A Quiz of National Interest

Answer: 29 Years

"You know I dreamed about you
For 29 years before I saw you
You know I dreamed about you
I missed you for 29 years."

These lyrics and the accompanying melody were later revisited in a song called "Slow Show", from The National's fourth album "Boxer" in 2007.

"The National" features a markedly different style to what would later become their distinctive sound, heavily featuring acoustic guitars and hints of country influence. The album cover features an image of drummer Bryan Devendorf in a swimming pool. It was a self-produced effort (with co-production from Nick Lloyd) and was released on Brassland Records, an independent label founded by The National bandmates and twin brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

Answer: Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers

"Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers" shows the band taking a turn towards the alternative rock sound that they would fully embrace on later releases. It also features some of the loudest songs and most impassioned vocals of their career, such as on "Available" and "Slipping Husband". It features production work from Nick Lloyd, Paul Heck and Peter Katis, the latter of whom would go on to work with the band on their next two albums, "Alligator" and "Boxer". The album was the first to include guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bryce Dessner (twin brother of fellow bandmate Aaron Dessner) as a full member of the band. In comparison to "The National", "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers" achieved much greater acclaim, including an 8.4/10 from "Pitchfork" and a 9/10 from "Drowned in Sound".

The other options are songs from "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers" rather than the name of the album itself.

Answer: Rachael

"Murder me Rachael, I made a mistake
I loved her to ribbons, I loved her to ribbons...'

"Murder Me Rachael" appears on "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers", The National's second album, released in 2003. In an interview with "Coup De Main", Berninger explained the usage of this name: "'Murder Me Rachael', that is very much my sister's name, although we spell it different there. And I was kind of reaching out to her."

The song features a hardcore-inspired vocal delivery from Berninger towards the end, making it one of the band's more erratic songs of their career. The lyrics hint at a jealous romance ("I saw my love with pretty boy") that ends in regret on the persona's behalf ("I made a mistake...").

Answer: All the Wine

"All the Wine" appears to be a song about fake self-confidence, in the "fake it until you make it" vein. It features some of the best examples of Matt Berninger's famously abstract lyrics, such as "God is on my side, and I'm the child bride." The song would later be featured on "Alligator".

"Cherry Tree" also includes one of the many defining songs of The National's career, "About Today"; a song about a failing relationship that would famously feature in the 2011 Gavin O'Connor movie "Warrior". The other songs mentioned also appear on the EP.

"Alligator" would serve to introduce the band to a much wider fan base thanks to its critical acclaim and release on Beggars Banquet, a notable independent record label. The band would later release exclusive merchandise in support of Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign featuring the words "Mr. November", a reference to the album's closing track which is often used to close live sets. The National would go on to campaign heavily for Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Answer: Fake Empire

"Fake Empire" introduces the album with an iconic piano line and Matt Berninger singing about apathy, reportedly inspired by George W. Bush Jnr.-era America ("[it's about] where you can't deal with the reality of what's really going on, so let's just pretend that the world's full of bluebirds and ice skating." - Matt Berninger in conversation with "The Quietus"). It would later feature heavily in Barack Obama's Presidential campaign, including in his "Signs of Hope and Change" video.

"Boxer" also featured iconic singles like "Mistaken for Strangers" and "Apartment Story". The album's artwork is a photograph of the band performing at producer Peter Katis' wedding, where they performed "The Geese of Beverly Road" (from "Alligator"). Sufjan Stevens contributed to the songs "Ada" and "Racing Like a Pro", and would go on to collaborate with The National on following releases. The album's sound is more vast and varied, with a high emphasis on percussion (those drum lines on "Mistaken for Strangers", "Brainy" and "Squalor Victoria" get me every time...) in the mix. Songs from the album would go on to feature on television shows like "Gossip Girl" and "House", while the album was also included on Best of the Decade lists by the likes of "Pitchfork" and "Paste Magazine" (the latter also named the album their best of 2007).

Answer: Ohio

"Bloodbuzz Ohio" was released as a 7" single on May 3 2010, seven days before the release of "High Violet". The song's music video features frontman Matt Berninger walking the streets of New York City in a suit while holding a drink. The track was well received by critics, with "Pitchfork" naming it the 66th best song of 2010. While the band is based in Brooklyn, the members originate from Cincinnati in Ohio.

"High Violet" was The National's best selling album upon release, peaking at number three on the US Billboard Album Chart and five on the UK Album Chart. It was also a critical success, holding an 85% approval rating on review aggregate site "Metacritic". It features contributions from the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver fame). On March 10, 2010, they performed "Terrible Love" from the album on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and on May 13, 2010, they played "Afraid of Everyone" on the Late Show with David Letterman (with Sufjan Stevens appearing as a backing vocalist).

Most of the album was recorded in their home studio, a backyard shed in New York. Entirely self-produced, the recording process was reportedly difficult, with some tension over differing perspectives of what tracks should sound like resulting in multiple versions of the same song. Some of these alternate versions appeared on the expanded version of the album, released in November 2010.

Answer: Sorrow

"Sorrow" was described by frontman Matt Berninger as "about a person's love affair with his own sadness" in an interview with "The A.V. Club" in 2010. In May 2013, the band performed the song for six hours straight (a total of 105 times) as part of the art installation "A Lot of Sorrow"- a collaboration with Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson. The performance was later released by their label 4AD as a vinyl boxset featuring nine clear LPs. Matt Berninger described the intention of the performance as "reaching a different sort of euphoric, mantra-like state" in a 2013 interview with "Stereogum".

While the other songs are also featured on "High Violet", the key hint was the lyric.

Answer: Mistaken for Strangers

"Mistaken for Strangers" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 17 2013. Showings were presented in cities around the world that the band visited on tour, often followed by a Q&A with the band. The film follows the band on their "High Violet" world tour in 2010, filmed from the perspective of frontman Matt Berninger's brother Tom, who was a crew member. Tom is an aspiring filmmaker, and offers commentary on life as the brother of a successful musician. Things turn sour when Tom is fired from his job due to poor performance. The events that followed inspired the song "I Should Live in Salt", the opening track to "Trouble Will Find Me", as is revealed in the documentary. "Mistaken for Strangers" holds a 91% approval rating on review aggregate website "Rotten Tomatoes".

None of the other options feature on "Boxer"; "Conversation 16" is from "High Violet", "This is the Last Time" from "Trouble Will Find Me" and "Looking for Astronauts" can be found on "Alligator".

Answer: I Need My Girl

"I am good, I am grounded
Davy says that I look taller
I can't get my head around it
I keep feeling smaller and smaller
I need my girl."

"I Need My Girl" was the fifth single from "Trouble Will Find Me", following from "Sea of Love", "Graceless", "Don't Swallow the Cap" and "Demons", respectively. The single featured the song "Learning" as a B-side. In 2014, the band ran a Valentine's Day competition in which they selected their favourite covers from a pool of contestants to be featured on their website and win $500 (US).

"Trouble Will Find Me", the band's sixth album, was a self-produced effort, as was its predecessor "High Violet". It featured contributions from guest artists St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, Sufjan Stevens, Richard Reed Perry (of Arcade Fire) and more. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard and UK Albums charts and was nominated for the Best Alternative Music Album award at the 56th Grammy Awards. The album was initially recorded in a repurposed barn that the band stayed at, but they later moved to Dreamland Studios in New York due to storm damage. It holds a score of 84 on review aggregate site "Metacritic".

Also in 2013, the band contributed the song "Lean" to the official soundtrack of the movie "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire". In 2015, EL VY (a collaboration between The National's Matt Berninger and Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena) released their debut album, "Return to the Moon".

Answer: The Grateful Dead

The proceeds of "Day of the Dead" went towards the Red Hot Organization, a charity that combats AIDS/ HIV and related health issues globally. In this way, it is a spiritual sequel to the 2009 benefit compilation "Dark Was the Night", which raised over $1.5 million for the foundation and which The National also produced and contributed to.

The National covered "Peggy-O" and "Morning Dew" for the 32-track, five disk album "Day of the Dead", while band members Bryce and Aaron Dessner produced the record. Numerous artists who appeared on the compilation also appeared at a once-only live performance of the same name at the annual Eaux Claires Festival in 2016, which is curated by The National alongside Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver fame).