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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 3, 2017 22:02:54 GMT -5
ALBUM SPOTLIGHT
Alligator Release Date: April 12, 2005 Label: Beggars Banquet Producer(s): Peter Katis, Paul Mahajan Number of tracks: 13 Track listing: 1. Secret Meeting 2. Karen 3. Lit Up 4. Looking for Astronauts 5. Daughters of the Soho Riots 6. Baby, We'll Be Fine 7. Friend of Mine 8. Val Jester 9. All the Wine 10. Abel 11. The Geese of Beverly Road 12. City Middle 13. Mr. November
Alligator is the third studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on April 12, 2005 on Beggars Banquet. Recorded and produced by Peter Katis and Paul Mahajan, the album brought The National critical acclaim and increased their fanbase significantly. Alligator appeared on many year-end top 10 lists, including Uncut and Planet Sound, both of which ranked it as the number two album of 2005. Pitchfork ranked Alligator at number 40 in their top albums of the 2000s list. Alligator has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide.
The band performed album track "The Geese of Beverly Road" at the wedding of producer Peter Katis. A photo of the band performing on stage, with couples dancing in the foreground, became the cover of the band's next album Boxer.
The band supported Barack Obama's presidential candidacy in 2008. In July of that year, the band designed and sold a T-shirt featuring Obama's image above the words "Mr. November," a reference to both the closing track on the album and the month of the U.S. presidential election. All proceeds were donated to Obama's campaign. The song had been written, in part, about John Kerry's candidacy four years earlier.
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 3, 2017 22:04:54 GMT -5
ALBUM SPOTLIGHT
Boxer Release Date: May 22, 2007 Label: Beggars Banquet Producer(s): Peter Katis, The National Number of tracks: 12 Track listing: 1. Fake Empire 2. Mistaken for Strangers 3. Brainy 4. Squalor Victoria 5. Green Gloves 6. Slow Show 7. Apartment Story 8. Start a War 9. Guest Room 10. Racing Like a Pro 11. Ada 12. Gospel
Boxer is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on May 22, 2007 on Beggars Banquet Records. Produced by both Peter Katis and the band itself, the album has sold over 300,000 copies in the U.S. Following its release, the album debuted at #68 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 9,500 copies in its first week.
A documentary film, titled A Skin, A Night, was released the following year. Focusing on the recording process of Boxer, the film was directed by independent filmmaker Vincent Moon, and released in conjunction with a collection of b-sides, demos and live recordings, titled The Virginia EP, on May 20, 2008.
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 3, 2017 22:06:35 GMT -5
ALBUM SPOTLIGHT
High Violet Release Date: May 10, 2010 Label: 4AD Producer(s): The National Number of tracks: 11 Track listing: 1. Terrible Love 2. Sorrow 3. Anyone's Ghost 4. Little Faith 5. Afraid of Everyone 6. Bloodbuzz Ohio 7. Lemonworld 8. Runaway 9. Conversation 16 10. England 11. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
High Violet is the fifth studio album by The National, which was released on May 10, 2010 in Europe and on May 11, 2010 in North America via 4AD. The band produced the album themselves assisted by Peter Katis with whom they worked on their previous albums Alligator and Boxer at their own studio in Brooklyn, New York, and at Katis' Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The sculpture on the album cover was created by artist Mark Fox, and is called The Binding Force.
An expanded edition of High Violet was released through 4AD on November 22, 2010. The reissue includes the standard 11-track album along with a new bonus disc, featuring the unreleased tracks "You Were a Kindness" and "Wake Up Your Saints" as well as alternate versions, B-sides, and live recordings.
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 3, 2017 22:08:08 GMT -5
ALBUM SPOTLIGHT
Trouble Will Find Me Release Date: May 17, 2013 Label: 4AD Producer(s): Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner Number of tracks: 13 Track listing: 1. I Should Live in Salt 2. Demons 3. Don't Swallow the Cap 4. Fireproof 5. Sea of Love 6. Heavenfaced 7. This Is the Last Time 8. Graceless 9. Slipped 10. I Need My Girl 11. Humiliation 12. Pink Rabbits 13. Hard to Find
Trouble Will Find Me is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on May 17, 2013 on 4AD. Produced by band members Aaron and Bryce Dessner, the album features appearances from St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, Doveman, Sufjan Stevens, Nona Marie Invie of Dark Dark Dark fame, and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire.
The album received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. Trouble Will Find Me reached number three on both the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart. The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 3, 2017 22:10:36 GMT -5
ALBUM SPOTLIGHT
Sleep Well Beast Release Date: September 8, 2017 Label: 4AD Producer(s): Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Matt Berninger, Peter Katis Number of tracks: 12 Track listing: 1. Nobody Else Will Be There 2. Day I Die 3. Walk It Back 4. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness 5. Born to Beg 6. Turtleneck 7. Empire Line 8. I'll Still Destroy You 9. Guilty Party 10. Carin at the Liquor Store 11. Dark Side of the Gym 12. Sleep Well Beast
Sleep Well Beast is the seventh studio album by The National. The album was released on September 8, 2017, on 4AD.
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Troy
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Post by Troy on Dec 3, 2017 22:15:10 GMT -5
great job as always Daryl!!! thanks for doing this - it got me to finally sample more of their tracks
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 22:22:32 GMT -5
Agreed, great rankdown! Definitely a lot of fun for my first one!
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 3, 2017 22:22:59 GMT -5
So yeah, I'd like to thank every one of you for making this rankdown possible, as well as taking the time to listen to the 50 songs. Most of all, I'd like to thank Matt Berninger and the Dessner and Devendorf brothers for making all these wonderful songs. Thank you everyone for participating, and I'll see you guys in the Arcade Fire rankdown! Final chart: 1. Bloodbuzz Ohio 407 2. Mr. November 380 3. Terrible Love 376 4. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness 368 5. Fake Empire 354 6. Conversation 16 338 7. Graceless 329 8. Exile Vilify 321 9. About Today 320 10. I Need My Girl 318 11. Mistaken for Strangers 296 12. Apartment Story 291 13. Guilty Party 285 14. Pink Rabbits 279 15. Slow Show 276 16. Don't Swallow the Cap 276 17. Day I Die 257 18. England 255 19. Sea of Love 254 20. I'll Still Destroy You 252 21. Demons 246 22. Afraid of Everyone 239 23. Abel 234 24. Carin at the Liquor Store 233 25. Sorrow 230 26. Secret Meeting 221 27. Squalor Victoria 207 28. The Geese of Beverly Road 206 29. I Should Live in Salt 204 30. Anyone's Ghost 196 31. Nobody Else Will Be There 188 32. Lemonworld 186 33. Green Gloves 186 34. Gospel 184 35. Think You Can Wait 184 36. Lit Up 181 37. Dark Side of the Gym 176 38. Karen 175 39. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks 167 40. This is the Last Time 166 41. Lucky You 163 42. Ada 162 43. Slipping Husband 158 44. All the Wine 148 45. Runaway 146 46. Start a War 135 47. Daughters of the Soho Riots 124 48. Sleep Well Beast 72 49. It Never Happened 64 50. Cold Girl Fever 62 Songs sorted by standard deviation: 1. Sorrow 17.06 2. England 15.732 3. I Need My Girl 15.524 4. Nobody Else Will Be There 15.439 5. Pink Rabbits 15.427 6. Dark Side of the Gym 15.216 7. Abel 14.925 8. The Geese of Beverly Road 14.853 9. About Today 14.501 10. Slow Show 14.457 11. Cold Girl Fever 14.164 12. Carin at the Liquor Store 14.04 13. Day I Die 13.983 14. Lit Up 13.905 15. Ada 13.784 16. Mistaken for Strangers 12.898 17. Don't Swallow the Cap 12.836 18. All the Wine 12.729 19. Graceless 12.551 20. Lemonworld 12.5 21. Lucky You 12.313 22. Sea of Love 12.081 23. Exile Vilify 11.747 24. Gospel 11.738 25. Squalor Victoria 11.576 26. Slipping Husband 11.534 27. Runaway 11.498 28. Conversation 16 11.403 29. Secret Meeting 11.381 30. Demons 11.292 31. Green Gloves 11.091 32. Apartment Story 10.63 33. Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks 10.573 34. Guilty Party 10.488 35. I Should Live in Salt 10 36. Think You Can Wait 9.989 37. Karen 9.71 38. This is the Last Time 9.528 39. Afraid of Everyone 9.501 40. Terrible Love 8.927 41. Anyone's Ghost 8.814 42. Start a War 8.588 43. Daughters of the Soho Riots 8.555 44. Fake Empire 8.231 45. I'll Still Destroy You 8.139 46. Sleep Well Beast 7.953 47. It Never Happened 7.008 48. Mr. November 5.954 49. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness 5.925 50. Bloodbuzz Ohio 5.239 Final closeness rankings: 1. @humanshazam : 7.08 2. Web : 7.24 3. Troy : 7.8 4. Juanca : 8.92 5. Daryl the Beryl : 9.76 6. peacebone : 9.8 7. Green Baron : 10.28 8. Red : 12.12 9. Beno : 15.44
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Green Baron
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Post by Green Baron on Dec 3, 2017 22:23:37 GMT -5
Sorrow and England as the 2 highest SDs? Seriously, people?
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Red
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Post by Red on Dec 3, 2017 22:50:59 GMT -5
I'm pleasantly surprised that "Mr. November" was that high. Absolutely deserving, but still a surprise. "Bloodbuzz Ohio" at #1 is not a surprise. It's one of the best songs of its kind. If we did over the Indie rankdown, I probably would have had "Bloodbuzz" at #4, only behind the big three ("Wake Up"/"Midnight City"/"Seasons"). It has grown on me that much. As always, good job hosting, Daryl. We may have had our bumps along the way, but the ending was satisfying.
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Web
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Post by Web on Dec 4, 2017 0:12:47 GMT -5
The winner didn't surprise me (would have been my pick if you had asked me before, but considering I'm posting this after the reveal that doesn't mean much ). Glad I was able to really get into these guys this year so I could have fun comparing some new listens with songs that already had some time to grow on me. Daryl's thoughts on the song and/or song placing: Alerting Doc Indie Party Rock on this one as I already said it's my favorite of their rockers. That said, I already stated I prefer their moodier or mid-tempo songs to their rockers, hence why this missed my top 10. The passion and energy on this is great though, and it probably sounds better live. I can understand why it's a fan-favorite. can definitively confirm this, if you ever catch them live watch out for Berninger's mic cord as he aimlessly wanders around the crowd!
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Post by Doc Indie Party Rock on Dec 4, 2017 0:47:33 GMT -5
Big updat, but only on songs I found extra meaty.
30. Anyone's Ghost I enjoyed this one. It's more up to par with what I like to hear in Alternative/AAA guitar rock. His deep set vocals really sounded good on this one.
23. Abel** This one actually got a video. This one is fucking great! I think I hear some female backups, tho I see no female in the music video. Is there a female in the band? Anyway, I love the melody the guitars and drums produce. I'll upgrade and say that so far, this is my new favorite from this band.
21. Demons For a mellow song; I'd say this one sounds pretty good. Again I hear those female vocals in the backups. I love that, because it compliments his deep tones.
19. Sea of Love Another one I would have ranked in the top 10. It's not super fast, but it's really melodic. I like these type of songs because the guitars sound louder. LOL at the kid doing "Air Guitar" in the Music Video.
16. Don't Swallow the Cap This one was pretty hot too. It had some Bruce Springsteen vibes.
11. Mistaken for Strangers Quite a few of these songs give me the impression this band might be British? This one also gets a MV. I like these performance vids. The standout of this song for me, has to be the Drumming choreography. It adds a certain finess to the song.
7. Graceless Another great one. I love the bass on this. It reminded me a bit of El Ultimo Vecino minus the new wave synths. They are an Argeteanian Indie Rock band that I charted this year.
6. Conversation 16 This one sounds really radio friendly. Continuous melody and vocals with the added choir like backups, give me the impression this was a big hit on AAA?
4. The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness This is the one they charted this year. This is a good song. The style is more along of what i like in AAA music. I probably would have put this one in my top 5.
2. Mr. November This is definitely a good song. I can see why it made the top 3.
1. Bloodbuzz Ohio This one is pretty good. This band really kicks ass in the percussion department. That turns out to be one of my favorite aspects of this band.
Not bad. This band would be a hit or miss for me. One thing is certain. I would have lost my #1 song way back at #23.
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Pollen
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Post by Pollen on Dec 5, 2017 11:51:35 GMT -5
I meant to listen and follow along with the rankdown but didn't listen to a single song... oops
I swear I'll get to actually listening to them sooner or later with how much I love the new album.
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 5, 2017 18:30:59 GMT -5
I swear I'll get to actually listening to them sooner or later with how much I love the new album. Start with Boxer, which is regarded as their essential album. Then listen to High Violet, my personal favorite. Then listen to Alligator, then Trouble Will Find Me. Leave their first two records for last.
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Dec 5, 2017 18:31:43 GMT -5
Also, forgot to mention, The National's "Demons" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Imagine Dragons' "Demons"
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Post by Daryl the Beryl on Jan 1, 2018 23:31:03 GMT -5
Sorry to bump but I wanted to calculate the average point per era:
Cherry Tree EP: 320 All EPs: 275 Trouble Will Find Me: 259 High Violet: 254 Think You Can Wait / Exile Vilify EP: 252.5 Boxer: 232.333 Sleep Well Beast: 228.875 Alligator: 208.625 Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers: 128.333 The National: 62
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