AlexKzillion
I have an awful memory of a high school ex sitting on my baby blue vinyl of The Dusk In Us lmao
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Last Active 12-19-22 8:25 pm
Joined 06-11-15

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03.06.24 TOP 25 BTBAM SONGS01.22.24 2024 Grammy AOTY noms RANKED
01.05.24 alexk's top 25 of 202312.18.23 Every Staff Top 10 Ranked 2010-2022
08.31.23 alexk's pie-less rec competition 06.06.23 a7x vs. slipknot
06.01.23 alexk's top 25 a7x songs05.24.23 S-TIER: The National
05.22.23 S-TIER: Trivium04.24.23 BETTER LOVERS RANKED
04.21.23 editing metallica04.10.23 2023 NBA PLAYOFFS DISCUSSION (hoopers o
01.04.23 alexk's top 25 of 202205.17.22 alexk graduates college!
05.12.22 Top 10 Kendrick Lamar Songs05.11.22 Top 25 Cave In Songs
04.18.22 2022 NBA Playoffs Thread04.13.22 Bands not in the metal archives archive
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S-TIER: The National

seeing them tonight lets gooooo please don't play too many frankenstein songs
1The National
Alligator


Mr. November:

Their hardest rocker. Not much else to say.
2The National
Boxer


Fake Empire:

Arguably their quintessential song. Simple and effective, nothing like those trumpets at the end.
3The National
Boxer


Mistaken for Strangers:

I’ve always been a big fan of the atmosphere of this song. It feels very expensive and nerve racking, but in a forcibly subdued kind of way that halts anxiety from ever truly boiling over, and that’s very much what I’ve found having a corporate office job feels like. The trade off between career and friendships also hits particularly hard these days, not so much from my core group but a year after graduation I’ve found literally everyone kinda outside of that has become strangers. Showered and blue blazered, filling ourselves with quarters.
4The National
High Violet


Conversation 16:

Auditory great gatsby… or at least that’s the vibe this song always gave me. Really love the way Matt’s vocals kinda glide over this laminated sheen of an instrumental that is constantly adding and subtracting. Over the years I’ve found I’m not as high on the unlimited budget feel of High Violet as a lot of people are, but it certainly works for me here.
5The National
Trouble Will Find Me


Don’t Swallow the Cap:

Think this song exhibits what I love about this band as much as anything else here: the way they can squeeze so much out of such a simple arrangement. The ever so slightly changing drums that keep the snare pounding on the upbeat throughout the entire song, the constant piano hits that follow it, and the way Matt’s vocals just kinda float above it as the clear focus of the song but hardly getting in the way.
6The National
Trouble Will Find Me


Pink Rabbits:

Maybe because I mostly got into these guys while going through my own breakup, but I feel like these guys do these sorts of songs as well as anyone I’ve heard.
7The National
Sleep Well Beast


Nobody Else Will Be There:

I find this track so painful to listen to. It’s so muted, so barebones, so not-even-there, and it feels like Matt is crumbling under the weight of the relative silence, as if he’s trying to make these pleas from the bottom of his soul to his lover in the middle of a crowded church.
8The National
Sleep Well Beast


Day I Die:

The National doing U2 better than U2 gotta love it.
9The National
Sleep Well Beast


The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness:

The National doing U2 better than U2 gotta love it. [2]
10The National
Sleep Well Beast


Carin at the Liquor Store:

Another “so much with so little” sorta song along with some of my favorite Matt lyrics. Love the way this can be both a love song or a breakup song depending on your circumstances.
11The National
Sleep Well Beast


Sleep Well Beast:

The one and only truly controversial pick here. I love everything about this song, especially the way it just kinda withers away the final three minutes. Sleep Well Beast has a lot of hits and misses with the “experimental” stuff but this was a home run.
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