"Sorrow's my body on the waves. Sorrow's the girl inside my cake. I live in a city sorrow built. It's in my honey it's in my milk." ~the national

I have a lot to post, but I'm dedicating this post purely to The National. I'll save my other stuff for later in the week. Because this post should not get lost/overlooked. The New York Times is doing something very unusual and is streaming The National's new album, High Violet. The stream is accompanied by a fabulous profile of the band. It's a great read, even though it may seem long. I keep going back and reading it again; I think it's so interesting.

It really is special and unusual that The New York Times is streaming the entire album. You can listen to it on the left side of the page as you're reading the article. I have a lot to say about the album, but I don't have much time now. Eventually I'll write a review of each song. For now I'll say that I'm blown away by it. I've listened to it many, many times and it just keeps astounding me more and more every time. It sounds like The National, but at the same time it's different from anything else they've done. Any fan of The National knows that their songs are not the kind of songs that are catchy and poppy and you instantly love; they're the kind of songs that slowly seep into your bones and settle into you and stay with you. The band isn't crazy about the fact that every music critic/interviewer brings up the fact that their songs are "growers," but they really are. And I think that's a great thing. My favorite songs are always ones that don't hit me immediately. On this album, "Lemonworld" seems to be the catchiest song; it's the one I most often find myself singing. I love "Sorrow" (which Matt described as "the happiest song on the record" at Bell House) and "England" and, well, all of them. Hurry and go listen to it, because it's only streaming until April 27th. And then go order High Violet. Please buy this album and don't download it illegally. It's beautiful, beautiful music and the band deserves something for that. So don't steal it. Preorder it now. I have three copies headed my way when it's released (deluxe edition vinyl, autographed CD, and online download that came with the vinyl). You only have to buy one version, though. It will be worth it.

The New York Times profile: The National Agenda