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"Fake Empire"
"Fake Empire"
Single by The National
from the album Boxer
Released	June 23, 2008
Recorded	Tarquin Studios
Genre	Indie rock, post-punk revival
Length	3:27
Label	Beggars Banquet Records
Songwriter(s)	Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner
Producer(s)	Peter Katis and The National
The National singles chronology

"Fake Empire" is a song by Brooklyn-based indie rock band The National from their fourth studio album, Boxer. The song was released in June 2008 as the album's third and final single.^[1]

Production

"Fake Empire" was written by Bryce Dessner of The National. Commenting on the song's initial concept, he said, "Conceptually I said I would love to write a song that was based on a certain polyrhythm, the four-over-three pattern, which is what you hear in the piano. It's something I, personally, have never heard in rock music. What's interesting is the song sounds like it's in four, but it's in three. The harmonies and the way I'm playing the piano music are actually incredibly simple – sort of like "Chopsticks" simple – with this really weird rhythm. At the end we said, 'Oh, wouldn't it be cool if we had a horn fanfare?' so Padma [Newsome] wrote this very Steve Reichian minimalist horn fanfare."^[2]

Lyrical Interpretation

Lyrically, "Fake Empire" is a commentary about a generation lost to disillusion and apathy. Vocalist Matt Berninger further explained to The Quietus that it is about "where you can't deal with the reality of what's really going on, so let's just pretend that the world's full of bluebirds and ice skating."^[3]

Promotion

The National made their network television debut when they performed "Fake Empire" on the Late Show with David Letterman on July 24, 2007.^[4] In the television series Chuck, the song appeared in the episode "Chuck Versus the Break-up" on October 13, 2008.^[5] "Fake Empire" also played during the final scene of the pilot episode of NBC's police drama Southland,^[6] as well as over the concluding scene and credits of the 2008 film Battle in Seattle.^[7] An instrumental version of the song^[8] was featured in Barack Obama's campaign video "Signs of Hope and Change" during his 2008 United States presidential campaign,^[9]^[10] and the song was also played at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.^[11] The members of The National supported the presidential candidate;^[11] they put Obama's face on a fundraising T-shirt with the text "Mr. November", taken from the name of a song from the band's third album, Alligator.^[11] In the fifth season premiere episode of the teen drama television series One Tree Hill, several songs by The National were featured, including "Fake Empire".^[12] It was also featured in Person of Interest, at the end of the episode Sotto Voce, 9th episode of the 5th season. Season 1 episode 6 of Feel Good, a Netflix series, featured this song.

Reception

Allmusic considered "Fake Empire" one of The National's best songs, and described it as a song that "begins as a dead-of-night ballad that echoes Leonard Cohen, then peppy brass and guitars turn it into something joyous."^[13] Mark Mordue of WAToday called "Fake Empire" "one of the great rock'n'roll songs" of 2007. He described it as "a romantic-sounding tune marked by a quiet declaration that 'We're half awake in a fake empire,' [which] married the lonely-guy blues of a New York night to a veiled critique of American imperialism. In short, it expressed the feelings of being lost inside a dream."^[14] Stylus Magazine ranked "Fake Empire" as the 7th-best song of 2007.^[15]

Track listing

DL and promo CD (BBQ 417)

"Fake Empire" – 3:27
"Without Permission" – 3:37
"Fake Empire" (Live) – 3:42

Personnel

Matt Berninger - vocals
Aaron Dessner - guitar
Bryce Dessner - guitar, piano
Bryan Devendorf - drums, percussion
Scott Devendorf - bass

Additional Musicians

Tim Albright - trombone
Thomas Bartlett - keyboards
CJ Camerieri - trumpet
Marla Hansen - backing vocals
Jeb Wallace - French horn

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[16]	Gold	40,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Danny Seim of Menomena recorded a cover of the song in 2008 for his solo project, Lackthereof, on the album Your Anchor.^[17]
Ryan Lewis also released a song called "Fake Empire" on the album The VS. [Redux] in 2010 together with Macklemore. It samples the "Fake Empire" refrain, therefore making it a remix rather than a cover.
Anna-Lynne Williams released a version of the song as Lotte Kestner on her 2011 album Stolen.

Molly Tuttle, recorded a cover of the song on her …but I’d rather be with you album, released in 2020

References

^ "Sound / Fake Empire - Single (Promo)". The National. Archived from the original on 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ Richardon, Derk (2007-06-21). "The National's brand of intelligent art-rock quietly hooks listeners in". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-08-11. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ Fake Empire by The National Archived 2017-08-08 at the Wayback Machine - Songfacts (accessed December 28, 2015)
^ "Now Playing: The National – "Fake Empire"". CBS. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "Chuck: Episode 2.3, "Chuck vs. the Breakup"". BuddyTV. 2008-10-13. Archived from the original on 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "Southland: "Pilot"". AV Club. 2009-04-09. Archived from the original on 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "Battle in Seattle (2007) soundtrack". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ Hogan, Marc (2008-10-29). "You Can Vote However You Like". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 2010-02-22. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "The National Team Up With Obama To Bring "Signs Of Hope & Change"". Stereogum. 2008-09-03. Archived from the original on 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ BarackObamadotcom (2008-09-01). Signs of Hope & Change. Retrieved 2024-08-07 – via YouTube.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lopez, Korina (2008-09-17). "The National's fame starts to live up to the name". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "One Tree Hill music". The CW. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "Boxer review". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 2011-11-13. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ Mordue, Mark (2008-08-10). "Crouching tiger, hidden dragon". WAToday. Archived from the original on 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "Top 50 Songs of 2007". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
^ "Canadian single certifications – The National – Fake Empire". Music Canada. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
^ "Rock and pop reviews". Irish Times. 2008-08-22. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2010-03-19.