Anyone who knows me knows that my obsession with anything involving The National has spun out of control, leading me to occasional bouts of locking myself in my room and blasting Boxer and Alligator over and over again. Imagine my excitement, then, when I received a copy of The Virginia EP, which reprises some of the band’s classics, including “Fake Empire” and “Slow Show”. While the album doesn’t really provide any “new” material per se, the new takes are worth listening to, but may be better suited for only the avid National fans.
The even bigger news, however, is that the boys from Cincinatti are setting out on a summer tour with two of the more well-known artists of the past decade: R.E.M. and Modest Mouse. I am not too big on the former anymore, and definitely enjoy the latter, but my interest in their June 11th show at Merriweather Post is almost completely in The National. Grab your tickets, check out these songs from The Virginia EP, and fall in love with The National all over again. In fact, I am so hellbent on having you readers experience “About Today” that I am bringing back the [download or die] tag, just so y’all get the idea.
MP3: The National – “Fake Empire [Live]”
MP3: The National – “About Today [Live]” [download or die]
Love,
Zack
All Things Go 
I don’t usually like live music but my god you’re right.
I can’t edit my previous post but I thought you should know that those two songs prompted me to buy tickets for the Richmond, VA show. This is amazing because I live in Ontario.
wow…you weren’t kidding when you said “download or die.”
I just might prefer that live rendition of “About Today” to the album version.
They’re really good, but the vocals kinda need some work