Suddenly, the National are everywhere. Just a few years ago, the Brooklyn quintet was just another Brooklyn quintet, with a few promising songs and a handful of devoted fans, but after releasing a pair of slow-burn albums marked by tense builds and obscure lyrics, they have become one of the biggest bands in indie rock. They were recently the subjects of a lengthy piece in The New York Times Magazine, played secret shows in their home borough, and persuaded legendary filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus to document a show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This summer, they will even play Radio City Music Hall.
On a sunny day in late April, however, the band were at the Museum of the Confederacy, at the former Richmond home of Jefferson Davis. It's the birthday of guitar player and Civil War buff Aaron Dessner, so the band members are spending their downtime touring the Executive Mansion and viewing the field tent of Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart's sabre. Sitting around the fountain in the White House garden, Aaron Dessner and singer Matt Berninger spoke with Pitchfork about how the band has changed over the years, how embarrassing it is to be on stage, and how they feel about their "lost" albums.
