The National release new song for Hunger Games soundtrack (listen); St. Vincent reviews new Arcade Fire (read)

The National at Barclays Center in June (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

St. Vincent is the latest artist to review a record on Michael Azerrad’s website The Talkhouse. Her target? The new Arcade Fire:

Google search #1: Madonna “Like a Virgin” bass sound.
(The bass sound on “We Exist” vaguely reminded me of Madonna’s 1984 classic Like a Virgin.)
Result: Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
(Unconfirmed and will likely need to follow Nile Rodgers on Twitter and hope he @replies to my query directly.)

Unsatisfied, I contacted Jeremy Gara (Arcade Fire drummer) and asked what they’d used for the bass. Turns out it was NOT a Prophet but a Korg MS-20 — the vintage kind, not a new one or Reason, nerds! He even sent me a picture of the exact one! I was glad to have one pressing matter settled, but I continued down a Madonna rabbit hole and downloaded The Immaculate Collection. No “Oh Father”?????? Grievous oversight, Sire Records.

Related search: Is Seymour Stein still alive?
Result: Yes.

“FLASHBULB EYES” IS SUPER SICK AND DUBBY! KING TUBBY?! KING DUBBY?! AM I THE ONLY NON-STONED PERSON TO EVER MAKE THAT PUN?

Google search #2: Very-tall-men-fronted rock*^ bands
(Related: Glenn Danzig height)
*Co-fronted! No disrespect, Regine!
^Catch-all term for music in 2013 featuring at least one guitar
Results: Turns out Bryan Ferry isn’t even that tall: 6’1″. Some people just seem tall. Also Joey Ramone. (Apple autocorrected this to “ram one” — usually so puritanical, Apple! Loosening your tie or was that a Joel Osteen-esque slip-up?)

Okay, so maybe “review” is a stretch in this case, but whatever St. Vincent wrote about the album and/or her Google searches is quite a read.

In other St. Vincent news, she is part of the recently-released Boardwalk Empire soundtrack, which also features Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Rufus Wainwright, Patti Smith, and Matt Berninger of The National (among others), and can be streamed HERE.

And speaking of The National songs on soundtracks, after contributing a song to Game of Thrones last year, they now appear on the upcoming Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack along with Patti Smith, Antony, The Weeknd, and more. The soundtrack will be out on November 19 via Lionsgate/Republic and you can stream The National’s contribution, “Lean,” now, below…

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The National – “Lean”