The song, made with Phoebe Bridgers, deals with the intricacies of a mind of habit and the overwhelming nature of control.
You do not understand? / Your mind is no longer your friend / It takes you by the hand / And it leads you nowhere”
sings frontman Matt Berninger in tandem with the yearning voice of Phoebe Bridgers.
The song was born during a period of ‘writer’s block’ for Berninger, a crisis he partially overcame with the help of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein.
When I feel stuck, I often take a book off the shelf just to get a few words in my head and the first couple of pages of Frankenstein triggered ‘Your Mind Is Not Your Friend’” recalls Berninger. “The book begins with the narrator traveling near the Arctic Circle and the image of being adrift helped me write about the feeling of feeling disconnected, lost and without purpose. Once I started to deal with that weird, fuzzy panic of having no ideas, it kind of opened up.”
The nostalgic and melancholic video for “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” stars Matt’s brother Tom Berninger, known to fans of The National for the 2014 film about the band, Mistaken For Strangers. Expanding on the sibling theme, the video was directed by Phoebe’s brother Jackson Bridgers and filmed in Los Angeles.
In recognition of the mental health theme featured in the song, The National will make a donation to TinyChanges.org, the charity established in memory of Frightened Rabbit lead singer, Scott Hutchinson, by his family. “Scott has made small changes that have had a big impact,” they write on the association’s website.
Her honesty and openness about her own mental health have inspired people from all walks of life.”
The 11-song album was produced by The National at Long Pond Studios in New York and stars Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens. Announced today, exclusively for Magnolia Record Store, the variant of the LP in matte turquoise.
1. Once Upon a Poolside (feat. Sufjan Stevens)
2. Eucalyptus
3.New Order T-Shirts
4. This Isn’t Helping (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)
5. Tropic Morning News
6. Aliens
7. The Alcotts (feat. Taylor Swift)
8. Grease In Your Hair
9. Ice Machines
10. Your Mind Is Not Your Friend (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)
11. Send For Me
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Photo released by the artist – Photo credit: Josh Goleman
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