Utter disappointment is the only way to describe this documentary/EP combo. Over the past year The National have endeared themselves as one of my favorite bands, and this set missed the mark for me.

First off the film. Vincent Moon shot this documentary as a behind the scenes look at the making of Boxer, my favorite album from 2007. I can barely go a full day without listening to at least part of that album. I also happen to love Vincent Moon’s work on the Take Away Shows. I have spent many an hour immersed in his masterful capturing of guerilla style band performances. The problem with A Skin, A Night is its lack of any real content. Hardly any band interviewing, and barely any live performance. You basically get to watch Moon show you how artsy he is with the camera. And don’t get me wrong, it is achingly beautiful and has its place in certain applications of filmmaking. It’s just not what I am looking for when its divorced from content and I’m watching a ‘making of’ documentary. The easiest way for me to describe it is in relation to Soderbergh. A Skin, A Night is about 55 minutes of those clips where Soderbergh abandons the narrative and shoe horns in a strange camera movement coupled with a softened lense.

The Virginia EP accompanies the documentary. Alone, I can imagine paying for this and being content with my purchase. I didn’t even realize The National was releasing an EP with the documentary until late in the game. It almost makes me wonder if it was added late in the game to make up for the worthlessness of the ‘documentary’. Anyway, you get 12 songs on this EP – half of which are reissues from previous albums. The reissues are a mixed bag of demos, lives, and what seems to me to be the exact same version that are on the respective albums. With the other half of the album you get some really nice songs. I especially love ‘You’ve Done it Again Virginia’ and ‘About Today’. I guess in the end I was disappointed with this purchase because I ended up getting a virtual 6 song EP for almost $20. Awesome.

The National – You’ve Done it Again Virginia – A Skin, A Night/Virginia EP