Song of the Day - The National: "Mr. November"

Usually I try to keep the content for the Song of the Day limited to new music. This isn't a set-in-stone rule or anything, but one of my main objectives for posting music is to get people excited about something new; whether it is a new band or a new song/album from an established artist. Today, I decided to change things up and pay homage to this year's recipient of the Nobel Peace Price (along with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Mr. Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. Now, you might be asking yourself what does Al Gore have to do with The National? In short, nothing, but this song sounds like it was written about him.

"Mr. November" is the raucous final track off The National's third album Alligator. It is my favorite song by the band for two simple reasons. For one, the combination of Bryan Devendorf's drums and Bryce Dessner's rolling guitar noise make for a bombastic sound that flat out rocks. Secondly, frontman Bryan Devendorf's screaming chorus of "I won't fuck us over/I'm Mr. November" sounds like the desperate pleas of a man who's trying to convince someone to give him the chance to lead. And as he sings about being "the new blue blood" and "the great white hope" it sounds to me that this song is about unfulfilled promise. Obviously something that describes Mr. Gore to a T.

Maybe now that he has been vindicated for being any early critic of the Iraq War and a tireless advocate for combating climate change, Gore will cap his eventful year and make another run for the White House? I know many more people willing to vote for him now than in 2000 (myself included). All we ask is that he doesn't fuck us over.



*Photo Credit: Flickr user Open Democracy's photo stream