"stage lights and Lear jets, and fortune and fame"
July 24, 2013 3:36 AM Subscribe
Some punk from Iowa is hoping to go number one in the charts with an album that technically came out over a decade ago, was recorded on a boombox, and which has divided opinion. The record in question is called All Hail West Texas and that punk from Iowa (technically Indiana) is named John Darnielle and releases music as The Mountain Goats. The album can be streamed on the record label website as well as most of your favorite streaming services. You can download a couple of the outtakes here, listen to a recent interview Marc Maron did with John Darnielle that covers his youth and some of his Iowa period, and read Notes on imaginary extant, lost, deleted, and unrecorded tracks written, performed, recorded for or during the period of time in the life of John Darnielle that would produce All Hail West Texas not included in this collection because they are all imaginary by Matt Fraction.
HAIL SATAN!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:38 AM on July 24, 2013 [10 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:38 AM on July 24, 2013 [10 favorites]
Wanting your album to hit #1 is so punk.
Or is it not punk enough? I can never keep it straight.
posted by helicomatic at 4:54 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Or is it not punk enough? I can never keep it straight.
posted by helicomatic at 4:54 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
John Darnielle is on Tumblr. Also, if you aren't already following John Darnielle on Tumblr, then why are you even on the internet? I mean, really.
posted by oulipian at 5:31 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by oulipian at 5:31 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
"Fall of the Star High School Running Back" has always resonated with me having had some friends who followed a similar trajectory, and also for being an example of extremely tight storytelling
The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton is like that too. That song has sunk deep into my soul.
posted by Jimbob at 5:32 AM on July 24, 2013 [9 favorites]
The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton is like that too. That song has sunk deep into my soul.
posted by Jimbob at 5:32 AM on July 24, 2013 [9 favorites]
Boy do I remember well the jaw-dropping wonder that was hearing Zopilote Machine for the first time. I think of All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee and Martial Arts Weekend (the Extra Glenns record that Darnielle is half of) as sort of a triple album and a mid-career renaissance. But when it comes down to it I always go back to Zopilote and songs like "Going to Georgia" (the Mountain Goats' "Freebird") and "Alpha Sun Hat" and.. well, I could go on and on.
My theory of the Mountain Goats, or at least the pre-studio Mountain Goats, is that the "real versions" of these songs are not the songs as recorded to boombox, or the songs as seen performed live by Darnielle, but rather the version of the songs you make yourself, in your room, on your own cruddy acoustic guitar, unrecorded, with lyrics added or subtracted, chorus repeated twenty times if you want to, stopping in the middle if the phone rings. The record is just a recipe.
posted by escabeche at 5:37 AM on July 24, 2013 [23 favorites]
My theory of the Mountain Goats, or at least the pre-studio Mountain Goats, is that the "real versions" of these songs are not the songs as recorded to boombox, or the songs as seen performed live by Darnielle, but rather the version of the songs you make yourself, in your room, on your own cruddy acoustic guitar, unrecorded, with lyrics added or subtracted, chorus repeated twenty times if you want to, stopping in the middle if the phone rings. The record is just a recipe.
posted by escabeche at 5:37 AM on July 24, 2013 [23 favorites]
PS, I will be stopping by the record store today and doing my bit to push the Mountain Goats to #1. PPS, John Darnielle is surely in no way a punk, if that word has any meaning anymore.
posted by escabeche at 5:39 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by escabeche at 5:39 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Mess Inside is the perfect song.
posted by bleep-blop at 5:41 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by bleep-blop at 5:41 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think he is punk in the "upstart" meaning of the term, obviously not in the "punk rocker" meaning. His comments on and cover of "boxcar" by jawbreaker for the AV Club suggests this.
posted by entropone at 5:48 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by entropone at 5:48 AM on July 24, 2013
You might not think of him as punk but he sure can yell about it on twitter.
posted by helicomatic at 5:53 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by helicomatic at 5:53 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure exactly what magic was involved in remastering a single-track cassette so well, but they went and made "Blues in Dallas" go from the one grating song on the album to something quite nice.
Also, the fact that John Darnielle is receptive to the idea of rereleases now is A Big Deal, he's got a history of basically saying "those albums had their time and place and I'm interested in my new music so no", which on the one hand I respect, but on the other hand I'd really like to give John a reasonable amount of money instead of giving an eBay seller a couple hundred if I want The Coroner's Gambit or Full Force Galesburg* on vinyl.
*FFG is the best Mountain Goats album and everyone who says otherwise is crazypants.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:00 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Also, the fact that John Darnielle is receptive to the idea of rereleases now is A Big Deal, he's got a history of basically saying "those albums had their time and place and I'm interested in my new music so no", which on the one hand I respect, but on the other hand I'd really like to give John a reasonable amount of money instead of giving an eBay seller a couple hundred if I want The Coroner's Gambit or Full Force Galesburg* on vinyl.
*FFG is the best Mountain Goats album and everyone who says otherwise is crazypants.
posted by jason_steakums at 6:00 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
John Darnielle is also on Twitter and, even better, is playing in Asheville FOR FREE this coming Sunday at 4:30 as the last band in the last ever Bele Chere Festival.
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:28 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:28 AM on July 24, 2013
I can never pick a favorite between All Hail West Texas and The Sunset Tree. Thankfully, I don't have to.
posted by yerfatma at 6:41 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by yerfatma at 6:41 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
...Traditionally, these sorts of things are called "bonus tracks." "Bonus" means "good" in Latin, which I used to study in another lifetime. It's singular, not plural, but we gotta let that slide. I personally feel that we whose gothness knows no limits should refer to our bonus tracks as "malus tracks" but I haven't been able to get any other goths on board with this...
Geek crush revived!
I'm one of the losers who prefers post-boom-box Mountain Goats, which I guess is kind of equivalent to liking Grateful Dead studio albums better than Grateful Dead concert tapes. (Actually, I'm one of those losers too. #1 pick: American Beauty; #2 pick: Europe '72, their pseudo-live album with all the vocals rerecorded in a studio. Laaaaaame.) So for me Tallahassee and We Shall All Be Healed are my favorites and will probably always be my favorites. But this'll be a good excuse to give some of the older stuff another try and see if it's grown on me.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 6:49 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Geek crush revived!
I'm one of the losers who prefers post-boom-box Mountain Goats, which I guess is kind of equivalent to liking Grateful Dead studio albums better than Grateful Dead concert tapes. (Actually, I'm one of those losers too. #1 pick: American Beauty; #2 pick: Europe '72, their pseudo-live album with all the vocals rerecorded in a studio. Laaaaaame.) So for me Tallahassee and We Shall All Be Healed are my favorites and will probably always be my favorites. But this'll be a good excuse to give some of the older stuff another try and see if it's grown on me.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 6:49 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Metafilter: The Mountain Goats' "Freebird"
posted by Billiken at 6:52 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Billiken at 6:52 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Mountain Goats cover Jawbreaker. "You're not punk and I'm telling everyone! Save your breath - I never was one."
posted by entropone at 6:52 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by entropone at 6:52 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
My local karaoke spot just got a Jawbreaker song. If they ever get around to having a Mountain Goats song, I'll probably just marry 'em.
posted by redsparkler at 7:03 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by redsparkler at 7:03 AM on July 24, 2013
That Drowned in Sound series is utterly ingenious: invent a prototypical douchebag reviewer and battle him over obviously great records to show how great they are.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:05 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:05 AM on July 24, 2013
The Mountain Goats cover Jawbreaker. "You're not punk and I'm telling everyone! Save your breath - I never was one."
The thing I love about that video is that it begins with Darnielle giving a kind of intellectual explanation of how everyone can connect with the message of the song, but that it doesn't have much personal resonance for him beyond how it speaks to the human condition...and then he starts singing and just loses it; I'm not sure I've ever been that emotional about anything, but it's just kind of his baseline.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:29 AM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
The thing I love about that video is that it begins with Darnielle giving a kind of intellectual explanation of how everyone can connect with the message of the song, but that it doesn't have much personal resonance for him beyond how it speaks to the human condition...and then he starts singing and just loses it; I'm not sure I've ever been that emotional about anything, but it's just kind of his baseline.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:29 AM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
While I'm at it, I might as well drop this picture of the Johns Darnielle, Oliver, and MeFi's Own Hodgman into this thread.
posted by Kattullus at 7:35 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 7:35 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
I love All Hail West Texas and I love the Mountain Goats and I would love to support this but I can't really justify buying an album I already own. =(
posted by maryr at 7:35 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by maryr at 7:35 AM on July 24, 2013
Am I the only person who can listen to Coroner's Gambit endlessly? The manic, muppet preacher yawp of the all bitterness and anger interspersed with quiet moments of melancholy make that record for me. That said, All Hail West Texas is a painfully obvious masterpiece that when I found it in my mid 20's let me put my adolescent years behind me and move on. He is also one of very few musicians I found in my middle twenties who I'm still madly in love with (the other being Andrew Bird) and find his current work to be as (maybe even more!?) engrossing, even if far more professional sounding.
Also: for one minute and fifty three seconds, he made me actually enjoy a Radiohead song. Something that insanely talented bunch couldn't do over their entire career.
Do you know how hard it was to limit this post to link only one song by the Mountain Goats? And it was a cover song, at that. I mean really, go find them all, spend a weekend in quiet place and listen to them. Then go find all his cover songs, which are amazing into and of themselves. Then go find Korean Bird Paintings and hear two minutes and thirty seconds of pure joy from a man who seemingly does bitterness and isolation so amazingly well. Seriously. I can't even come up with a simile to describe how wonderful finding all that joy hidden away amongst his other songs is.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 7:38 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Also: for one minute and fifty three seconds, he made me actually enjoy a Radiohead song. Something that insanely talented bunch couldn't do over their entire career.
Do you know how hard it was to limit this post to link only one song by the Mountain Goats? And it was a cover song, at that. I mean really, go find them all, spend a weekend in quiet place and listen to them. Then go find all his cover songs, which are amazing into and of themselves. Then go find Korean Bird Paintings and hear two minutes and thirty seconds of pure joy from a man who seemingly does bitterness and isolation so amazingly well. Seriously. I can't even come up with a simile to describe how wonderful finding all that joy hidden away amongst his other songs is.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 7:38 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
So he's not really from San Luis Obispo?
posted by mattbucher at 7:43 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by mattbucher at 7:43 AM on July 24, 2013
He grew up around there, but wasn't born there. That song (and the others on that album) are, in fact, autobiographical.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:46 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 7:46 AM on July 24, 2013
He moved to San Luis Obispo when he was young. If I remember correctly, he talks about all that (and much more; it gets heavy) in the interview with Marc Maron.
posted by Kattullus at 7:47 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by Kattullus at 7:47 AM on July 24, 2013
Also- No Children is the best break-up/fuck you song ever.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:50 AM on July 24, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:50 AM on July 24, 2013 [5 favorites]
As I've already mentioned before and won't rehash again, I almost got a chance to chat with Darnielle once when my band opened for The MGs in the Tallahassee-era (aptly, the show was actually in Tallahassee), but we had a very awkward, accidental backstage encounter that left me feeling too embarrassed to approach him afterwards. I've always really regretted that because I really like and admire his approach to his work and like to think we might have hit it off and found we had a lot in common. His stuff might not technically be punk, but whatever it is, it sure seems to spring from the same ur-source as the best of what punk has to offer. I also really admire how personal his work ultimately is.
posted by saulgoodman at 8:14 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by saulgoodman at 8:14 AM on July 24, 2013
> While I'm at it, I might as well drop this picture of the Johns Darnielle, Oliver, and MeFi's Own Hodgman into this thread.
Man, don't they look like they could wear each other's eyeglasses?
posted by ardgedee at 8:22 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Man, don't they look like they could wear each other's eyeglasses?
posted by ardgedee at 8:22 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
AHWT wasn't so great as it was he finally stopped using titles like "Going to Albuquerque" or "Corithians III:XI" ...
... so the new songs are:
Hardpan Song
Answering the Phone
Indonesia
Midland
Jenny (alt take, which isn't that different, stripped a bit. maybe slower?)
Tape Travel Is Lonely
Waco
i just listened to them on the merge site, and i'm pretty sure i haven't heard any before (aside from jenny). i think i like Answering the Phone best.
It seems that Tape Travel is Lonely must be related to Time Travel is Lonely by associate John Vanderslice, but I don't see it yet.
...
My Mountain Goats cornerstone albums are Sweden and Nothing for Juice, with a softest spot for the latter, probably b/c it was the last with (the mysterious) Rachel Ware. I love John Darnielle, but man they had a great sound together.
I still listen to the new stuff, but after Tallahassee news of new MG music went from fuck yeah! to oh yeah? I really liked the single guitar/boombox production.
I love it so much that John uses his re-release day ... to plug another artist's release. Great guy.
So he's not really from San Luis Obispo?
I'm pretty sure he was born in Indiana and raised mostly in SLO. What I cannot fathom is why on earth he is a fucking Cubs fan?
"at this point my cassette ran out of tape"
not included in this collection because they are all imaginary by Matt Fraction.
Imaginary? Beans! I'm almost positive I caught Baron Karza Begets at a show once.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:28 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
... so the new songs are:
Hardpan Song
Answering the Phone
Indonesia
Midland
Jenny (alt take, which isn't that different, stripped a bit. maybe slower?)
Tape Travel Is Lonely
Waco
i just listened to them on the merge site, and i'm pretty sure i haven't heard any before (aside from jenny). i think i like Answering the Phone best.
It seems that Tape Travel is Lonely must be related to Time Travel is Lonely by associate John Vanderslice, but I don't see it yet.
...
My Mountain Goats cornerstone albums are Sweden and Nothing for Juice, with a softest spot for the latter, probably b/c it was the last with (the mysterious) Rachel Ware. I love John Darnielle, but man they had a great sound together.
I still listen to the new stuff, but after Tallahassee news of new MG music went from fuck yeah! to oh yeah? I really liked the single guitar/boombox production.
I love it so much that John uses his re-release day ... to plug another artist's release. Great guy.
So he's not really from San Luis Obispo?
I'm pretty sure he was born in Indiana and raised mostly in SLO. What I cannot fathom is why on earth he is a fucking Cubs fan?
"at this point my cassette ran out of tape"
not included in this collection because they are all imaginary by Matt Fraction.
Imaginary? Beans! I'm almost positive I caught Baron Karza Begets at a show once.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:28 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure he was born in Indiana and raised mostly in SLO. What I cannot fathom is why on earth he is a fucking Cubs fan?
Here, he explains that it's because "they're the greatest team in the history of the game," but since that's obviously not true we have to look for other explanations. He also mentions a Weekly Reader article, but the transcript cuts out before he explain exactly what it was about a Weekly Reader article that made him a Cubs fan.
I choose to ignore this fact about him because I like him, and Cubs fans are obviously the worst. If I had to guess, I'm guessing it's something about his pathos addiction that attracts him to the mythology of the Cubs.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:36 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Here, he explains that it's because "they're the greatest team in the history of the game," but since that's obviously not true we have to look for other explanations. He also mentions a Weekly Reader article, but the transcript cuts out before he explain exactly what it was about a Weekly Reader article that made him a Cubs fan.
I choose to ignore this fact about him because I like him, and Cubs fans are obviously the worst. If I had to guess, I'm guessing it's something about his pathos addiction that attracts him to the mythology of the Cubs.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 8:36 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Holy crap, Guy Clark is amazing. How have I never heard of him?
posted by jsturgill at 8:44 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by jsturgill at 8:44 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Also the point of that song is that the Chicago Cubs will never beat every team in the league.
posted by maryr at 8:45 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by maryr at 8:45 AM on July 24, 2013
My Mountain Goats cornerstone albums are Sweden and Nothing for Juice, with a softest spot for the latter , probably b/c it was the last with (the mysterious) Rachel Ware. I love John Darnielle, but man they had a great sound together .
Her appearance on the excellent single-take Life of the World to Come dvd (directed by Rian Johnson!) was an unexpected delight.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:46 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Her appearance on the excellent single-take Life of the World to Come dvd (directed by Rian Johnson!) was an unexpected delight.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:46 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Holy wow! How did I not know Rachel Ware had recorded a song with The Mountain Goats for the extras of Life of the World to Come? Thanks, jason_steakums!
posted by Kattullus at 8:48 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 8:48 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
I mean, this isn't quite discovering a song written and recorded by McCartney and Lennon in 1979, but it's close.
posted by Kattullus at 8:51 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 8:51 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Am I the only person who can listen to Coroner's Gambit endlessly?
I'm pretty sure the answer there is "yes." WSBH is so much better.
... and it ends with two of my favorite MG lines ever: "And you send your dark messengers to tempt me / I come from Chino so all your threats are empty")
All (ALL) said, my favorite (current) MG song is probably ... Color in Your Cheeks. From AHWT. So good luck, John. Cracking the 200 would be good enough, I think.
(I always thought that song was about a serial killer, poisoning travelers. "the silence that's our trademark makes its gentle presence felt" but I'm not sure if I got that from somewhere else or not. I can't find it ...)
posted by mrgrimm at 8:51 AM on July 24, 2013
I'm pretty sure the answer there is "yes." WSBH is so much better.
... and it ends with two of my favorite MG lines ever: "And you send your dark messengers to tempt me / I come from Chino so all your threats are empty")
All (ALL) said, my favorite (current) MG song is probably ... Color in Your Cheeks. From AHWT. So good luck, John. Cracking the 200 would be good enough, I think.
(I always thought that song was about a serial killer, poisoning travelers. "the silence that's our trademark makes its gentle presence felt" but I'm not sure if I got that from somewhere else or not. I can't find it ...)
posted by mrgrimm at 8:51 AM on July 24, 2013
Holy wow! How did I not know Rachel Ware had recorded a song with The Mountain Goats for the extras of Life of the World to Come? Thanks, jason_steakums!
How did that song not make the album? Cut Hebrews 11:40. ;)
posted by mrgrimm at 8:52 AM on July 24, 2013
How did that song not make the album? Cut Hebrews 11:40. ;)
posted by mrgrimm at 8:52 AM on July 24, 2013
Holy crap, Guy Clark is amazing. How have I never heard of him?
Congratulations! You are one of today's ten thousand! Please tell all your friends, because Guy Clark is amazing and deserves all the love this miserable world can give. The fact that John D. (and many, many other songwriters) also recognize this fact should be a watermark. Seriously, the man is a treasure.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 8:53 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Congratulations! You are one of today's ten thousand! Please tell all your friends, because Guy Clark is amazing and deserves all the love this miserable world can give. The fact that John D. (and many, many other songwriters) also recognize this fact should be a watermark. Seriously, the man is a treasure.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 8:53 AM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Metafilter: Your favorite Mountain Goats album sucks.
"Autoclave" saved me from myself (or goaded me further, can't decide) during a very very painful period. Sometimes you really *do* want to go where everybody knows your name.
posted by Infinity_8 at 8:53 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
"Autoclave" saved me from myself (or goaded me further, can't decide) during a very very painful period. Sometimes you really *do* want to go where everybody knows your name.
posted by Infinity_8 at 8:53 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Fun fact: that LotWtC song with Rachel (Enoch 18:14) takes its chorus from the video game Odin Sphere.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:03 AM on July 24, 2013
posted by jason_steakums at 9:03 AM on July 24, 2013
aww, a thread full of mountain goats love and awesome links! this thread is making my day.
escabeche: But when it comes down to it I always go back to Zopilote and songs like "Going to Georgia" (the Mountain Goats' "Freebird") and "Alpha Sun Hat" and.. well, I could go on and on.
Good ol' John D. played a benefit show in Durham, N.C. recently (where we both live! but not together!) and it included a lecture about Going to Georgia, in which he basically said that the song is kind of about violently stalking a woman, which isn't something that should be glorified, and he doesn't want to stand behind the song anymore, and he doesn't like it when people request it.
posted by aka burlap at 9:17 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
escabeche: But when it comes down to it I always go back to Zopilote and songs like "Going to Georgia" (the Mountain Goats' "Freebird") and "Alpha Sun Hat" and.. well, I could go on and on.
Good ol' John D. played a benefit show in Durham, N.C. recently (where we both live! but not together!) and it included a lecture about Going to Georgia, in which he basically said that the song is kind of about violently stalking a woman, which isn't something that should be glorified, and he doesn't want to stand behind the song anymore, and he doesn't like it when people request it.
posted by aka burlap at 9:17 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Sweden is still my favorite.
If you're a fan at all, his tumblr is well worth following. He responds to lots of fans' questions honestly and earnestly and even his tossed off writing is filled with beautiful turns of phrase.
And, yes, Guy Clark is incredible.
posted by saul wright at 9:30 AM on July 24, 2013
If you're a fan at all, his tumblr is well worth following. He responds to lots of fans' questions honestly and earnestly and even his tossed off writing is filled with beautiful turns of phrase.
And, yes, Guy Clark is incredible.
posted by saul wright at 9:30 AM on July 24, 2013
it included a lecture about Going to Georgia, in which he basically said that the song is kind of about violently stalking a woman
Aw man, I'd read Going to Georgia as about someone in the middle of a breakdown coming out of it upon seeing an old and/or estranged lover.
posted by postcommunism at 9:31 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
Aw man, I'd read Going to Georgia as about someone in the middle of a breakdown coming out of it upon seeing an old and/or estranged lover.
posted by postcommunism at 9:31 AM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
He must have come to that position fairly recently: Going to Georgia from 2006.
The lyrics are fairly minimal and open to many interpretations. I can understand his opinion and what he meant when he wrote it, but I still like it.
Insurance fraud and armed robbery aren't worth celebrating either, but they make good songs.
someone in the middle of a breakdown coming out of it upon seeing an old and/or estranged lover
There aren't many words and "you smile as you ease the gun from my hand and i'm frozen with joy right where i stand" is a big line. It didn't seem violent or scary to me, but he wrote it.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:37 AM on July 24, 2013
The lyrics are fairly minimal and open to many interpretations. I can understand his opinion and what he meant when he wrote it, but I still like it.
Insurance fraud and armed robbery aren't worth celebrating either, but they make good songs.
someone in the middle of a breakdown coming out of it upon seeing an old and/or estranged lover
There aren't many words and "you smile as you ease the gun from my hand and i'm frozen with joy right where i stand" is a big line. It didn't seem violent or scary to me, but he wrote it.
posted by mrgrimm at 9:37 AM on July 24, 2013
Somewhere there's a universe where the Mountain Goats created 69 Love Songs instead of the Magnetic Fields and it sounds an awful lot like "Going to Port Washington" and I want to live there.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:39 AM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by jason_steakums at 9:39 AM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
This is fantastic. My love for John Darnielle knows nearly no bounds.
You know, maybe it's because I'm an Iowa Boy myself, but there's just something about sad folk singers from the midwest that get me.
Also- No Children yt is the best break-up/fuck you song ever.
Maybe one of the best songs ever period.
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:02 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
You know, maybe it's because I'm an Iowa Boy myself, but there's just something about sad folk singers from the midwest that get me.
Also- No Children yt is the best break-up/fuck you song ever.
Maybe one of the best songs ever period.
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:02 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
He must have come to that position fairly recently: Going to Georgia from 2006.
He definitely played it in DC in 2011 as well. There's a lot of room for interpretation in the song, but I can see his angle on it and reasons for not wanting it requested. For my purposes, the song has value because the line "The most remarkable thing about coming home to you is the feeling of being in motion again/its the most extraordinary thing in the world" exactly describes the feeling of leaving a crummy job to come home and see my wife. It's obviously not just a happy love song about people who love each other, but for me that line works that way, too.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:21 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
He definitely played it in DC in 2011 as well. There's a lot of room for interpretation in the song, but I can see his angle on it and reasons for not wanting it requested. For my purposes, the song has value because the line "The most remarkable thing about coming home to you is the feeling of being in motion again/its the most extraordinary thing in the world" exactly describes the feeling of leaving a crummy job to come home and see my wife. It's obviously not just a happy love song about people who love each other, but for me that line works that way, too.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 10:21 AM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
"The most remarkable thing about coming home to you is the feeling of being in motion again/its the most extraordinary thing in the world"
For a long time, my friend's voicemail greeting was, "The most remarkable thing about you leaving me a message is that it's you, and that you're leaving me a message."
posted by jessssse at 12:15 PM on July 24, 2013 [7 favorites]
For a long time, my friend's voicemail greeting was, "The most remarkable thing about you leaving me a message is that it's you, and that you're leaving me a message."
posted by jessssse at 12:15 PM on July 24, 2013 [7 favorites]
From his tumblr:
"I don’t play “Going to Georgia" any more because I can’t really reconcile how buoyant it is with how much I dislike its narrator - when I wrote it, I enjoyed that tension, but I was more of an aesthete then and now I think more with my gut. My gut tells me the whole deal with “Going to Georgia" is bogus, so that’s that. A better song would be one from the perspective of the person whose former partner has shown up on the porch of his/her house with a damn gun, that’s the hero of the song whose story is more interesting from where I’m at now."
posted by saul wright at 1:37 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
"I don’t play “Going to Georgia" any more because I can’t really reconcile how buoyant it is with how much I dislike its narrator - when I wrote it, I enjoyed that tension, but I was more of an aesthete then and now I think more with my gut. My gut tells me the whole deal with “Going to Georgia" is bogus, so that’s that. A better song would be one from the perspective of the person whose former partner has shown up on the porch of his/her house with a damn gun, that’s the hero of the song whose story is more interesting from where I’m at now."
posted by saul wright at 1:37 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
So, I have friends who are super into The Mountain Goats, and I've never quite had the moment. I did find that Jawbreaker cover really charming though, so this might be the moment.
Is this reissue a good place to start?
posted by lumpenprole at 1:56 PM on July 24, 2013
Is this reissue a good place to start?
posted by lumpenprole at 1:56 PM on July 24, 2013
I love All Hail West Texas and I love the Mountain Goats and I would love to support this but I can't really justify buying an album I already own.
I TOTALLY CONCUR.* In fact, when I saw this thread, I immediately leapt up and sashayed on over to the record shelves intending to grab and spin my copy. Aaaaaaaand discovered that I somehow don't own this album after all, but I must have at some point because I remember playing it. Only maybe that was a friend's copy at a friend's house. So I ordered it. Which leads me to urge everyone who can't justify buying an album they already own to go doublecheck.
*Except that I probably would buy a second copy anyhow just for the bonus tracks.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:05 PM on July 24, 2013
I TOTALLY CONCUR.* In fact, when I saw this thread, I immediately leapt up and sashayed on over to the record shelves intending to grab and spin my copy. Aaaaaaaand discovered that I somehow don't own this album after all, but I must have at some point because I remember playing it. Only maybe that was a friend's copy at a friend's house. So I ordered it. Which leads me to urge everyone who can't justify buying an album they already own to go doublecheck.
*Except that I probably would buy a second copy anyhow just for the bonus tracks.
posted by FelliniBlank at 2:05 PM on July 24, 2013
My username is a mountain Goats reference (full cite in my profile :) so I guess I better drop in and say SOMEthing.
Darnielle in this period is all about perfectly articulated longing — for things lost or never had or only rumored to exist. I haven't put him on in years but goddamn am I excited to grab this on vinyl and slip back into my early 20s again.
posted by wemayfreeze at 2:42 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
Darnielle in this period is all about perfectly articulated longing — for things lost or never had or only rumored to exist. I haven't put him on in years but goddamn am I excited to grab this on vinyl and slip back into my early 20s again.
posted by wemayfreeze at 2:42 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
God & Worshipper: A Rock-and-Roll Love Story, of Sorts; The complex bond between the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle and his sensitive fans. From New York magazine.
Favorite quote: "I know superfandom went out with the restraining order," he had told me earlier, with a self-deprecating smile. "But I can’t help it with John."
posted by llin at 2:43 PM on July 24, 2013
Favorite quote: "I know superfandom went out with the restraining order," he had told me earlier, with a self-deprecating smile. "But I can’t help it with John."
posted by llin at 2:43 PM on July 24, 2013
This is the first time All Hail... has been released on vinyl, FelliniBlank. Might be why you didn't find it on your record shelf.
posted by sleepy pete at 3:14 PM on July 24, 2013
posted by sleepy pete at 3:14 PM on July 24, 2013
While I do celebrate the early Mountain Goats releases, there's a pervading sophomoric awkwardness that mars even as concise and blistering a document as Nine Black Poppies in a few spots. AHWT is for me the crown jewel of the period of Darnielle's songwriting where he just nails the chracters and the details every time, spanning Full Force Galesburg through the under-over-or-generally-mis-rated We Shall All Be Healed. This is the period where you can really hear what he's talking about in this article, vis-a-vis songwriting as method acting, namedropping Steely Dan, and so forth. I know everybody loved The Sunset Tree, but it doesn't hit any of the same sweet spots for me as, say, Absolute Lithops Effect (yt) and not much to come along since really has either. But oh I can't WAIT to hear those bonus tracks.
posted by Rustmouth Snakedrill at 3:15 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Rustmouth Snakedrill at 3:15 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is the first time All Hail... has been released on vinyl, FelliniBlank. Might be why you didn't find it on your record shelf.
Right, sorry, I was using "records" in the generic "objects or digital thingies containing music" sense (as we dinosaurs are wont to do) rather than specifically LPs.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:00 PM on July 24, 2013
Right, sorry, I was using "records" in the generic "objects or digital thingies containing music" sense (as we dinosaurs are wont to do) rather than specifically LPs.
posted by FelliniBlank at 4:00 PM on July 24, 2013
This Metafilter comment about Tallahassee is one of my favorite pieces of creative nonfiction I have ever written.
I love pretty much everything John Darnielle has ever done. There's this part of my soul that has something to do with indescribable longing and it can only be filled by John Darnielle and Joey Comeau and before I discovered them I wouldn't say I was an empty husk of a person but I did have an empty husk of a person inside me.
I get "The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton" stuck in my head all the time because I taught one of my Animal Crossing villages to say "Hail Satan!" and it fills my life with smiles because that is the kind of person I am, I guess.
I taught my partner to like the Mountain Goats and now we sing along with Goddamn These Vampires in the car a lot and we both really like the "pirate's life for me" part of Jenny.
I haven't even been drinking and I have that sense of "I love you guys" about the Mountain Goats. I can't fully explain it. But to steal a metaphor from Craig Finn, these songs did get scratched into my soul. (It didn't almost kill me, though.)
posted by NoraReed at 5:37 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
I love pretty much everything John Darnielle has ever done. There's this part of my soul that has something to do with indescribable longing and it can only be filled by John Darnielle and Joey Comeau and before I discovered them I wouldn't say I was an empty husk of a person but I did have an empty husk of a person inside me.
I get "The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton" stuck in my head all the time because I taught one of my Animal Crossing villages to say "Hail Satan!" and it fills my life with smiles because that is the kind of person I am, I guess.
I taught my partner to like the Mountain Goats and now we sing along with Goddamn These Vampires in the car a lot and we both really like the "pirate's life for me" part of Jenny.
I haven't even been drinking and I have that sense of "I love you guys" about the Mountain Goats. I can't fully explain it. But to steal a metaphor from Craig Finn, these songs did get scratched into my soul. (It didn't almost kill me, though.)
posted by NoraReed at 5:37 PM on July 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
While I'm at it, I might as well drop this picture of the Johns Darnielle, Oliver, and MeFi's Own Hodgman into this thread.
here's the photo of John Darnielle and Craig Finn I look at when I'm feeling down
I will buy this album today because John Darnielle said to do it. and you'll say "if John Darnielle told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" and to that I say yes, I would, because JD would know that it would be a painful but ultimately life-affirming and life-changing experiance and I trust him in all things
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:38 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
I haven't even been drinking and I have that sense of "I love you guys" about the Mountain Goats. I can't fully explain it. But to steal a metaphor from Craig Finn, these songs did get scratched into my soul. (It didn't almost kill me, though.)
last time i saw the Mountain Goats when he did "This Year' at the end i kinda yelled out "and it almost killed me" at the chorus and i felt really embarassed but then John did it too on the next verse and i felt better
("it was song number 3 on John's last CD" but now when Craig does it live he just changes it to "it was song number 3 on the Sunset tree)
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 5:40 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
There's this part of my soul that has something to do with indescribable longing and it can only be filled by John Darnielle and Joey Comeau and before I discovered them I wouldn't say I was an empty husk of a person but I did have an empty husk of a person inside me.
I can't believe I didn't have Darnielle and Comeau filed in the same box in my head before reading that, because it's so obviously right when you think about it. And now I get to dream about a Mountain Goats Lockpick Pornography companion album.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:53 PM on July 24, 2013
I can't believe I didn't have Darnielle and Comeau filed in the same box in my head before reading that, because it's so obviously right when you think about it. And now I get to dream about a Mountain Goats Lockpick Pornography companion album.
posted by jason_steakums at 5:53 PM on July 24, 2013
and yes, I think he's a cubs fan because he loves pathos.
posted by saul wright at 6:33 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by saul wright at 6:33 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
I am not even really a Mountain Goats fan, not like some people are -- I own Tallahassee and Sunset Tree and a bootleg AHWT, which I will probably replace with a real live version. But for someone who isn't really a fan, a lot of my favorite songs are Mountain Goats songs. (Cubs in Five, No Children, Dilaudid, This Year -- I actually almost cry every time I listen to This Year -- Jenny, Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton, the list goes on)
Best Ever Death Metal band out of Denton has made it onto an awful lot of mix tapes. I've heard Jenny done live, on acoustic guitar, for the processional to a very sweet wedding. Just a hell of a thing, the whole Mountain Goats thing.
posted by KathrynT at 8:07 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best Ever Death Metal band out of Denton has made it onto an awful lot of mix tapes. I've heard Jenny done live, on acoustic guitar, for the processional to a very sweet wedding. Just a hell of a thing, the whole Mountain Goats thing.
posted by KathrynT at 8:07 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm keeping my eye out for a cheap thrift store The Killers shirt I can wear to Mountain Goats shows... I'm sure I'm the first person to ever have this idea.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 8:11 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 8:11 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Mountain Goats played an amazing show in a church in my town last month. There is something immensely exciting (I guess that's as close a word as any) about standing in a pew complete with hymnals, just a few feet from Darnielle, surrounded by people yelling "Hail Satan! Hail Satan tonight! Hail Satan! Hail hail!"
I've worn the No Children hoodie that I bought at that show pretty consistently since then, but because the design consists only of the word "children" in a circle with a line through it, I'm pretty sure people must think that I hate kids so much that I think it's imperative that everyone know.
Also, this post got me thinking about my much beloved copy of the vinyl version of Come, Come to the Sunset Tree (Darnielle handmade 1000 different covers) and then I realized that I bought it in 2005 and now I feel old. But in a happy way.
posted by eunoia at 10:18 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
I've worn the No Children hoodie that I bought at that show pretty consistently since then, but because the design consists only of the word "children" in a circle with a line through it, I'm pretty sure people must think that I hate kids so much that I think it's imperative that everyone know.
Also, this post got me thinking about my much beloved copy of the vinyl version of Come, Come to the Sunset Tree (Darnielle handmade 1000 different covers) and then I realized that I bought it in 2005 and now I feel old. But in a happy way.
posted by eunoia at 10:18 PM on July 24, 2013 [3 favorites]
I have a problem. This problem is, I have to keep going to tMG shows until I hear "Home Again Garden Grove" live. *sigh* It's a curse.
posted by cthuljew at 10:25 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by cthuljew at 10:25 PM on July 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
And now I just listened to the WTF interview and cried a few times.
posted by cthuljew at 5:03 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by cthuljew at 5:03 AM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
I didn't even notice the Matt Fraction link at first. Dude loves dropping Mountain Goats quotes into his comics.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 4:04 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 4:04 PM on July 25, 2013
I still have no idea what the hell "Pink and Blue" is about. Probably I'll never know.
posted by koeselitz at 1:46 PM on July 27, 2013
posted by koeselitz at 1:46 PM on July 27, 2013
I think Pink and Blue is pretty straightforward, actually. The narrator has become the caregiver for newborn boy/girl twins, whom he has no idea how to care for but loves passionately. The way he became their caregiver is unexplained but was certainly unexpected, and probably involves trauma. We can deduce the first because he doesn't have any baby furniture or infant formula, and the second because it is a Mountain Goats song.
posted by KathrynT at 3:16 PM on July 27, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by KathrynT at 3:16 PM on July 27, 2013 [6 favorites]
Well, exactly. The story is in what's unexplained. Although because of that, I tend to wonder if I'm right that they're babies.
posted by koeselitz at 8:25 AM on July 28, 2013
posted by koeselitz at 8:25 AM on July 28, 2013
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