Photo by Deirdre O'Callaghan

The next television appearance for the National will be March 8, when the band serves as musical guest on "Saturday Night Live". Fellow New Yorker Lena Dunham, the creator and star of HBO's "Girls", will host the episode. Both the National and Dunham will be making their "SNL" debuts.

On March 3, the National's Bryce Dessner will release a split album of classical compositions with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. It's streaming in full now through Pitchfork Advance.

Watch the National on Pitchfork.tv's "Over/Under":