The Mountain Goats Totally Explained

Everything about The Mountain Goats totally explained

The Mountain Goats is an urban folk band led by American singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Darnielle began recording in 1991, and has become known for his highly literate lyrics and, until 2002, his lo-fi recording style. In 2007, drummer Jon Wurster played a portion of the Get Lonely tour.

History

Darnielle began performing under the name The Mountain Goats, in 1991 in Claremont, California, where he attended Pitzer College, and worked as a psychiatric nurse. Entitled Heretic Pride, the album was released on February 19, 2008. It was produced by John Vanderslice and Scott Solter. Franklin Bruno and Erik Friedlander returned to the studio with Darnielle and Hughes, and they were also joined by Jon Wurster on drums and vocalist Annie Clark of St. Vincent.
On March 19, 2008, John Darnielle posted on the band's website that their Australian tour would be cancelled due to "personal health reasons".
John Darnielle is featured on Aesop Rock's 2007 album None Shall Pass on the song "Coffee"

Members

John Darnielle - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard
Peter Hughes - Bass
Jon Wurster - Percussion

Former members and collaborators

Rachel Ware - bass (1992-1995)

The Bright Mountain Choir

The North Mass Mountain Choir

Franklin Bruno - piano

Lalitree Darnielle - banjo

Alastair Galbraith

John Vanderslice

Erik Friedlander - cello

Scott Solter

Alex Decarville

Richard Colburn - drums

Christopher McGuire - drums

Nora Danielson - violin

Discography

Albums

- cassette (Shrimper, 1991)

The Hound Chronicles - cassette (Shrimper, 1992)

Hot Garden Stomp - cassette (Shrimper, 1993)

Zopilote Machine - CD, cassette (Ajax, 1994), CD/LP (3 Beads of Sweat, 2005)

Sweden - CD/LP (Shrimper, 1995)

Hail and Farewell, Gothenburg - (Unreleased, 1995)

Nothing for Juice - CD/LP (Ajax, 1996), CD (3 Beads of Sweat, 2005)

Full Force Galesburg - CD/LP (Emperor Jones, 1997)

The Coroner's Gambit - CD/LP (Absolutely Kosher, 2000)

All Hail West Texas - CD (Emperor Jones, 2002)

Tallahassee - CD (4AD, 2002)

We Shall All Be Healed - CD/LP (4AD, 2004)

The Sunset Tree - CD (4AD, 4/26/05)

Come, Come to the Sunset Tree - limited-edition LP (4AD, 4/26/05)

Get Lonely - CD/LP (4AD, 8/22/06)

Heretic Pride CD/LP (4AD, 2/19/08)

Singles and EPs

Songs for Petronius - 7" EP (Shrimper, 1992)

Transmissions to Horace - cassette EP (Sonic Enemy, 1993)

Chile de Árbol - 7" EP (Ajax, 1993)

Taking the Dative - cassette EP (Car in Car, 1994)

Yam, the King of Crops - cassette EP (Oska, 1994)

Beautiful Rat Sunset - 10"/CD EP (Shrimper, 1994)

Philyra - 7" EP (Theme Park, 1994)

Why You All So Thief? - 7" EP (split with Simon Joyner) (Sing Eunuchs, 1994)

Orange Raja, Blood Royal - 7" EP (with Alastair Galbraith) (Walt, 1995)

Songs for Peter Hughes - 7" EP (Sonic Squid, 1995)

Songs About Fire - 7" EP (Cassiel, 1995)

Nine Black Poppies - CD EP (Emperor Jones, 1995)

Jack and Faye(External Link

) - EP (unreleased, 1996)

Tropical Depression EP - 7" EP (split with Furniture Huschle) (Little Mafia, 1997)

New Asian Cinema - 1-sided 12" EP (Yoyo, 1998)

Isopanisad Radio Hour - 1-sided 12" EP (Yoyo, 2000)

On Juhu Beach - 3" CD EP (Nursecall, 2001)

Devil in the Shortwave - 1-sided 12" EP (Yoyo, 2002)

Jam Eater Blues - 7" single (Sub Pop, 2002)

See America Right - 7"/CD single (4AD, 2002)

Palmcorder Yajna - 7"/CD single (4AD, 2003)

Letter from Belgium - 7"/CD single (4AD, 2004)

Dilaudid EP - Download only EP (4AD, 2005)

Babylon Springs EP - Australian tour EP (4AD, 2006)

Collections (of previously released material)

Protein Source of the Future...Now! - CD (Ajax, 1999; 3 Beads of Sweat, 2002)

Bitter Melon Farm - CD (Ajax, 1999; 3 Beads of Sweat, 2002)

Ghana - CD (3 Beads of Sweat, 2002)

Related bands

The Congress (John Darnielle with Mark Givens and others)

The Extra Glenns (John Darnielle with Franklin Bruno)

The Seneca Twins (John Darnielle with Lalitree Chavanothai and Chris Butler)

The Bloody Hawaiians (John Darnielle with Joel Huschle, Mark Givens and Caroline)

The Salvation Brothers (John Darnielle played drums for the band's live sets)

The Comedians (John Darnielle with John Vanderslice)

Song series

Scattered among the releases are song series: thematically interconnected ruminations on a single theme. Each EP and album is a project to be understood alone and as a part of an interrelated whole. Releases would often contain quotes, mostly in Latin, that gave hints to the theme of the piece.

Alpha series

Songs in this category concern the same fictional couple, described as a heterosexual lower-middle-class man and woman who originally loved each other genuinely and held generally ordinary concerns for one another's well-being but whose relationship has degraded for a variety of reasons, most often a series of fights or drug and/or alcohol abuse, possibly both. Whatever the causes for their current situation, their love hasn't so much died as warped into the sincere, all-consuming desire of each of them to see the other drink themselves to death; thus, to facilitate this "walk down to the bottom," as described in the liner notes of Tallahassee, the couple keep whatever liquor they can afford on hand for each other and stay together.
The album Tallahassee, being entirely about the Alpha couple, begins with the pair buying a run-down house in the eponymous capital of Florida, follows their degradation, and ends with a vision of the house and both of them being consumed in flames. Other songs not found on Tallahassee, however, usually named "Alpha" in part to signify that they're about the couple, deal with similar situations, if not the same situation. The songs below, not found on Tallahassee, fit into the series:

Alpha Aquae
Alpha Compunction
Alpha Desperation March
Alpha Double Negative: Going to Catalina
Alpha Gelida
Alpha Incipiens
The Alphonse Mambo
Alpha Negative
Alpha Omega
Alpha Rat's Nest
Alpha Sun Hat
Alpha in Tauris
Alphabetizing
Design Your Own Container Garden
Ethiopians
Fit Alpha Vi
Going to Dade County
Letter From a Motel (or if you prefer: Letter from the Alpha Motel (or if you prefer: Letter from the Alpha Privative Motel))
One Winter At Point Alpha Privative
Spilling Toward Alpha

Going to ... series

The 44 songs in this category are generally about needing to get out of a place and/or thinking life will magically improve by moving somewhere new. The characters are not the same from song to song. The songs contained in the "Going To..." series are as follows:
•Alpha Double Negative: Going to Catalina
•Flight 717: Going to Denmark
•Going to Alaska
•Going to Bangor
•Going to Bogota
•Going to Bolivia
•Going to Bridlington
•Going to Bristol
•Going to Buffalo
•Going to Chino
•Going to Cleveland
•Going to Dade County
•Going to East Rutherford
•Going to France
•Going to Georgia
•Going to Hungary
•Going to Jamaica
•Going to Japan
•Going to Kansas
•Going to Kirby Sigston
•Going to Lebanon
•Going to Lubbock
•Going to Maine
•Going to Malibu
•Going to Marrakesh
•Going to Maryland
•Going to Mexico
•Going to Michigan
•Going to Monaco
•Going to Morocco
•Going to Norwalk
•Going to Palestine
•Going to Pomona (Or: Going Through Pomona)
•Going to Port Washington
•Going to Queens
•Going to Reykjavik
•Going to San Diego
•Going to Santiago
•Going to Scotland
•Going to Some Damned English City
•Going to Spain
•Going to Spirit Lake
•Going to Tennessee
•Going to Utrecht
•Going to Wisconsin

Orange Ball series

The title of this series comes from a book by Don DeLillo in which the sun is repeatedly described as an "orange ball". The songs contained in the "Orange Ball" series are as follows:
•Orange Ball of Hate
•Orange Ball of Love
•Orange Ball of Pain
•Orange Ball of Peace

Quetzalcoatl series

Quetzalcoatl ("feathered serpent" or "plumed serpent") is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations and also the name given to some Toltec rulers, the most famous being Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl. The songs included in the Quetzalcoatl series are as follows:
•Quetzalcoatl Comes Through
•Quetzalcoatl Eats Plums
•Quetzalcoatl is Born

In the media

The band's song "Cotton" is prominently featured in an episode of the television series Weeds (season one's "The Punishment Light"). In addition, "This Year" appeared on The O.C. The song "Magpie" appears in an episode of the showtime series Dexter (Season 2 Episode 8)

Further Information

Get more info on 'The Mountain Goats'.

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