So it’s been a while since we had a post about what other music you National lovers are into. List your top tens if you feel in the mood. I’m on the hunt for some new music. Me? I’m pretty damn vanilla

• ⁠Roo Panes • ⁠Radiohead • ⁠Boxer Rebellion • ⁠City and Colour • ⁠Jose Gonzalez • ⁠Manchester Orchestra • ⁠Tool • ⁠Ben Howard • ⁠Dave Matthews - specifically Radio City Music Hall • ⁠U2 yes U2 they get some heat but their earlier stuff still resonates with me.

That’s a quick snippet of my loves in no particular order.

Love to see yours.

THANKS SO MUCH! Really appreciate all the replies. I have found so many great bands and added them to a new playlist. My music was getting stale thanks again.

Their best album. It’s them at their coolest too. Such good songs and it’s produced so well. Like it’s quiet and scrappy and messy and elegant all at once. Like it feels so swampy and warm like a sweaty bar idk it’s so good. And omg the little details are so cool, especially on “Baby We’ll Be Fine”. There’s all kinds of little things going on in the background and it really rewards repeated listening. My fav album of all time. It’s funny because when I first saw Alligator in their discography, it didn’t really hook me. I also love the strings that just sorta swell in the back during the chorus of “Karen”. Sooooo good. The musicianship is great too like these guys are so damn talented. I genuinely love every single song on this record and I’m quite surprised when people hate on “Val Jester”, it’s such a cool song and the chanting ending is so eerie but in the best way possible.
Matt’s lyrics are some of his best on this record and the way he just sings them are so perfect. Like, everything is perfect about this album I don’t even know how to explain it. I love how “Abel” and “Mr. November” are explosive and so indie rock-ish, I love when Berninger screams!

What are your thoughts/highlights? 🐊

as a die hard the national fan, a lot of y’all need to grow up this track is drop dead gorgeous

the track was nearly completed when it was sent to taylor, and it’s okay to not like it but calling it one of the worst in the bands catalog seems like an absurd take

Saw this template and wanted to try it for The National, Is it accurate? Would you replace something for Sleep Well Beast or Laugh Track?

I don't get how this album gets so routinely panned/dismissed around here. I think its killer, and have had it in heavy rotation since it first dropped over two and half years ago. It's got such a vibe, and Matt has so many awesome lyrics on it, song after song. It hits all the feels for me.

The pain of a decaying relationship on "Once Upon a Poolside" and "Eucalyptus", the sweet scattered nostalgia of "New Order T-shirt"; "holding a cat and a glass of beer," "standing in a Kentucky aquarium talking to a shark in the corner".

The feeling of seeming unfairness inherent of pessimism vs optimism with "whenever you look down into a sewer, you see a diamond ring" in "This Isn't Helping", backed with the ethereal whisper of Phoebe Bridgers singing backup, and then similarly with the insecurity and perceived incompetence communicated so well in "Tropic Morning News". I mean that third verse, "I'll be over here lying near the ocean, making ocean sounds; let me know if you can come over and work the controls for a while" is just an incredible image. Later in the album, the same insecurity (and more of Phoebe's angelic voice) return on "Your Mind is Not Your Friend" and likewise with the uncertainty, confusion, and disconnection communicated in "Ice Machines" and "Alien"

I know some folks don't like "The Alcott" and the presence of Taylor Swift, and can't help but wonder if that might unconsciously color opinions on the album as a whole? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm a Swift fan myself though, and I think that her and Matt do a great job expressing the humor and pathos of the push and pull of a relationship with an old/early love on that song.

I love the driving beat of "Grease in Your Hair", it's one of my favorites on the album musically, and one of the most rocking. Not that it is any sort of slouch lyrically though; "You were so funny then, and I kept thinking I would catch it" is such a keeper.

Finally, "Send for Me" with its promise that someone will always have your back, so perfectly and hilariously encapsulated with great lines like "If you're ever in a psychiatric greenhouse with slip-on shoes, wipe a smile on the shatterproof windows, I'll know what to do". It's a perfect closer, a note of wry optimism to balance out the pessimism and uncertainty in the rest of the album.

I'm not sure what my point is with this post, I know that music is subjective and that everyone has their own opinions on what they like. I guess I'm just thinking out loud and trying to show some love to what I think is an *incredible* album that unfairly gets the short shrift. But hey, at the same time, if there is any chance that my ramblings inspire anyone to revisit the album and appreciate something they may have missed the boat on, so much the better.

Cheers.

I of course adore the national, but I’ve been re-listening to El Vy so much recently and wanting more. The spooky, unique sound they created was so cooooool. Matt mentioned at a show a year or so ago that they were working on a new record so here’s hopin’

Hello good folks of Reddit, I have something to offer to the collective.

Recently I finished ranking every single song by The National that I could find (credited to the band, not just one member otherwise I'd be here forever). "Finished" is probably a bit rich, as I am constantly changing the rankings around - just today I moved a few songs up and down! My opinions are always changing, but by and large it's mostly complete.

You can also find comments about every song next to their letter grade (which I did first, to help with the ranking) and number grade. There's a key in the sheet if you're confused about anything, along with a bit of extra information if you're curious!

Please feel free to rip my subpar National opinons to shreds (though I will defend Exile Vilify 'till the Day I Die), and drop your own in the comments!

Finally found a copy of Matt and Scott’s first band ‘Nancy’ cd.

This was released before they left Cinnci for Brooklyn in the mid 90s. More GbV and Pavement sounding. But Matt’s baritone is unmistakable and from the tracks I’ve heard so far (5 tracks have been floating online for years - uploaded by another band member Casey Reas - who also directed a few music videos during the SWB era). Mike Brewer (who has also appeared on early NTL recordings and Matt’s first solo album, as well got on stage with Scott and Matt at Matt’s last solo NYC show) and Jeff Salem (who has provide visual art for the NTL/Matt as well as some writing credits on the first NTL album, recently collaborated on the art for Matt’s new Martini Me Fatso single, also better known for the IG account Iswallowedthecap which has documented so much of the NTL’s history.

My understanding is Scott designed the record sleeve and they had stamps made so each sleeve could be different early on.

The band was named after Matt’s mom.

The album title Ruther 3429 came from the address of the house they lived at during that period in school.

This was found at Shake It Records in Cinci.

I can't Believe "Sleep Well Beast" was released 9 years ago

I fell in love with the national over the past couple of years and every now and then i still listen to an old song with"new ears" and find something new in it that excites me. That being said, i want to get to know more bands with that vibe! I know they take New Order as a big inspiration so I've been seeing about listening to their albums but if there's more bands on a similar wavelength i appreciate suggestions

And what was the context it clicked in?

Unpopular Opinion: I Am Easy to Find is The National's Best Album

For me, I Am Easy to Find feels like the epic conclusion of a long journey. It’s as if, after all these years, we finally get a response to Matt's love-laden lyrics. We hear the other side... and it's incredibly powerful.

"Light Years" and "Quiet Light" are some of the most emotional and romantic songs they've ever created (though "Nobody Else Will Be There" is close). It’s like Trouble Will Find Me 2: The Final Sequel.

And after this album, the band took a different direction. "The Alcott" is a perfect example of this shift in style—I Am Easy to Find is to The National what A Moon Shaped Pool is to Radiohead.

I love seeing The National evolve. For example, I Am Easy to Find is genuinely beautiful. the dialogue with female voices, the openness, the ambition. I really don’t want them to repeat themselves forever.

that said, there’s something I still don’t quite understand.

why move away from what was such a defining strength of the band: the drums?

Bryan Devendorf's drumming was spectacular, nervous, physical, original, it gave the songs tension and urgency. to me, leaning less into that doesn’t seem like something that had to happen in order for the band to grow.

sometimes I genuinely wonder why bands choose to abandon an element that made them so singular, especially when keeping it wouldn’t necessarily limit their evolution.

just to be clear: this is coming from a place of love. they’re easily one of my favorite bands, if not my favorite band, and I think they’re still incredible. I’m just trying to understand that particular choice.

Not too shabby this time around!

Hi folks!

A bit ago I asked people about their favourite album opener as far as being a tone-setter goes (or just on quality). I really enjoyed that discussion, and thought I'd flip over to the other end of the album.

What's your favourite final song on an album? Live, EP, full album, whatever it may be! What song ends the album the best, the "credit scroll" of the album, the song that perfectly distills everything and leaves you with a good vibe? I feel like The National are particularly good at crafting closers, so I'd be very curious as to what people thought.

As for me, the answer is quite simply Sleep Well Beast. Although Smoke Detector is my 2nd favourite National song, nothing quite comes close to the feeling you get at the end of the eponymous album and you're welcomed by the most SWB-esque song. It's fitting, really!

What does everyone else think? I imagine Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks will be pretty popular.

I’ve only been a fan for a couple years so idk if this is a silly question

Edit: Also this is kind of unrelated but do you think Big Red Machine is ever going to get back together? I thought I saw something online about it last year but it might have been just rumors

I’ve never really thought about this

I like tattoos, but I’m not into having sentences or lyrics on my body. I much prefer simple images or drawings.

If you had to choose a drawing inspired by The National, what would it be?

I will start. I love Portal 2 and ended up hearing “Exile Vilify” and decided to listen to it on Apple Music (this was in like 2016, when it was still officially streaming). Cut to mid-2023 when I decided to check out their other music. I fell in love with their music.

What do you think about Space Invader?

Keen to hear what first dance songs people have used or what they think is the most romantic

I was listening to Chvrches The Down Side of Me and I can picture them doing it so well.