Posts

So I'm compulsive about signing up for new things and then not using them. Over the more than two decades that blogging has been a thing I've probably made more

So I'm compulsive about signing up for new things and then not using them. Over the more than two decades that blogging has been a thing I've probably made more than twenty and not used them because there's something terrifying about the blank feed that could be anything. I always

I can feel the landscape of this song. It's an early morning, some fog in the air, and there's a calm in the air. And somewhere within that a fantasy

I can feel the landscape of this song. It's an early morning, some fog in the air, and there's a calm in the air. And somewhere within that a fantasy made of choppy guitar and harmonica. It's a small one, this. A quick scene that is the edge of pastoral,

Welcome back tape hum. John sets a table here, a beautiful domestic scene of a garden being planted, a kitchen being outfitted, a series of events that will survive the

Welcome back tape hum. John sets a table here, a beautiful domestic scene of a garden being planted, a kitchen being outfitted, a series of events that will survive the singer. This is a small gem, a bleak song of hope. Things pass, but we can make sure things endure.

A couple of songs into Full Force Galesberg and the first thing that is striking me about this record is how much fuller the sound is than what has come

A couple of songs into Full Force Galesberg and the first thing that is striking me about this record is how much fuller the sound is than what has come before. Not just that there are more instruments, but that this album's exploration of the folk space is lending itself

It's late. Not absurdly late, not so late it's actually early again. But, like 1:30. There's a party going on nearby, and you're not quite at it. You were at

It's late. Not absurdly late, not so late it's actually early again. But, like 1:30. There's a party going on nearby, and you're not quite at it. You were at it, but the house has a porch and you didn't want that many people near you. You're talking to a

It's not March 17, it's March 23rd, and I have the kind of cold and headache that mean I'm only vaguely tethered to reality. Perfect time to hear a Mountain

It's not March 17, it's March 23rd, and I have the kind of cold and headache that mean I'm only vaguely tethered to reality. Perfect time to hear a Mountain Goats song from the fringes of existence. This was apparently only played live once. Hard to think why, as it's

OK, so full disclosure: I've been on holiday and am currently sick for the second time since the last block update I did. This is why these are late and

OK, so full disclosure: I've been on holiday and am currently sick for the second time since the last block update I did. This is why these are late and why this is incoherent. Makes sense therefore that this is a sort of hidden track, with only live versions. Adding

Floating away on the guitar of this song, so much of a woodland pastoral, the sound of double the expected strings out under a canopy of trees. This is a

Floating away on the guitar of this song, so much of a woodland pastoral, the sound of double the expected strings out under a canopy of trees. This is a song of solitude, which is a different thing from loneliness, it's the sound of someone far beyond society. This song

Mountain Goats do folk horror. The discordant guitars are a particular delight here with the imaginative language of a strange inhabitant of a strange albion. This is a beautiful and

Mountain Goats do folk horror. The discordant guitars are a particular delight here with the imaginative language of a strange inhabitant of a strange albion. This is a beautiful and strange land of odd landscapes and odd feelings, and at their heart the human moment of seeing the person you

The rhythm of this reminded me of Santa Monica by Everclear, although that's where the similarity ended. It's a wonderfully calm and matter of fact delivery for lyrical material that

The rhythm of this reminded me of Santa Monica by Everclear, although that's where the similarity ended. It's a wonderfully calm and matter of fact delivery for lyrical material that starts in the mythological and goes upwards from there. Often John sits at points in the alignment that are directly

There's a strange moment at this start of this song where for just a moment I hear a very familiar guitar part, only... it's not familiar yet. It's inevitable for

There's a strange moment at this start of this song where for just a moment I hear a very familiar guitar part, only... it's not familiar yet. It's inevitable for a songwriter who has written (as can be seen in this project) 366 songs, but for just a few bars

The bouncing roll of the guitar in this is an early example of one of my favourite John tropes: the jolly, catchy song about how depressed the singer is and

The bouncing roll of the guitar in this is an early example of one of my favourite John tropes: the jolly, catchy song about how depressed the singer is and how much everything is terrible. Well, that's dismissive. It's not just about that, although the "it made me wish I

A delightful little folky number, four verses about four trees with different personalities and characteristics, with a delightful sting in the tail about the last one. This song is insubstantial,

A delightful little folky number, four verses about four trees with different personalities and characteristics, with a delightful sting in the tail about the last one. This song is insubstantial, but delightful in its insubstantiality. It's a small growth in a woodland glade, away from people, with an abundance of

It's the quiet ones that get me. I love a bit of big jangly guitar, and as we get onto full band numbers there are going to be some amazing

It's the quiet ones that get me. I love a bit of big jangly guitar, and as we get onto full band numbers there are going to be some amazing things going on, but something about soft picking and near whispered vocals captures something pure in this music. This isn't

With this title it won't come as much surprise that this is a very country-inflected song in a good way. it's warm and dark with points of light and convivial

With this title it won't come as much surprise that this is a very country-inflected song in a good way. it's warm and dark with points of light and convivial voices singing about dark things. The major detail that strikes me lyrically about this song is "you looked real calm"

So we're very much into the era of Mountain Goats songs being delightful little bops. This is a magical pastoral number, with spells under the surface and a strong fundamental

So we're very much into the era of Mountain Goats songs being delightful little bops. This is a magical pastoral number, with spells under the surface and a strong fundamental presence of nature. Actually, that's wrong. What's present here isn't nature. it's rural domesticity. And in an increasingly urban world

It might be the very "live at a dive bar" recording, but there is something delightfully and atmospherically nineties about this song. It might also be that half of the

It might be the very "live at a dive bar" recording, but there is something delightfully and atmospherically nineties about this song. It might also be that half of the chord sequence is Stars by Hum which is one of my favourite songs from the nineties. But the overall effect

The first thing that strikes me about this mix of spoken word and soaring vocals is that this might be the strongest that John's voice has sounded so far. In

The first thing that strikes me about this mix of spoken word and soaring vocals is that this might be the strongest that John's voice has sounded so far. In this song of love and isolation and the continual background fear of potential violence we hear a voice that is

Ah, a bad recording in a very different way than other ones. This is a radio recording of a live show, complete with proper radio hiss, and is one of

Ah, a bad recording in a very different way than other ones. This is a radio recording of a live show, complete with proper radio hiss, and is one of the only versions of this absolute ramp of a song. It's about love and guns and youth and death and

A chaotic descent of a sing, frantic chords and a low low riff on loose strings. This is a jangly open chord burst of burning paranoia, all signifiers and urgency.

A chaotic descent of a sing, frantic chords and a low low riff on loose strings. This is a jangly open chord burst of burning paranoia, all signifiers and urgency. There's a couple of versions of this, each from a confused and paranoid narrator to an unnamed but seemingly untrustworthy