Every Friday, we’re bringing you a classic MAGNET story on your favorite bands from before they were famous. This week, the National (issue #65, October 2004).
“There’s a bit of self-consciousness in my writing, but people misread that as misery or self-hatred. We never think of ourselves as being a sad-sack band.” —Matt Berninger
![](https://magnetmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Screen-Shot-2019-03-07-at-6.54.32-AM-835x1024.png)
That was then, this is now-ish. Read our 2017 cover story:
![](https://magnetmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/National.jpg)