Arguing with the Twitter avatar of Paste's Matt Mitchell about his 'Full Force Galesburg' review. This episode runs from Antigone to Otis the Aardvark, by way of Roman re-enactors and the Romantic sublime, as I try to make sense of the snapshots of a 90s childhood. Show notes Matt Mitchell’s thoughtful and not actually objectionable ranking of the studio albums for Paste: https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/the-mountain-goats/the-mountain-goats-albums-ranked/ Liner notes to Full Force Galesburg: http://web.archive.org/web/20200930190323/https://kylebarbour.org/tmg/galesburg.html 1997 Duke ..read more

A book of maps. In this week's episode, it's 1995 and I'm in the stocks for some reason. Meanwhile, John Darnielle is finishing up college and expanding his horizons. Featuring discussion of ISKCON, John Berryman, translating Seneca, the Throgs' Neck Bridge, and what the hell there is to do in South Lincolnshire anyway. Show notes Links to sources mentioned in the episode: Darnielle’s comments on the Throgs’ Neck Bridge: https://themountaingoats.fandom.com/wiki/Going_to_Port_Washington Reddit AMA featuring the ‘book of maps’ story: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/htsx1/i_am_a_ ..read more

The Mountain Goats get productive. In this episode, it's 1993 and John Darnielle is reading Sophocles, writing prolifically, and recording immediately. Over in England, I'm reading the names of dinosaurs over my grandmother's shoulder. Topics include: self-belief, grace, the Wedding Present, and the Southern California divorce rate. Show notes: ‘John On Process #2,’ discussing unfinished songs from 1993-4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH0DnQFgyGc John’s interview with Acoustic Guitar Magazine: https://acousticguitar.com/indie-rocker-john-darnielle-of-the-mountain-goats-embraces-acoustic ..read more

New flowers, cold comfort. In this episode, John Darnielle wakes up after a Portland blackout with a click in his hip, and Richard learns to sit up straight. Topics include: Graham Greene the 'Catholic atheist,' biographers and their subjects, 'confessional' music, and this year's worst 'Jeopardy!' guest host, Dr. Oz. Links to articles mentioned in this episode: - Graham Greene obituary: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/02/20/specials/greene-obit.html - Peter Green on 'The End of the Affair': https://newrepublic.com/article/68004/the-end-the-affair - John Banville on Gr ..read more

Sin as hard as you can. Today's episode is about Shane MacGowan, growing up Catholic in England in the 90s, knocking a few teacups off the shelves, and 'the life of the spirit' in John Darnielle's work from 'Stable Boy Song' to 'Satanic Messiah.' It's 2009, and the song is 'Psalms 40:2 ..read more

Well, they come and pull me from my house. Today’s episode is about ‘Heretic Pride,’ monsters, pagans, ghost cowboys, how a comprehensive knowledge of unreleased Mountain Goats lyrics might come in handy when you least expect it, and a ‘large, eclectic crowd of gay people’ at the City Nightclub in 1986, enjoying ‘the best sound system in Portland & possibly the entire PNW.’ Show notes A lot of today’s episode is about what life was like for queer teenagers experiencing homelessness on the streets of Portland in the 1980s - an organisation that serves this community today which Darnielle ..read more

The loneliest people in the whole wide world. Today's episode is about ‘Maybe Sprout Wings,’ Frankie Lymon, the ‘high lonesome sound’ of Appalachian folk music, and a depressive episode at the Trinity LABAN Centre. Show notes Interviews: Tom Lynch, ‘Only the Lonely: Mountain Goats man John Darnielle sings a sad story,’ New City Music, 2006: https://music.newcity.com/2006/09/14/only-the-lonely-mountain-goats-man-john-darnielle-sings-a-sad-story/ Andy Downing, ‘Mountain Goats' Darnielle opens up in `Get Lonely.'’ Chicago Tribune, 2006 [paywalled]:https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006 ..read more

Deep in the dream chamber. Today's episode is about 2005, the year I discovered The Sunset Tree: an album that changed my life. It also takes in Keats, Walter Benjamin, amateur Shakespeare productions in Rutland, and the Venerable Bede. Show notes Interviews: Puncture interview with Bill Meyer, 1994: http://web.archive.org/web/19990427042719/http://mb1.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/288145857327820_105_4973 Washington Post interview with Ivan Kreilkamp, 2004: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/02/04/sure-footed-mountain-goats/534c6689-1848-4538-936a-e6da5230e961/ NPR intervie ..read more

45 minutes in the pews, praying the Rosary. Today's episode is about 'Against Pollution,' Catholicism, ammonites, and spiritual 2004. Show notes Interviews Casual Magic podcast interview on John’s Hare Krishna years with Shivam Bhatt: https://casualmagic.libsyn.com/casual-magic-episode-31-mountain-goats Live shows Live at The 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA, on 2006-08-10: https://archive.org/details/tmg2006-08-10.flac16/tmg2006-08-10t18.flac Live at The Saturn, Birmingham, AL, on 2021-08-08: https://archive.org/details/tmg2021-08-08/tmg2021-08-08-26.flac Web Resources Classic FM article on ..read more

Where they manufactured what I needed. The show is back with a double episode about 'Palmcorder Yajna,' 'Devil House,' a folder full of MSN Messenger chatlogs two decades old, and the unique awfulness of being 13 and online in West Deeping in 2003. *** Show notes Books Devil House, by John Darnielle. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022. Interviews Believer interview with Daniel Handler, 2004: https://believermag.com/an-interview-with-john-darnielle/ Pitchfork interview with Tom Breihan, 2009: https://pitchfork.com/news/36406-john-darnielle-tells-the-story-behind-the-mountain-goats-biblical ..read more