Album · The National
Alligator by The National
Alligator is an album by The National, released in 2005. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 5 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Lit Up”, on 2 lists with a best position of #505.
Alligator, the National's third album, came out on Beggars Banquet on April 12, 2005, and it's the record the Brooklyn-formed band left their day jobs behind for. Peter Katis and Paul Mahajan recorded and produced it, and all five of them, Matt Berninger up front, the Dessner twins, Aaron and Bryce, on guitars and keys, and the Devendorf brothers, Scott on bass and Bryan on drums, sound wound tight and ready to snap.
Berninger broods, then on "Abel" he lets it rip. The closer, "Mr. November", was partly about John Kerry's run for president, and in 2008 the band printed the phrase under Barack Obama's face on a T-shirt and gave the money to his campaign. The album won them wide critical acclaim and a much bigger following, and "The Geese of Beverly Road" even got played at Katis's wedding, where the photo that became the cover of Boxer was taken.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Alligator on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lit Up | 2 | #505 | – | 2013–2022 | |
| 2 | Abel | 2 | #518 | – | 2007–2019 | |
| 3 | Secret Meeting | 1 | #457 | – | 2006 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.