A few weeks ago we posted an early take of "When You Were Born" (aka "When Yer Born") from The Long Count. At the time, Aaron Dessner told us the track would eventually include Kim Deal singing on…   Read Story »

One last gargantuan batch of photos from an exhausting, exhaustive week of NYC showgoing. On Friday Jessica Amaya joined us at Doveman's record release party at the Elevated Hole, a Chelsea loft…   Read Story »

Recently Sufjan revealed he's "at a point where I no longer have a deep desire to share my music with anyone, having spent many years imparting my songs to the public." Later that day, high-quality…   Read Story »

This is the first available full piece of music from Bryce and Aaron Dessner and Matthew Ritchie's BAM-commissioned The Long Count, which runs 10/28-31 at the 2009 Next Wave Festival. As the…   Read Story »

The fear with any supertalent variety show like last night's Dark Was The Night live event is that the appeal on paper will far outstrip the appeal of having your ass glued to a seat for four hours.…   Read Story »

The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner curated this one, and its contributor list reads like the contents of your iPod, including Arcade Fire, Beirut, Beach House, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear, Andrew…   Read Story »

While in Belfast this past July to play a show at Mandela Hall, Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner sat down and recorded acoustic takes of a couple beloved Boxer tracks. Our tipster, Comprachio,…   Read Story »

"How does it sound out there?" Matt Berninger asked after kicking off last night's sold-out Bowery show with a one-two "Start A War"/"Brainy" Boxer combo. A female voice shouted, "Bring up the vocal…   Read Story »

A couple years ago Alligator put the National on the map for many listeners, largely through a combination of vocalist Matt Berninger's Jack 'n' Coke baritone, novelistic lyrics, and tendency to lose…   Read Story »