New from The National :: "A Thousand Black Cities" (live in Copenhagen)

I'm pretty sure that this is the first new National song unveiled since Boxer, in its debut performance earlier this week at The Vega in Copenhagen, Denmark. This mp3 is just a rip from the video above (more pics from the taper here), but for us addicts I suppose it will do temporarily. The title could also be "Believe Me." Swirling atmosphere and sonorous horns . . . I can't wait to hear a clean copy of this.

A Thousand Black Cities (new, live 8/12/08) - The National

Also check out the amazing podcast of The National at Lollapalooza, or from the same site, Explosions in the Sky.

[thanks Erica!]

the earth is not a cold dead place

We'll leave after midnight on a warm night with no moon. I know a place above the city where we can lay back on a wool blanket and feel the rocks under our bones. We'll watch as the stars ignite their first tentative glimmers of the night, fighting initially through the atmospheric haze. It's never easy when you first start to find your light. My iPod is charged; maybe bring that base that plays music with no cords because we'll be far from any outlets and I have something I want to hear. I know life's been hard on you lately, hard on me. Maybe it wasn't meant to be easy. The grey of life makes tonight's sky seem all the more brilliant. A galaxy, a comet, a supernova. We'll listen to (and watch for) those explosions in the sky. The stars will sing - maybe tonight our music doesn't need the words.

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY
GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, SAN FRANCISCO
3/21/08
Intro
First Breath After Coma
Catastrophe And The Cure
The Birth And Death Of The Day
Six Days At The Bottom Of The Ocean
Greet Death
It's Natural To Be Afraid
Your Hand In Mine
The Only Moment We Were Alone

ZIP: EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY AT GAMH

Explosions In The Sky is a band from from Austin, Texas that tells amazing stories through songs which happen to lack words. Try it and see for yourself, the dizzying landscapes they can take you through.

This show was the second of three sold-out nights at the classy Great American Music Hall in San Francisco just back in March.

[thanks to the original taper. Pics from daryldarko and chaybert]