The National

[Hugh Jass]

It is Pink Rabbits...

However Green Gloves, Lit Up, Daughters of the Soho Riots, Mistaken For Strangers, Terrible Love, Graceless, Guilty Party and TSODITD all get honourable mentions.

[Mouseboy11]

1 minute ago, Hugh Jass said:

It is Pink Rabbits...

However Green Gloves, Lit Up, Daughters of the Soho Riots, Mistaken For Strangers, Terrible Love, Graceless, Guilty Party and TSODITD all get honourable mentions.

How dare you leave out About Today and Cherry Tree

[Tuna]

Sorry everyone but The National follow the Arcade Fire trajectory (just a less steep drop off, obv): Alligator > Boxer > HV > TWFM > SWB > etc. 

[Hawros]

12 minutes ago, Tuna said:

Sorry everyone but The National follow the Arcade Fire trajectory (just a less steep drop off, obv): Alligator > Boxer > HV > TWFM > SWB > etc. 

You can't just miss off the first two albums though. I LOVE Sad Songs, up there as one of my faves. 

The debut's not any good, as they hadn't yet evolved into the band they become, which they do on Sad Songs

[Tuna]

26 minutes ago, Hawros said:

You can't just miss off the first two albums though. I LOVE Sad Songs, up there as one of my faves. 

The debut's not any good, as they hadn't yet evolved into the band they become, which they do on Sad Songs

Sad Songs is in 'etc' for me

[nikkic]

1 hour ago, SwedgeAntilles said:

It's a good tune but it's not even threatening the top ten tbh 

Not even in the top 5 on that album, let alone top 10 in the big list. 

 

[Anarion]

Really hoping they'll return to Glastonbury next year.

They wasted their chance last year. Too many new songs that people didn't know. Their shows just a few months later, when Sleep Well Beast was out and they had actually learned to play the songs well live, were something else entirely.

[nikkic]

Almost impossible to rank The National albums, easy to rank Arcade Fire’s. 

The highs of Arcade Fire are very high, the lows are still OK, but with The National, the only low point and in fact the only song I ever skip of theirs is Turtleneck. 

Current GOAT is About Today, but it changes given my mood (it’s never Pink Rabbits). 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by nikkic

[Anarion]

15 hours ago, jparx said:

Weighing up NOS Alive again or Mad Cool. After paying for travel and accommodation in manchester, may as well just head abroad tbh! Just gotta keep on convincing my girlfriend that a holiday to Madrid is the way forward.

I would go to Mad Cool if I were you. They seem determined to top their insane lineup this year, and I doubt they will repeat the logistical hiccups that plagued day 1.

The one thing I would recommend is getting an AirBnB close to the festival site. The long bus trip back to Madrid centre at 4 in the morning three days in a row was tough!

And to keep it on topic, my ranking of their albums:
High Violet
Boxer
Trouble Will Find Me
Sleep Well Beast
Alligator
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers
The National

And their two best songs are Afraid of Everyone and Bloodbuzz Ohio

Edited November 27, 2018 by Anarion

[e2p2]

I can't believe how people tend to dismiss the first two albums. Yes, their next five are awesome but any album with Theory of the Crows and Bitters & Absolute or with Available and Lucky You is worthy! 

[jparx]

11 minutes ago, Anarion said:

I would go to Mad Cool if I were you. They seem determined to top their insane lineup this year, and I doubt they will repeat the logistical hiccups that plagued day 1.

The one thing I would recommend is getting an AirBnB close to the festival site. The long bus trip back to Madrid centre at 4 in the morning three days in a row was tough!

That's a great tip, thank you! The same was true of NOS when I went. Our hotel was a good 15 minute taxi ride away, but at 4am it was a painfully tedious trip home. Ended up taking about 45 minutes just to walk to the taxis.

[The Martini Police]

The lack of mentions of Bloodbuzz Ohio, Vanderlyle and England is surprising. Top 5:

High Violet

TWFM

Boxer

SWB

Alligator 

All 5 are at least great though. Didn't get along with the first 2 at all, might get them a revisit to see if I was missing anything.

[Superunknown]

6 minutes ago, jparx said:

That's a great tip, thank you! The same was true of NOS when I went. Our hotel was a good 15 minute taxi ride away, but at 4am it was a painfully tedious trip home. Ended up taking about 45 minutes just to walk to the taxis.

My gf went Nos and I went Mad Cool, she said she camped at Nos and had a great time so might be worth looking into. 

But yeah bus back to Madrid is a nightmare, even worse if you can't get a taxi because it's still a fair way out the centre where the bus drops you off. Still, after the first day I had a good time and the set up is quite good looking back, they just need better bar staff. 

[Superunknown]

1 minute ago, The Martini Police said:

The lack of mentions of Bloodbuzz Ohio, Vanderlyle and England is surprising. Top 5:

High Violet

TWFM

Boxer

SWB

Alligator 

All 5 are at least great though. Didn't get along with the first 2 at all, might get them a revisit to see if I was missing anything.

Conversation 16 as well. Think I'd struggle to rank Natty albums as they change pretty much day to day. 

[Zoo Music Girl]

51 minutes ago, The Martini Police said:

The lack of mentions of Bloodbuzz Ohio, Vanderlyle and England is surprising.

Three of my favourites right there. Hence why High Violet reigns supreme in my world.

[Hawros]

1 hour ago, The Martini Police said:

 

All 5 are at least great though. Didn't get along with the first 2 at all, might get them a revisit to see if I was missing anything.

Give Sad Songs another spin...

[Gucci Piggy]

1 hour ago, Superunknown said:

My gf went Nos and I went Mad Cool, she said she camped at Nos and had a great time so might be worth looking into. 

But yeah bus back to Madrid is a nightmare, even worse if you can't get a taxi because it's still a fair way out the centre where the bus drops you off. Still, after the first day I had a good time and the set up is quite good looking back, they just need better bar staff. 

Did you get the wrong bus? There were two (which I wasn't aware of on the first day and got dropped off miles out of the centre), one of which dropped us off a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment right in the centre.

[Superunknown]

7 minutes ago, Gucci Piggy said:

Did you get the wrong bus? There were two (which I wasn't aware of on the first day and got dropped off miles out of the centre), one of which dropped us off a 5-10 minute walk from our apartment right in the centre.

Yeah I must have, had no idea there were two until you just said. Got the metro back the last two nights. 

[Gucci Piggy]

Just now, Superunknown said:

Yeah I must have, had no idea there were two until you just said. Got the metro back the last two nights. 

Yep, when we bought our bus tickets there was only one, so on the first night we just jumped on the first bus and got dropped off miles away from the centre, which was weird as when we bought the tickets I was sure it said it was gonna drop off right near our apartment.

Next day I looked online and it turned out a second bus had been added since we bought our tickets and none of us knew. The first buses you got to were these ones, and the ones that dropped off in the centre were further up that road and on the other side of the road.

[Badlands]

Pink Rabbits is GOAT but Nobody Else Will Be There has shot into my top 5 tracks. Like a lot of their stuff, it took an  age to grow on me. The song doesn't really go anywhere with its structure and there's not even a chorus as such but it's got that intangible thing that really hits me. That third verse and bridge when he goes up an octave is lovely stuff. It's stunning live as well. 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Badlands

[jyoung]

1 minute ago, Badlands said:

Pink Rabbits is GOAT but Nobody Else Will Be There has shot into my top 5 tracks. Like a lot of their stuff, it took an  age to grow on me. The song doesn't really go anywhere with its structure and there's not even a chorus as such but it's got that intangible thing that really hits me. That second verse and bridge when he goes up an octave is lovely stuff. It's stunning live as well. 

And it has the very relatable lyric 'goodbyes always take us half an hour, can't we just go home?'

[Badlands]

1 minute ago, jyoung said:

And it has the very relatable lyric 'goodbyes always take us half an hour, can't we just go home?'

It's full of great lines. Though I admit to mishearing a line originally and thought he was saying  if he stuck his neck out he'd get her out of her skirt. Apparently its shell...

[Ashl]

TWFM

Boxer

Alligator

High Violet (although the last 3 songs rank higher)

Sleep Well Beast

Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers

The Virginia EP

Cherry Tree

The National (the only one I don't listen to much really)

[internetjef]

Alligator 

Boxer (almost tied 1st, but edged into second as Gospel doesn’t give it the big finish of Mr November)

High Violet 

TWFM

SWB

haven’t listened to the first two which is mental really considering how great the five above are. That’s on the to do list! 

 

[internetjef]

Just reading back and realised people are throwing AF albums in the mix too ha 

 

funeral 

alligator 

boxer 

neon bible 

suburbs 

HV

TWFM

reflector 

SWB

E Now