The National Identify With R.E.M.

Posted on Apr 3rd 2008 12:00PM by Benjy Eisen
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Although R.E.M. and the National both performed at the Langerado Music Festival in Florida last month, National frontman Matt Berninger tells Spinner that he missed R.E.M.'s set because his band didn't arrive until the next morning. No worries, though. Berninger will have plenty of opportunities to catch R.E.M. in all their greatest hits glory when the National opens for them this summer at an amphitheater near you. (Modest Mouse rounds out the triple bill.)

Growing up, Berninger says R.E.M. was always a favorite. "The defining bands for me were the Smiths, R.E.M. and the Pixies," he says. "In high school there were the kids that listened to Rush and Slayer, and then there were the artsy kids that listened to the Smiths and R.E.M. I seemed to identify more with the artsy, nerdy kid."

Berninger recalls that, back then, it was more than just a musical preference -- it was an identity, a way of picking sides. Speculating that cliques are no longer as defined or divided as they once were, he then says, "Maybe it is still that way -- I haven't been to high school in awhile."

Asked what kind of identity traits might describe kids these days who are into the National, he diplomatically suggests that the band's slow growth has nurtured a diverse fan base. "If one demographic turns on us," he jokes, "we've still got the backing of others." So...after R.E.M. tour, maybe Brooks & Dunn dates?