The Mountain Goats

this was originally intended for a music post, but what i found was old and dusty, and anyway John Darnielle's recording persona deserves more than a favorites/best-of listing. John has been recording under the name Mountain Goats since 1991; his "studio" was a panasonic boombox until a few years ago when he signed with 4AD records. defiantly lo-fi and DIY, even with a budget, Darnielle has recorded hundreds of songs of such consistent high quality that he is reckoned a genius by many. as literate as pop music can be without being pretentious or precious, the lyrics stand as poetry without the tunes (which, though superficially similar to each other, are of a very pleasant, textural nature). the artist's favorite writers are Sophocles, Euripides and Chaucer. his favorite music is 'black metal' (aeturnus). he has rewritten Omar Khayam's "a loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou" as "st. joseph's baby aspirin, bartles & jaymes and you, or your memory". it probably doesn't sound like much on paper, but please check out the many concert recordings available for free at

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query … um_reviews

note especially John's interaction with his audience. Mountain Goats are the exact opposite of popular mainstream "music", and might be more important than anything that came before on the mystery train.

(Mountain Goats were not created by, nor are they endorsed by, tavistock institute. may Darnielle bury the ones who are.)