Matt Berninger (The National)

Moon Pix

Cat Power ·1998

"this whole record is such a poem the whole thing... moon pix by cat power."

Come On Pilgrim

Pixies ·1987

"I discovered Pixies, and the way Black Francis screams was just—I found a new way. I was like, oh, that's also singing, you know? The Pixies were huge; they were so pop, I loved how pop they were at punk."

Melting Pot

Booker T. & The M.G.'s ·1971

"Melting Pot, my favorite Booker T. & The M.G.'s record, this is my favorite jazz record... it's every kind of genreless... you can hear these guys look at each other when you listen to this record."

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Charles Mingus ·1963

"Edmund Pollock, PhD, wrote the liner notes to Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. The liner notes are almost as good as the album."

Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement

Pavement ·2010

"Pavement was a band that made me realize I could be in a band. They just... it's almost like they wanted to destroy rock and roll from the inside and kind of did, and this is their sort of greatest hits according to the past."