I always love visiting LA but I couldn’t fathom actually living in the city proper. I have my gripes with OC, but it’s a fine place to live. Although, I’m ready for something new/different. Sadly the cons of being here are outweighing the pros (but I’ll stop here not to derail the thread lol)
interesting, the one two punch of monday morning and portable television are the nadir of that album for me. I love some boys though I've never really been able to get past the line "some boys are filling the hole" lol
Plans is like High Violet to me. By far each of the band’s most popular and beloved albums but ones that IMO see the bands lean into the elements of their sound that were not my favorite. I think the National had a better post-huge arena indie crossover album arc, as far as quality, as they sorta pulled back some of the HV bombast with Trouble and then experimented a bit with Sleep Well Beast and I Am Easy to Find. Sleep Well Beast, as you might tell, is my favorite record of theirs. And, interestingly, the National are now kinda where Death Cab were over the last 15 years with Frankenstein and Laugh Track being really uneven records with some highlights but also the band’s lowest points of their career. The National feel “lost in the wilderness” to me, to borrow how Mr. Gibbard cheekily acknowledged his band’s last decade plus in their KROQ interview a few weeks ago. They need their Asphalt/Tower that kinda clicks back into a better creative channel that they’re capable of and re-introduces some of the quality control. Anyway, back to my original point, when people express their love for Plans or High Violet, I have an odd reaction where I’m a huge fan of the band but really do not engage much at all with those pivotal records so I don’t have much to say 99% of the time that they’re discussed.
Yeah something I've realized about Plans is that for a long time I adored it and that's partly due to just sheer nostalgia, and I still like it but it's so soft. Like this Death Cab 4.0 or whatever version we're getting with Asphalt Meadows and I Built You a Tower is honestly a much more interesting sounding band, with like random bursts of loudness and messiness that just didn't exist on Plans. I guess Plans is just so polished, there's really not much oomph. Interesting take on High Violet by the way (if you can tell from my username I'm a big fan of that album thought I don't know if I'd consider it my favorite of theirs).
I honestly love Codes and Keys, I have a soft spot for it because it came out right as I graduated high school and the subsequent tour was the first time I saw them. I wish they had more songs like Unobstructed Views.