The National mark Trump’s one-year anniversary with politically charged video for “Walk It Back”: Watch

Featured photo by Graham MacIndoe

The National waited until the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration to release their video for Sleep Well Beast’s “Walk It Back”, as the song itself has always carried political themes. A spoken word section at the center of the six-minute track incorporates an infamous quote that’s been attributed to George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove, one that speaks to the concept of politicians being “history’s actors.” Rove denies it, of course.

As such, the video is comprised of old C-SPAN footage featuring the likes of Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney. “The video documents the performance and spectacle of governance,” explains director Casey Reas in a press statement. “It captures the pomp and rituals of Congress and its vainglorious, televised culture.”

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Under Reas’ direction, that footage unfolds with the coarseness and high color saturation native to old CRT televisions. Via a press statement:

The sessions of Congress during the Reagan presidency were the first to be broadcast through the C-SPAN network. From that time through to the present, every session of the House of Representatives and Senate is broadcast from start to end, without edits. For decades, the color CRT television, with its coarse resolution and high saturation, was the instrument through which politics were broadcast – it was the primary medium for political and commercial ideology. In 2009, at the end of the George W. Bush presidency, all analog broadcasts were discontinued as television completely transitioned to digital-only, higher-resolution signals.

Watch the video above.

Sleep Well Beast was recently nominated for a Best Alternative Music Album Grammy. Previously, the band has shared videos for Sleep Well Beast singles “I’ll Still Destroy You”, “The Day I Die”, “Guilty Party”, and “Carin at the Liquor Store”. Last night, they kicked off the latest leg of their world tour in Los Angeles. View their full tour itinerary below, and grab tickets here.

The National 2017-2018 Tour Dates:
01/20 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint
01/23 – Mexico City, MX @ CDMX Pepsi Center
02/21 – Sydney, AU @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt
02/22 – Sydney, AU @ Sydney Opera House Forecourt
02/25 – Auckland, NZ @ Villa Maria Winery
02/27 – Brisbane, AU @ Riverstage
03/01 – Melbourne, AU @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl
03/16 – Santiago, CL @ Lollapalooza Chile
03/18 – Buenos Aires, AR @ Lollapalooza Argentina
03/22 – Rio De Janeiro, BR @ Circo Voador
03/24 – Sao Paulo, BR @ Lollapalooza Brazil
03/25 – Bogota, CO @ Festival Estereo Picnic
04/28 – Cincinnati, OH @ Homecoming Festival
04/29 – Cincinnati, OH @ Homecoming Festival
04/30 – Charlottesville, VA @ Sprint Pavilion ^
05/01 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Ampitheater ^
05/03 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Ampitheater ^
05/04 – Asheville, NC @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena ^
05/05 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Ampitheatre ^
05/04-06 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
05/25 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival
06/02 – London, UK @ ALL Points East Festival
06/07 – Aarhus, DK @ NorthSide Festival
06/09 – Hilvarenbeek, NL @ Best Kept Secret Festival
06/10 – Helsinki, FI @ Sideways Festival
06/15 – Dublin, IE @ Donnybrook Stadium
06/16 – Dublin, IE @ Donnybrook Stadium
07/13 – Lisbon, PT @ NOS Alive
09/24 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
09/25 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre

^ = w/ Big Thief