The National

Listeners can finally graduate from Ed Sheeran’s 12-year math class after the release of the singer’s sixth studio album, – (Subtract).

On its newest record First Two Pages of Frankenstein, The National writes a reflective narrative, using songs as snapshots through a journey of suffering with anxiety and depression.

The first day of Outside Lands saw some of the most emo, jam-worthy, electric and lean sets of the festival.

While it’s a tribute to a store that is no more, “Other Music” isn’t solely a nostalgia trip or a commentary on the rippling effect of the changing music industry.

But I think it’s okay to be uncomfortable with having to adapt. It has to be okay that it will take a moment or several to adapt. 

It wasn’t until recently that I started reading what people have to say about Sleep Well Beast, including the band itself. To be frank, other interpretations couldn’t have mattered less to me at the beginning of my fixation.

Berninger’s signature baritone drawl waxing some kind of angsty poetic starts us off in the first version, with Bridgers joining in and leading us into when the song really starts to pick up.

Maybe it’s just my unwitting obsession with sad men singing about sad things, but maybe it’s something more than that.

If you haven’t heard of or listened to The National, its eighth album I Am Easy to Find probably isn’t a good place to start.

Monday’s a full moon — the harvest moon, to be precise — and it’ll be quite the show. You could sit outside in a lawn chair and enjoy the last warm weather of the season while you stargaze.