So, That New National Podcast!

As you may know - if you are as big of a National fan as I am - that there is a new podcast dedicated to dissecting each song the band has ever done. It's called "Coffee and Flowers" per the line in "Conversation 16" and I became aware of the podcast last year when they followed me (and my equally National-enthralled sister) on Instagram. Egads! They just went live with their first season, covering the band's masterpiece, "Boxer."

At first the idea seemed a bit odd to me, but as we know, there are podcasts that serve every purpose now. So why shouldn't this be a thing? The National are a good enough band! Not just good enough - they are AMAZING and probably one of the best mainstream rock bands at the moment (as if you needed me to say this.)

I listened to the majority of Season 1 last night and I have to share - it's pretty great. Despite I often differ from the hosts in my interpretations of the songs (isn't that the beauty of art?) the interviews with Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Jonathan Ames (FIONA APPLE ALERT), and Carin Bessner as well as the shared experiences of appreciating an insanely talented band and their music ... it's special! I, for example, didn't realize that "Boxer" came from a place of desperation. But apparently the band was not in a fantastic place when they were putting together the album. Which seems kind of "duh" now, especially after analyzing the lyrics more closely.

I'm extremely grateful for the hosts to putting together this podcast, for The National for being rad enough to participate, and recommend giving it a listen. It's pretty easy to get through and the hosts tend to talk fast - but I find this Karmic reparation for my lifelong history of talking like an auction dealer. :D

Now, my favorite song off "Boxer" -

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