Asshole who has no idea how awesome The National is

[FanaticalMusicFan]

@TheMouradFG No, the guy actually meant it as a compliment - there's admiration going on there. I read an interview with Matt in which he states the Letterman-band was blown away by an earlier performance on the show - of Fake Empire I think. Apparantly it's a very unconventional song with strange rhythms. So, every other time the Lettermanband has been looking forward to The National :-)

[radicemarcelo]

It sounds horrible!!!!!

[OptimusicPrime]

I love that Richard Parry joins them.

[RevRyan15]

The National has the strictest dress code in all of music.

[Attarraxxia]

@RevRyan15

Unless you play the silver trumpet or drums, apparently! Amazing performance though!

[ElainaBuie]

@RevRyan15

Interpol looks WAAAAY better than the national.

[RevRyan15]

@ElainaBuie I'll have to check them out. If they are more dapper than The National, I'm expecting to see full tuxes.

[ElainaBuie]

@RevRyan15 You should totally do it. They really look amazing. And the bassist wears suspenders.

[cyezak]

@RevRyan15 false. that goes to Interpol.

[RevRyan15]

@cyezak Yeah, this is discussed below.

[geoffwoade]

@druminvader to be fair, it's probably so people can read the text properly

[slinkster84]

@druminvader no he's not..

[druminvader]

@slinkster84 Yeah he is. The font is suppose to be on its side and on the left side of the album cover. He's holding so the font is level and at the bottom of the album cover.

[YouFouria]

I want to think that the trumpet player here is Morgan Henderson, but I'm not sure...

[pitsofclams]

i had the privilege of seeing them live with arcade fire when they were touring together... richie is the shit. and that show was the shit. it was all just... the shit.

[ThePinawela]

The  National awesome band and a very good album

[ThePinawela]

Richard Reed Parry is like an angel here I love this talented and interesting man

[IsThisItX]

Gotta love RRP...

[pongo5544]

underrated band. Completely awesome

[sraosby901]

Pretty sure Letterman's going senile, if he hasn't already

[MrPLehr]

@sraosby901 it's part of his shtick. it helps him catch you off-guard with clever jokes

[iminochrasy]

Richaaaaard :DDD

Amazing song, love this band!

[fcmLd]

Richard Reed Parry de Arcade Fire ! jajaja

[baina]

i didn't know Jeff Daniels sang in this band

[nickfromCO]

@baina hahahaha



[ElDiabloMuerte]

I know it's been mentioned but look, it's Richard Reed Parry...

[camadai]

the drummer of this band is awesome.  i love those beats.

[baytamusic]

That drummer is amazing.

[1roback]

he sings better live than on the cd,strange:)

[puygdfggfg]

I can't help but notice that Matt Berninger looks an aweful lot like Jeff Daniels.



[sunburned90]

this is music.

[Spac3man88]

OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU­UUUCK! >.< great!

[tomwild57]

I like just about any band that has brass in it! Lyrics are a little strange, but music makes that not matter so much. I have seen alot of comments for this band saying how much the drummer resembles John Lennon (a little), but none about how much the brothers resemble Dominic Monaghan from "Lost"!

[musicforchewfaygs]

i have that same telecaster, except mines a squire cos i'm a cheap ass.

[primalyscreamed]

A love song about cannibals :)

[denali637]

man I've seen a ton of videos of conversation 16, and Matt just can't hit those notes live. It's weird because he's pretty good about being on key with most of their other songs - even the lower ones, which are usually harder to stay on key on account of being harder to hear yourself. I love his voice but maybe he's just a little bit tone deaf. Thank god they are perfectionists when it comes to album recordings

[Bridezilla88]

@denali637

Hes sounds fine, pull your head out of your ass buddy and clean out those ears

[denali637]

@Bridezilla88 the ears are fine. I'm not attacking the band - they're my favorite non-jazz group around today, along with Radiohead, and Matt's voice is one of my favorite voices. But when he sings "I was afraid I'd eat your brains" on this, the "your" is sharp. When he sings "cause I'm evil", the third pitch on "I'm" is sharp. That's not an opinion and I'm not bashing him, it's just fact. I'm just surprised that he makes the same mistakes in every live video of this song that I've seen.

[nickfromCO]

@denali637 i think you are being a bit nit picky...his vocals sound okay. maybe a bit weak at times but i think they sound just fine.

[denali637]

@nickfromCO

I'm definitely picking nits, it's just that he has the same issues in every single video I've found of them playing this song live

[PashaVitaet]

@denali637 It looks like he gets it right the second time.

[armysevennine]

@denali637 who cares? its rock n roll.

[ANTIanitmetalclub]

@denali637

It's kind of funny, you call it a "mistake" when they're the ones that wrote and are performing the song. I mean, you're most likely correct, but you can't say for sure. Who knows, maybe Matt did that on purpose. Just a thought lol :P

[denali637]

@ANTIanitmetalclub

I guess it could have been intentional, but it's not the same as it is on the album, and i dunno it just doesn't sound good to me. It just sounds sort of awkward. I never meant to sound like a douche or whatever, though - I absolutely friggin love the National, and I love this song, and they were fantastic overall when I saw them live, but I don't think there's any pretense about Matt's singing ability; he's got a great-sounding voice but he doesn't always hit every note

[ANTIanitmetalclub]

@denali637

Yeah, that's true. But it kinda adds a little charm and...humanity to the performance, don't ya think? Which I especially like with The National since their music is so human already. Or, you could say the human imperfections in the performance keep a balance with the inhumanly good music lol

[jflex]

@denali637 I've noticed the same thing, too. I love The National and enjoy watching them live, but am always surprised that Matt has particular trouble with the "'cause I'm evil" line.

[bellaisobella]

i have to be honest, altho its a class song, its a charmless performance.

[Fietsflip]

Did Letterman know he was holding the album the wrong way around?

[blackfrancis55]

going to see them on March 17th in Shibuya. can't wait!! this song rocks.

[blackfrancis55]

@blackfrancis55 funny how massive earthquakes, tsunamis, and the threat of nuclear meltdown throw a kink in your plans.

[EoinMurMur93]

4 people had their brains eaten.....

[DakotaIcelandic]

It's a hollywood summer <3

[indiefeast]

awesomeness

[nhthelegend]

This is not their best performance of all time, but The National's good is better than your band's better.

[parkthatcar02]

Last time they played Letterman they has Sufjan with them and now Richard?! I can't handle this!!

[Schmidtoh]

dear letterman... youre holding it sideways

[dabbler61]

well, thanks do letterman show i get to know the national, in italy whe only get a lot of crap music on media and radio...very very happy to know you now!

[djlulu72]

This is my favourite song on High Violet...so they had crappy sound on Letterman, they absolutely kicked in in Auckland, NZ in January...love my National boys...

[pappukumar420]

is there a sardar in the band?

[slipknotshukla]

@pappukumar420 lol thats what i thought that watched the video too. its just a guy wearing a beanie though.

[txwindyrider]

The poor sound seems to be due to production crew?? Mix is all wrong and the pitch is off, horn section was not in tune! I absolutely love this song and could listen to it 1,000 times! Just was bummed, had been waiting for a week to watch Letterman for my favorite band to play! Wish had sounded better!!!!

[IndieMusicFan13]

They don't sound as good as they did on ACL, but this is a pretty good song. Nobody told me Richard from AF contributed to High Violet!!!! Musicians always sneak up on me when they work with other bands! It's a little creepy!

[Kmartshopper34]

I cannot wait to see them in Chicago with The Arcade Fire!!!!! That show will be spectacular!!

[Taiyed311fan]

i wish they would've brought out Sufjan Stevens for this performance since he appears on the album version.

[StepOutAgain]

3 people had their brain eaten

[txwindyrider]

Love this band, they are my favorite music group by a long shot! However they did a terrible job of Conversation 16; this is the first time they have ever sounded bad on Letterman.

[Von2good]

@txwindyrider this song isn't one of their strongest on the album so I mean they were already at a disadvantage going in. but they didn't do terrible.

[nickfromCO]

@Von2good disagree...i think it is one of THE strongest. and apparently they do too or they wouldn't have played it on national tv.

[vanillaskynet]

i wish the voice went deeper @3:40

[antistar2000]

Please retire Letterman. 

[potter1810]

Great!

[citizenerased86]

DILF.

[sarmstead426]

Love it!!

[lmerigar]

Berdy Ted Mosby on trumpet!

awesome as usual!

[starstruck4jeffhardy]

I love how Matt always wears a suit. Fits perfectly with The National and their songs about corporate America and being an adult.

[Inresurrection]

@starstruck4jeffhardy I think Matt just likes wearing a suit. You can't over-think everything.

[starstruck4jeffhardy]

@Inresurrection True, I doubt Matt was thinking of that. I think it just adds a cool aspect to their live performances.

[h0merg0mez]

The last 2 minutes of this song are so embarrassing.

[Inresurrection]

@h0merg0mez Care to elaborate or are you just going to be a troll and leave?

[tiim85]

i think the kids are in trouble.

[TheWhiteTomatoes]

Why hello violet!

[mikeblondin]

So fucking good.

[davocado]

looks like napoleon dynamite on the 3rd guitar to me..

[Ramarda]

ME HAGO MIERDA CON ESTA GENTE

[oxenbrigg]

he just said "shitty" on national television! 1:20

[ck8823]

@oxenbrigg Sorry dude, but I clearly heard "silly"

[poemeltje11]

@oxenbrigg Poor Americans, they can't curse on television.

[tominrochester]

@poemeltje11 We like to portray a facade of class, even if its not really true.

[poemeltje11]

@tominrochester The United States are still too conservative. I'll give them twenty years.

[muteculture]

@ourhands No he wasn't.

[15PaulBanks18]

Yes it's richard reed parry from arcade fire, matt said only him can sing high like on this one and sorrow if i remember well

And this video is great

[ih8pikeys]

Is that the dude from Arcade Fire?

[idn]

@ih8pikeys No, and sorry I don't know his name. He plays with the band seemingly often (at least in NYC) and sings some of the high parts on High Violet.

[mofooooo123]

@idn Then again, he is. But thanks for your contribution.

[morangorama]

@ih8pikeys That's Richard Parry, from Arcade Fire, yes! He contributed in the album (Hight Violet) also.

[ih8pikeys]

@morangorama I thought so. He's great.

[Spac3man88]

@morangorama Wow... =P



[Kmartshopper34]

great performance!!! I purposly tuned in to Letterman to see this but i changed the channel on a commercial and bob ross was on and i got a little bit distracted and missed this!!!