The National: High Violet (2010)

I pick this as my favourite record by The National. Oddly, Allmusic chose Boxer, which is certainly a close second. I also own a limited edition version of the CD which is a "First-run limited edition with extra foil-stamped violet slipcover and poster designed by the band."

There are just so many excellent tracks on this record. I saw the band in concert only once, and the concert concluded with a sing-along of Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks. That was cool. It's really too bad that this song wasn't Vandelay Crybaby Geeks. By the way, there is this, from Matt:

MB: Inventing, yeah. Like ‘Squalor Victoria’ – there’s something in that word that sounds like something because every time you actually try to use real words to describe it, it doesn’t sound like the thing you’re talking about anyway. This character, Vanderlyle Crybaby – I can’t tell you how long it took me to come up with the word “Vanderlyle”. There’s the Nirvana song, ‘Pennyroyal Tea’ – just the word “pennyroyal” I loved, it sounded so great and it’s just the name of a tea. I couldn’t use that – maybe I should have, that would have saved some time – and so I started looking at the rhythm of the word, and the cadence. I probably have a book of a hundred different three syllable things.

I had always wondered about that too.