"Bloodbuzz Ohio" is a single by

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

the National, from their fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

High Violet ''High Violet'' is the fifth studio album by The National, which was released on May 10, 2010, in Europe and on May 11, 2010, in North America via 4AD. The band produced the album themselves, assisted by Peter Katis with whom they worked on t ...

''. It is notable for

Matt Berninger Matthew Donald Berninger (, born February 13, 1971) is an American singer, primarily known as the frontman and lyricist of indie rock band The National. In 2014, he also formed the EL VY project with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena. ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

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. The cover art of this single is a work by artist Mark Fox, titled ''Jane Jacobs Understands The Beehive''.

Critical reception

One Thirty BPM ''Beats Per Minute'' (formerly ''One Thirty BPM'') is a New York City– and Los Angeles–based online publication providing reviews, news, media, interviews and feature articles about the music world. ''Beats Per Minute'' covers a variety of ...

described the track as "the beating heart of ''

'' and most alarming insight into the psyche of the album."

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called it "a tense, drawn-out build with Matt Berninger's weathered

lording all over everything." 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. In ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'',

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...

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". The National's Money Shot: In Praise of "Bloodbuzz Ohio"
by

; in ''

''; published May 17, 2010; retrieved May 8, 2024

Music video

is the main focus of the first video from ''

'' which shows him dapper in a suit, holding a drink, and walking the streets of

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, seemingly lost in thought as he sings. Documentary film director D.A. Pennebaker appears in a cameo in the video, playing a bartender. It was directed by Hope E. Hall, Andreas Burgess, and Berninger's wife Carin Besser.

Performances

The National performed a special live studio performance and interview on American Public Media's Marketplace November 1, 2012.

Covers

Julia Stone Julia Stone (born 13 April 1984) is an Australians, Australian Folk music, folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is a sister of Angus Stone, with whom she has collaborated in professional music, and is also a solo musician. Her ...

covered the song on her 2012 album, ''

By the Horns ''By the Horns'' is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter, Julia Stone. It was released in May 2012 and peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Charts. In an interview with Beat Magazine Stone affirmed the catalyst for the songs was he ...

''. * Irish artist Soak covered the song in 2019. *

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performed a version of the song on August 18, 2022 at

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also known colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheater in the Western United States, western United States near Morrison, Colorado, approximately southwest of Denver. It is owned and operated by the c ...

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 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

at number 49 for one week on week 25 of 2010. 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 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiza ...

chart in Wallonia region at number 37.

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2010 singles The National (band) songs 4AD singles 2010 songs Songs written by Matt Berninger Songs written by Aaron Dessner