Matt Berninger
Matt Berninger
Matthew Donald Berninger, known as Matt Berningeris a Cincinnati native, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, primarily known as the frontman of indie rock band The National. In 2014 he formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Menomena and released the album Return to the Moon in November 2015...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth13 February 1971
CityCincinnati, OH
CountryUnited States of America
thinking rocks rock-and-roll
I'm doing a little freelance work, and I think everybody's trying to take their minds off rock and roll for a little while and get some perspective.
kids thinking perspective
Trying to make it and get people to respect your band, being a cool band-all of that stuff-I think we've arrived at a place where we have kids and everything is in perspective and it doesn't matter.
thinking guy balance
I'm not saying I'm not a moody guy sometimes, but I think I have a pretty normal balance.
caring thinking rocks
I think most people start rock bands in their early twenties or teens, but I was almost thirty at the time when the band started really doing anything and it took another several years before people started caring about us.
detail worried
Once you do have a child, you want to talk about every detail of it. And it is really boring to all your friends, and it should be. I was really worried about even going there at all.
I don't play an instrument. I pretend. I try to.
good tiny
When it comes to lyrics, I just write down a lot of things, and only a very tiny fraction of it, I think, is any good.
feels minor vocal
The same song can have drastically different feels and personalities just by changing some minor things. A different drumbeat or some vocal overdub could completely transform the song.
although best caught cave dead nick pair wear
Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave know best. Although I wear a lot of jeans, I've been told that Nick Cave doesn't own a pair and wouldn't be caught dead in denim.
feels good images involve listener literal lyrics riddles song swing
A lot of the lyrics I write involve images that just swing the song in a way that feels really good to me and there isn't a literal explanation. They're not riddles for the listener to solve.
began bought came freedom might people worried
At first, when 'Boxer' came out, people were a little let down, and we worried that it might be the end for us. But then it began to grow on people. 'Boxer' bought us our creative freedom.
lyrics
Usually, writing lyrics for me is like bleeding drop by drop from the forehead.
cool favourite
My favourite store? Seize Sur Vingt in New York. They make most of my suits, and they are really cool people.
lyrics
A lot of my lyrics are approximate meaning without me knowing why they sound right.