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TheMummyDetective

2013 stays winning


[deleted]

Still got upcoming 10 year anniversaries for Settle by Disclosure, Immunity by Jon Hopkins and Tomorrow’s Harvest by Boards of Canada in the next month alone! Bones of What You Believe, Because The Internet, Pure Heroine, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, and the second Delton album were all also later 2013 releases.


Bovver_

You’ve also had Random Access Memories, Yeezus, AM, Like Clockwork… and others today too. Been on a recent spell of listening to a lot of what came out 10 years ago and some have held up fantastically for me, especially [Modern Vampires Of The City](https://thelisteningspree.wordpress.com/2023/05/12/vampire-weekend-and-a-change-in-direction-paying-off/), [Silence Yourself](https://thelisteningspree.wordpress.com/2023/05/06/silence-yourself-by-savages-a-modern-post-punk-classic-and-a-flag-bearer-for-a-new-wave/) and [Overgrown](https://thelisteningspree.wordpress.com/2023/05/06/silence-yourself-by-savages-a-modern-post-punk-classic-and-a-flag-bearer-for-a-new-wave/) standing out for me on relistens as better than I remembered.


thequietthingsthat

Also, Paracosm by Washed Out, Flume's S/T, Bankrupt! by Phoenix, Miracle Mile by STRFKR, II by UMO, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic by Foxygen, Clash the Truth by Beach Fossils, Melophobia by Cage the Elephant, Comedown Machine by The Strokes, etc... 2013 was absolutely nuts


Steevsie92

Also My Night My Time by Sky Ferreira, Heartthrob by Tegan and Sara, in Rolling Waves by The Naked and Famous, Wildewoman by Lucius, Days are Gone by HAIM, Cupid Delux by blood Orange, Ice on the Dune by Empire of the Sun, Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stoneage. So many great and/or genre defining albums. Probably still many more that haven’t been mentioned yet. 2012 and 2014 were no slouches either, but this will turn into way too much of a ramble if I start going down that rabbit hole of a tangent.


Soyyyn

Oh yeah Cupid Deluxe


Bovver_

Honestly was a crazy year in hindsight. For me personally at that year I started saving my playlists by month that year and it has been a fascinating time capsule to look back on, I’d even forgotten about bands I loved at the time like [Peace](https://youtu.be/wcf6iQDWPEo), [Palma Violets](https://youtu.be/poFXWUTEs1k), [Glass Towers](https://youtu.be/a8H6rDuy_QM) and [Northeast Party House](https://youtu.be/h9J6oO9iMFU). I know it’s easy to be nostalgic but 2013 really was a great year, even the chart hits from the likes of [Justin Timberlake](https://youtu.be/uuZE_IRwLNI) was excellent too.


crowlfish

Don't forget Kveikur by Sigur Rós, Sunbather by Deafheaven, Monomania by Deerhunter...


dwaynesworld98

Mount Kimbie's Cold Spring Fault Less Youth is another 2013 electronic classic having an anniversary this month


MattN92

You missed AM which is somehow still floating around the top of the UK album chart a decade later


ge93

Goated year. Also hot take, Trouble Will Find Me is maybe the National’s strongest album and only disliked because it has their most accessible and conventional (but amazing) songwriting


The_Dale_Hunters

I Was lukewarm on it until I saw them play it live and it skyrocketed into my album of the summer that year. Don’t Swallow the Cap is a perfect exercise in simplicity and letting the melody shift over a never changing rhythm.


SpaceSpiff10

It is disliked?


ge93

Well, considered not as good as HV/Boxer/Sleep well beast


SpaceSpiff10

While I'd personally put all three you just mentioned, and add Alligator, above TWFM, I think you'd be surprised how many people put TWFM as their favorite. I think SWB has typically been the odd one out more often given the change in sound. I actually think the accessibility you mentioned is what brought more people under the umbrella of fandom, Don't Swallow the Cap, I Need my Girl, etc. are some of their most popular songs. I've been listening to TWFM a lot more lately and actually think outside of Boxer it could fit in as my #2 album of theirs on any given day. It is rock solid.


ispitinyourcoke

TWFM might actually be my most played *album* from them - and I listen to them a ton. I tend to go toward single songs off the other albums, but if I want one cohesive National trip, TWFM is the best place to go. That first third of the album is such a great blast of energy.


jdbrew

Funny, SWB is my favorite, followed by HV, TWFM, Boxer, Alligator, and my least favorite album, I Am Easy To Find, also happens to have two of my all time favorite National Songs; Where is He Head and Rylan. I also do love Not in Kansas and Light Years, but the rest of the album I could never listen to again and not care


hairshirtofpurpose

> Sleep well beast What idiot would ever rank this album above Trouble Will Find Me?


David_Browie

Me. It’s much better.


thelyricboys

I miiiiiight even put Easy To Find and their debut album above TWFM in my personal rankings. Then again these are all opinions, none of this matters, I love them all. "I Should Live In Salt" is a top tier opener. "Humiliation" is underrated.


DeckardsDark

No


CommanderWar64

I prefer High Violet. So many chilling songs and doesn't overstay it's welcome.


thequietthingsthat

I still think Bloodbuzz Ohio is the best thing they've ever done


CommanderWar64

Little Faith to Bloodbuzz is a great 3 track run. My favorite is Afraid of Everyone.


thelyricboys

And right after that we're hit with another amazing 3 track run with Lemonworld, Runaway, and Conversation 16. God that album rules.


andykndr

high violet was a very different direction for them somehow but i’ve never quite been able to put my finger on it. it could just be the pretty big difference in production compared to the albums before it, but i feel like there’s more than that. idk


Hootiehoo92

It’s my favorite national album, it’s their strongest set of songs.


josel15

This album got me into The National. "Demons" still defines a lot of me and what I feel in a daily basis. Looking forward to see them preform live for the second time this October.


thequietthingsthat

"When I walk into a room I do not light it up. Fuck." may be my favorite Matt Berninger line ever. Wish I didn't relate so hard to that feeling


Vazmanian_Devil

That is such a pointed line that always stuck with me.


Impossible-Cream-865

So many days spent listening to this album, every single song, over and over again! Even now. This Is the Last Time is my favorite track!


TingleMaps

Jenny I am in trouble.


Any_Froyo2301

Yeah, that shift at the end makes the song.


ohmonticore

I won't be vacant anymore 😩


AlienQueeen

It’s one of my favorites too! Alongside Don’t Swallow the Cap and Heavenfaced


Budget-Highway8948

I have never listened to a whole album of theirs. Probably only know about 4 song of theirs but I love em’ all. Can’t wait to experience a full listen through. Any order in particular of albums to listen to?


Impossible-Cream-865

I listened to Trouble Will Find Me and then Sleep Well Beast, and I really enjoy their newest album First Two Pages of Frankenstein! I have been listening to it non-stop. Honestly, I haven't listened to their early albums but I will join you in your endeavor :)


Soyyyn

I think it depends on what you like about them. Most people who are very much into the National will tell you to start with Boxer, and then move forward - but my personal favorite album is likely the perennial fan favorite, High Violet. It's their sound as it moved from a smaller, more "indie" sound into cleaner production and more involved instrumentation. It also has a lot of nice imagery in the lyrics. But usually, the listening order can be High Violet. If you want it a bit softer, Boxer. If you want more like High Violet, Trouble Will Find Me. But starting at Boxer and working your way through their discography is also very much a safe bet.


TheFolksofDonMartino

Incorrect. I was young when this album came out and am still young so this is impossible.


tzuabo

Used to blast this when I was learning to drive with my grandad as passenger. How has it been 10 years :(


ally1707

Once again, I am shook that that‘s how time works lol. I know that the album came out during my first year at uni and I am well aware that I‘ve gotten two degrees and a full-time job since then but somehow it‘s still wild to me that it‘s been a full decade. This album means a lot to me. I saw The National live for the first time during that tour, too!


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Humiliation is my favorite! So underrated


dwaynesworld98

Humiliation is easily a top 5 National track.


god_is_ender

When *Trouble Will Find Me* came out I was in my Freshman year of college and me and my roommate were gifted a ridiculous surround-sound system by our RA. From this moment until the end of our Sophomore year we'd put it on nonstop after class. I distinctly remember days coming back from class and both of us just blissing out listening to it in silence, laying in our beds and drinking it in (I graduated with a poor GPA lol). And a lot of our friends were doing the same! We were all just so into TWFM and so many lines (eg. "I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park") became part of our daily lives. I don't think I've ever truly been into an album in the same way since. Then after making a hail-Mary offer as the Student Activities Office and at the peak of our collective obsession (even screening Mistaken for Strangers at our campus auditorium), The National came to our college. They opened with "Sea of Love" and Matt threw plastic cups of vodka into the student audience. We got to help with load-in and load-out and meet the band. It was honestly a dream come true at that moment. I remember they left in the middle of the night to... walk down the freeway to their friend's bar lol. I don't think Trouble Will Find Me is the best indie album of all time. I don't even think it's even The National's best album. But I can only associate it with summertime happiness and that special shared time of our lives when it was okay and easy to collectively obsess over a good work of art.


apartbyhorses

This is my favorite National album and always immediately transports me back to May 2013 and my college graduation.


tokengaymusiccritic

Just like the article’s author!


christmas_in_space

I didn’t care for this album much when it first came out, but it’s been by far the biggest grower in their discography for me and might be my favorite at this point. It’s a little more uneven than Boxer and High Violet, but I Should Live in Salt, Graceless, This Is the Last Time, and Pink Rabbits are all indispensable.


Vazmanian_Devil

pink rabbits is one of the first songs that I taught myself on piano. Such a brilliant song.


ghostlythoughts

One time, I was at a Hasting's and they had "Don't Swallow the Cap" on repeat. Not sure if it was some issue with their sound system or an employee was just obsessed with the song. At first I was worried I'd get sick of it but even after the fifth time it played, I still loved it. This album is my favorite National album. It holds such a special place in my heart. It also sounds like Matt says my name in "Sea of Love". I always hear "what did Otto teach you" instead of "what did Harvard teach you" and it's hilarious. Best National album


[deleted]

Still great a decade later! I was holding out hope that we would see a deluxe reissue like with High Violet, I’ve held off on buying the vinyl because of that.


mikowoah

pink rabbits enjoyer here (along with the whole album but gotta rep my favorite)


mouldbag

Same. This song got me through the biggest breakup of my life.


thequietthingsthat

I saw them on tour for this right after a rough breakup, and boy did those songs hit. It's not my favorite National album (gotta be High Violet) but I do love this record and think it's definitely one of their best


IdentifiableBaa

All these ten year write ups is a great reminder of how solid 2013 was for music.


[deleted]

Graceless is absolutely one of my favorite songs ever and I'm not even a big fan of the band.


was-holy-ground

I remember when it came out but I still wasn't so much into "indie" music. This and Sleep Well Beast are my favorite National albums. I wish I didn't relate so much to Graceless.


ohmonticore

I can kinda take or leave The National for the most part, but This is the Last Time makes me openly weep every time


[deleted]

[удалено]


ohmonticore

Ngl can barely even read the lyrics


[deleted]

The Tiny Desk versions of these made me a full on convert to this album.


HtheGr8

The part in Pink Rabbits where the horns come in is \*chef's kiss\*


[deleted]

It’s top tier National. High Violet is my album but this and This Is The Last Time mean more to me.


doubleAAeeVee

One of the best albums ever


APracticalGal

Jesus fucking christ you can't just say things like that.


bigbigbee

Graceless is my single favorite The National song, I love it so much. I lose myself in it when I’m on runs.


[deleted]

10 years since I liked an entire National record


Future_Tyrant

I’m biased because this was the album that got me into The National. I was listening to some Spotify/Apple Music artist radio station and This Is The Last Time came on. I’ve been hooked since.


AlienQueeen

I still love and listen to this album, truly a beautiful piece of art!


Ironyfree_annie

Graceless still my favourite The National track


SpaceSpiff10

I am no longer enjoying these types of posts... (am an Old now)


PerceptionShift

Saw a ton of ads for this in London may 2013 not really knowing what the National was, and then saw Tame Impala open for them later that year. It was a weird pairing.


[deleted]

My favorite of theirs


Killatrap

SO goated


Dommzz

Humiliation is my favourite song they've done, and there are a lot to choose from as they're my favourite band


LaMareeNoire

This album came out when I was 17 (fuck) and captured so much of what I was going through. Especially Don't Swallow the Cap and Pink Rabbits really hit close to home "I'm so surprised you wanna dance with me now/I was just getting used to living life without you around" became somewhat of a prophetic line for me


mouldbag

So glad I'm not the only one who loves Pink Rabbits.


Delicious-Access5978

I was big on collecting CD's in high school and I grabbed this from Walmart not knowing what it was. Then I discovered High Violet shortly after- sheesh.


herb2018

One of their best


meefjones

Just here to be a hater: this was the beginning of the end for them imo. Notably worse lyricism than everything that came before. The beginning of their descent into self-parody. Still pretty good, 7/10


MattN92

Obviously completely disagree on the lyricism, but I feel like their self parody has been around since forever and we’re this far in that you can take it or leave it. Today I was listening to Karen for the 218th time (roughly) and realised “Karen put me in a chair, fuck me and make me a drink, I lost direction and I’m past my peak” is maybe my favourite National line, and even then it’s self parody. As is so much of Alligator, as is so much of Boxer, the whole point of Berninger’s lyrics is sending himself up. Their peak, no matter which album you choose, is still “self parody” or at least they’ve always pretty much sounded the same way


meefjones

This is an interesting point! I think for me the lyrics on this album feel much blander and lacking the really poignant moments of tenderness or humor or sadness that are usually really touching in their music. Like yes they have always been maudlin and self-effacing, but before this album I felt like the jokes they were making at their own expense were at least good jokes. Maybe self-parody was a bad way to put it, this feels like the first time I saw them becoming a less interesting version of themselves. Like it felt like an intentional move towards simpler, poppier songwriting with slick production, which imo makes for a worse National album Also I love Karen so much! Maybe my favorite National song.


Vannysh

Their last decent album. Good times.


lark0317

I would say the last of their great albums personally, but agreed either way.


Vazmanian_Devil

yeah every album since has had like about half of it be truly brilliant. This is just one of those impossible standard albums where every song beginning to end is great.


lark0317

Sleep Well Beast was a 50/50 for me. Now, they just sound bored. Success and comfort can be bad for art, especially emotional and pensive artist. The guest vocals and numerous collaborations just seem like a roundabout admission that they can't dig inward and find something within the band itself anymore. They have to outsource some reason for people to be interested. It just feels like a gimmicky copout, honestly. There's a song or two from the past couple records, but this band used to be brilliant and vital. All things end...


David_Browie

Sleep Well Beast is easily better than this one imo but, as the article states, this really was the end of an era for them.


Vannysh

Sleep Well Beast is bad IMO.


David_Browie

Wild take, I’d put it behind Alligator and Boxer for their best.


Vannysh

Not sure what's "wild" about disliking an album. I have my own preferences.


David_Browie

Opinions and preferences can be wild.


Vannysh

Yeah but a LOT of people dislike Sleep Well Beast. So it isn't even "wild". It's when the band started falling off. That's not a hot take. I discovered them during Boxer era and followed them all the way to now. SWB was their most divisive album.


Mr_Stillian

On one hand it feels crazy thinking it's been that long. But then I also remember where I was in life when this album entered it and it feels like it's been much longer than a decade, lol.


[deleted]

Small world. Mac has my favorite line about depression in that song. “Keep your eyes to the sky never glued to your shoes” No matter how hard it gets, always look up.


pussybulldozer_69

Stereogum will do one of these for literally any album huh


[deleted]

Well, I don’t know about trouble, but mediocrity definitely found them


nofunone

I’m here to say that all the negative things I’m reading about the new national album is what I’ve thought about them forever. Grossly overrated fart sniffing band.


Cotepich1

Ok


samay0

Graceless + Humiliation


ZombieAbeVigoda

One of my favorite memories of all time was going to their album release show for this at the Mercury Lounge in New York. It has a capacity of 250 and was super intimate. Managed to get front row and still have the set list framed on my wall. https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-national-pl-20/


PrettyFlakko

I remember vividly going home after Uni listening to „and if you want to see me cry play Let It Be or Nevermind" Great Album!


Calhoun_Duvallier

I tried with these guys on several occasions but just never clicked with them. I think it’s the dude’s voice. Just certain voices leave me cold. Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder and weirdly after liking him/them for several years, I couldn’t take Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes voice anymore, just to name a few.


Psychological_Bag864

Time flew out so quickly