Falling Backwards

It was the 2007 release of Boxer that introduced me to The National. All of the elements were there for me to fall in love with this band : incredibly smart lyrics, good musicians and the solid dark voice of the lead singer. They were like a combination of dark chocolate, black coffee and cigarettes.

I'll be honest these aren't happy songs but they aren't depressing either. They are emotionally brutal and simultaneously beautiful with lyrics that I have lived to some degree. It's smart music and when I feel like I need to indulge in some sadness I can always listen to them while emotionally falling backwards. The music goes well with putting my feet up on my desk at home and staring out the window.




Pink Rabbits - I love a storm but I don't love lightning, the water is coming up so fast it's frightening.



Lucky You - You're putting on a shirt, a shirt I'll never see. The letters in your coat but no one's in your head. Cos' you're too smart to remember that you're too smart. Lucky you.

Other favorites of mine are Racing Like A Pro and Fake Empire.

Racing Like A Pro has one of my favorite lines in a song ever and I find it so truthfully funny: Sometimes you get up and bake a cake or something, sometimes you stay in bed, sometimes you go la-de-da la-de-da la-de-da-da until your eyes roll back into your head.

The National sets a mood you don't want to stay in for too long like being in a cave with a candle that is slowing burning down and you need to retreat to daylight or risk being engulfed in darkness.