Matt Berninger has a confession for you: he swapped the chorus of one of his songs because strangers kept singing it wrong. That is the kind of detail that turns a new record into a conversation between artist and audience, and it is the whole spirit behind Type It Up, the new EP from The National’s frontman.
The six-track release arrives today, and it pairs Berninger’s own recent single “Martini Me Fatso” with two covers — New Order’s “Blue Monday” and Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves the Sun,” featuring Rosanne Cash. The EP follows last year’s Get Sunk.
The Songs on Type It Up
Type It Up runs six tracks, and each one tells a different story about how a song gets made. Here is what the EP delivers:
- “Martini Me Fatso”
- “Type It Up”
- “Ask for Water”
- “Blue Monday”
- “Who Loves the Sun”
- “Martini Me Fatso (Acoustic Live in Australia)” — exclusive to vinyl
The covers sit at either end of the record. “Blue Monday” opens the EP, and “Who Loves the Sun” closes it. In between, Berninger’s own material — “Martini Me Fatso,” “Ask for Water” — shows a songwriter still working through his craft.
The Chorus Swap Behind “Type It Up”
The centerpiece of the EP is the title track, “Type It Up.” Originally titled “Black Letter Font,” the song got a new chorus after audiences started mishearing a line.
“I was changing lyrics and forms night after night, and we were getting real time feedback from audiences and social media comments,” Berninger explains. “On the song ‘Type It Up’ (originally titled ‘Black Letter Font’), people were mishearing the lyric, ‘That would look good in a black letter font’ as ‘I would look good in a black leather thong,’ so I decided to swap the chorus. I’m more of a black linen suit guy.”
That is a charmingly human detail. It is also a practical one: a band touring a song hears what the crowd is hearing, and the song changes to match. The swap happened because the audience misheard a specific line, and Berninger responded by changing the song itself.
What the Covers Add
The two covers on Type It Up each have their own backstory. “Blue Monday” was an Amazon Music Original track, which means it was commissioned for the platform rather than released as part of a standard album cycle. “Who Loves the Sun” debuted on the Australian television show Sunny Nights, giving it an early broadcast premiere before it landed on the EP.
Rosanne Cash joins Berninger on “Who Loves the Sun.”
| Track | Position on EP | Format |
|---|---|---|
| “Martini Me Fatso” | 1 | Standard |
| “Type It Up” | 2 | Standard |
| “Ask for Water” | 3 | Standard |
| “Blue Monday” | 4 | Standard |
| “Who Loves the Sun” | 5 | Standard |
| “Martini Me Fatso (Acoustic Live in Australia)” | 6 | Vinyl only |
Why the EP Matters Now
Type It Up is a small record, but it is a deliberate one. It collects songs that have already circulated — “Martini Me Fatso” was a recent single, “Blue Monday” and “Who Loves the Sun” had their own standalone releases — and it presents them together as a single statement.
The EP is also a reminder that Berninger operates in multiple lanes. He is the frontman of The National, and he is also a solo artist with a distinct voice. Type It Up sits squarely in that lane.
The acoustic version of “Martini Me Fatso” — exclusive to vinyl — is a separate edition.
Berninger’s admission about the chorus swap is the kind of detail that makes a record feel personal. It is not a polished product; it is a process captured in amber. The EP is a snapshot of a moment when the song was still being shaped, and the shape it took was determined by the people singing along.
The EP is available now.
Source material: “The National’s Matt Berninger Releases Type It Up EP and New Video,” Pitchfork.
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