The National’s Matt Berninger on the brilliance of Cat Power: “I’ve never seen a performer so singular”
For years, The National has been at the forefront of the indie scene. One of the most consistent bands in their field, they have numerous modern classics to their name, with each member vital to their success. Arguably, though, it is certain that without the crooning poetry of frontman Matt Berninger, they wouldn’t have hit the heights that they have gone on to achieve.
A bewitching performer who fuses midwestern earnestness with the gravelly vocals of Tom Waits and the appropriate descriptive prowess, whether it be the likes of ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ or ‘Apartment Story’, Berninger has provided many moments over the years that make listeners wonder at his brilliance. In addition to this, more often than not, the relationship between his words and vocals is so profound that they elicit the most full-bodied emotional response. Only the true greats possess such a knack.
It says everything about the angle of Berninger’s artistry that he cites Nick Cave as his favourite contemporary artist. “I think my favourite artist of contemporary time honestly is Nick Cave,” he shared during an appearance on Amoeba Music’s What’s In My Bag. “He writes more generously, with more bravery, than any artist I know,” he added. “He writes incredible novels and screenplays and makes incredible films, and his blog is brilliant along with any of the other things that he does.”
The Covid-19 era discussion proved to be an enlightening chat of Berninger, as he let fans into his mind as a consumer of music and artistry. Elsewhere in the conversation, he again showed his preference for unique artists when he picked Cat Power, also known as Chan Marshall’s fourth studio album, 1998’s Moon Pix. The National frontman recalled seeing her live around the time the record arrived and went as far as to describe her as the most “singular” performer he’s ever seen.
Notably, Moon Pix is one of Cat Power’s most lauded efforts. Several of the tracks, including ‘No Sense’ and ‘Metal Heart’ were written in “one deranged night” she had following a hallucinatory nightmare in late 1997 when she was alone in the South Carolina farmhouse she shared with then-boyfriend, Bill Callahan.
“I got woken up by someone in the field behind my house in South Carolina,” she later explained in Elizabeth Goodman’s Cat Power: A Good Woman. “The earth started shaking, and dark spirits were smashing up against every window of my house. I woke up, and I had my kitten next to me…and I started praying to God to help me… So I just ran and got my guitar because I was trying to distract myself. I had to turn on the lights and sing to God. I got a tape recorder and recorded the next sixty minutes. And I played these long changes into six different songs. That’s where I got the record.”
Regarding Cat Power and Moon Pix, Berninger said: “Then jumping to somebody I would say is in the Tom Waits vein – Cat Power, Chan Marshall. I saw Chan Marshall by myself at Mercury Lounge. I don’t know what year it was, probably right before this record came out, and I was in the back of the room. It was packed, and obviously, there was a buzz about her, and she was incredible, she was just entirely herself, and I’ve never seen a performer so just singular, and this whole record is such a poem, the whole thing. This one’s incredible.”
Watch Berninger discuss some of his favourite records for Amoeba below.
