Bloodbuzz Ohio
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Bloodbuzz Ohio
| cover = Bloodbuzz_Ohio.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = The National
| album = High Violet
| released = March 24, 2010 (digital download)
May 3, 2010 (7")
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = *Indie rock
| length = 4:36
| label = 4AD(AD 3X22)
| writer = Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Padma Newsome
| producer = The National
| prev_title = Fake Empire
| prev_year = 2008
| next_title = Anyone's Ghost
| next_year = 2010
}}
"Bloodbuzz Ohio" is a single by indie rock band The National, from their fifth studio album, High Violet. It is notable for Matt Berninger's baritone vocals. It was made available for download on the band's website on March 24, 2010. The song was also released on 7" vinyl (with the exclusive B-side "Sin-Eaters") on May 3, 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.4ad.com/news/download-free-mp/ |title=4AD – The National – Download Free MP3 of the new single, 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' |date=March 25, 2010 |access-date=2011-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606060424/http://www.4ad.com/news/download-free-mp/ |archive-date=June 6, 2011}} The cover art of this single is a work by artist Mark Fox, titled Jane Jacobs Understands The Beehive.{{cite web | url=http://www.markfoxstudio.com/?page_id=3 | title=News | publisher=Mark Fox | access-date=April 27, 2011 | author=Fox, Mark}}
Julia Stone covered the song on her 2012 album, By the Horns.
Irish artist Soak covered the song in 2019.
Goose performed a version of the song on August 18, 2022 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Critical reception
One Thirty BPM described the track as "the beating heart of High Violet and most alarming insight into the psyche of the album."{{cite web |url=http://onethirtybpm.com/2010/05/24/track-review-the-national-bloodbuzz-ohio/ |title=Track Review: The National "Bloodbuzz Ohio" |publisher=One Thirty BPM |first=Ian |last=Barker |access-date=2011-12-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626210911/http://onethirtybpm.com/2010/05/24/track-review-the-national-bloodbuzz-ohio/ |archive-date=June 26, 2010 |df=mdy-all }} Pitchfork called it "a tense, drawn-out build with Matt Berninger's weathered baritone lording all over everything."{{cite web|last=Breihan |first=Tom |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11866-the-national-bloodbuzz-ohio/ |title=The National: "Bloodbuzz Ohio" | Tracks |publisher=Pitchfork |date=March 30, 2010 |access-date=2022-06-16}}
On January 26, 2011, the song was voted at number 31 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010, making it their highest entry on the countdown ever. In 2019, Pitchfork ranked the song at number 76 on its list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.{{cite web |title=The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-songs-of-the-2010s/ |website=Pitchfork |publisher=Pitchfork Media |access-date=12 October 2019 |language=en}}
In Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield stated that the song is "about money", emphasizing that its chorus is the phrase "I still owe money, to the money, to the money I owe", and speculating that Ohio is "mentioned only because it sounds like 'I owe'"; The band is from Ohio. Sheffield further observed that the song's lyrics are "full of throwaway clues that never add up to any coherent storyline", but that it is nonetheless "sickeningly great" and has "undeniable emotional punch".
[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-nationals-money-shot-in-praise-of-bloodbuzz-ohio-242316/ The National’s Money Shot: In Praise of “Bloodbuzz Ohio”], by Rob Sheffield; in Rolling Stone; published May 17, 2010; retrieved May 8, 2024
Music video
Matt Berninger is the main focus of the first video from High Violet which shows him dapper in a suit, holding a drink, and walking the streets of New York City, seemingly lost in thought as he sings.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/yfySK7CLEEg |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio |publisher=YouTube |date= |access-date=2011-12-24}}{{cbignore}} Documentary film director D.A. Pennebaker appears in a cameo in the video, playing a bartender.{{cite web|author=Amy Phillips|url=http://www.pitchfork.com/news/38767-video-the-national-bloodbuzz-ohio/|title= Video: The National "Bloodbuzz Ohio"|publisher=Pitchfork Media |date=May 11, 2010 |access-date=June 25, 2012}}
It was directed by Hope E. Hall, Andreas Burgess, and Berninger's wife Carin Besser.{{cite web |url=http://www.state.ie/2010/05/news/the-national-bloodbuzz-ohio-video/ |title=The National – 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' video – News | State Magazine |publisher=State.ie |date=May 12, 2010 |access-date=2011-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514132544/http://www.state.ie/2010/05/news/the-national-bloodbuzz-ohio-video/ |archive-date=May 14, 2010 |url-status=dead }}
Performances
The National performed a special live studio performance and interview on American Public Media's Marketplace November 1, 2012.
Track listing
- "Bloodbuzz Ohio" (May 3, 2010)
- 4AD (AD 3X22), 7" vinyl and digital download
- # "Bloodbuzz Ohio" – 4:36
- # "Sin-Eaters" – 3:40
Chart history
It charted on the Belgian Flanders Ultratop 50 at number 49 for one week on week 25 of 2010.{{cite web|url=http://acharts.us/song/55877 |title=The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio – Music Charts |publisher=Acharts.us |date= |access-date=2011-12-24}} It then re-entered the chart, and on its third week on the chart, the song peaked at number 16. It has also charted on the Ultratip chart in Wallonia region at number 37.
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Bloodbuzz Ohio"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=The National|title=Bloodbuzz Ohio|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2010|certyear=2022|access-date=December 22, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{The National}}
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Category:The National (band) songs