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The words that jump into my head when I hear this song for the first time are "jangly pastoral". It's upbeat, slightly spiky, and giving a view of a place

The words that jump into my head when I hear this song for the first time are "jangly pastoral". It's upbeat, slightly spiky, and giving a view of a place of if not home then at least rest. Eating cold black eggs all day as the wind kicked up. Kirby

Something about this song feels like a dream. The sort of not quite asleep, not quite fully awake place where the mind creates things and latches them on to actual

Something about this song feels like a dream. The sort of not quite asleep, not quite fully awake place where the mind creates things and latches them on to actual sensation. It's a place where Nick Drake lived a lot, and much of the instrumentation in this song reminded me

This song is a rolling stampede, and a mark of John's ever increasing assurance on all fronts of his musicality. It's urgent in tone, in tempo, and in subject, and

This song is a rolling stampede, and a mark of John's ever increasing assurance on all fronts of his musicality. It's urgent in tone, in tempo, and in subject, and like the best Mountain Goats songs it universalises through close examination. I often wish I was better read on mythology,

There's an interesting strolling pace to this song that put me in mind of some banjo folk I've heard, which might be why this song felt like it was in

There's an interesting strolling pace to this song that put me in mind of some banjo folk I've heard, which might be why this song felt like it was in a country-and-blues-adjacent space. The repeated refrain of laying out on the patio gave this a musical shape that felt a

So the first thing to observe about this song is that the thing uploaded to Youtube under its name isn't this song but rather a superbly 80s weird little synth

So the first thing to observe about this song is that the thing uploaded to Youtube under its name isn't this song but rather a superbly 80s weird little synth keyboards things. It's quite nice in its own way and very much fits into the idea of This Year being

Cheeky start there, John, burst of radio channels ending with "please keep feeding us". Very sound collage. Hot Garden Stomp continues to feel like one of the earlier places where

Cheeky start there, John, burst of radio channels ending with "please keep feeding us". Very sound collage. Hot Garden Stomp continues to feel like one of the earlier places where John was saying "all right, so this is what I sound like, but what if I didn't?", The guitar is

A frantic and uncertain start to a sing that grows into its confidence even as the whirlwind of ifs lyrics grows in speed. This is a sketch, but it's a

A frantic and uncertain start to a sing that grows into its confidence even as the whirlwind of ifs lyrics grows in speed. This is a sketch, but it's a sketch that feels like it covers ground that later John would either move away from or come back to from

There are many archetypes of a Mountain Goats song, but one of my favourite ones is a cheerful ditty about death. This is a short bouncy number with a lot

There are many archetypes of a Mountain Goats song, but one of my favourite ones is a cheerful ditty about death. This is a short bouncy number with a lot of lyrical repetition, about a guy facing his end with sanguinity because of his special shoes. As such it's a

Castio-tastic start to this, but a delightful narrative vignette. A tiny sweet moment, as sweet as a fresh cherry. And that's almost it. Not every song has an important point

Castio-tastic start to this, but a delightful narrative vignette. A tiny sweet moment, as sweet as a fresh cherry. And that's almost it. Not every song has an important point or a poignant moral, some are just small patches of brightness in a dark world. You wake up and someone

This song is a series of fraying loops. A chaotic, rolling guitar rhythm, the fuzz of the cassette recorder mixing with the fuzz of the acoustic guitar mixing with the

This song is a series of fraying loops. A chaotic, rolling guitar rhythm, the fuzz of the cassette recorder mixing with the fuzz of the acoustic guitar mixing with the repeated lyrical refrains that pointed to a life that went on and on, almost the same each time. Trouble coming

This is a vignette with a ghost in it, a delightful and time honoured musical tradition. A slice from John's life from which he has removed himself and added another.

This is a vignette with a ghost in it, a delightful and time honoured musical tradition. A slice from John's life from which he has removed himself and added another. Musically this is about as simple as most of the early Mountain Goats material: a repeating refrain over which a

A gentle song to start with, this begins in what the cruel might call banality but which I think of as melancholy comfort. The small moments in a majestic life

A gentle song to start with, this begins in what the cruel might call banality but which I think of as melancholy comfort. The small moments in a majestic life before it knows it's over. Like (let's face it) most people listening to Hendrix, I came to him after the

oh, I love the riff for this, the slow descending chaotic catastrophic roll of guitar with spoken words over the top. And what words. Easy to listen to, steady in

oh, I love the riff for this, the slow descending chaotic catastrophic roll of guitar with spoken words over the top. And what words. Easy to listen to, steady in pace, but setting a scene of impending pain and disaster. John's love for the vast period we think of as

There's something about John's simple, narrative, confessional songs that really strike home the most. The ones where the words are in a sense very straightforward and in another crackling with

There's something about John's simple, narrative, confessional songs that really strike home the most. The ones where the words are in a sense very straightforward and in another crackling with imagery and meaning. I can see the narrator of New Star Song with the same clarity that I see the

...wow, this feels like a time jump. We're still with the rumbling of John's tape recorder, but everything from the vocals to the instrumentation to the lyrics feels almost infinitely

...wow, this feels like a time jump. We're still with the rumbling of John's tape recorder, but everything from the vocals to the instrumentation to the lyrics feels almost infinitely more modern despite only being three years after the previous song. Which isn't or shouldn't be surprising. The gap from

Time for an odd thing to say: this is one of the most consciously "songy" of the songs so far. The repeated refrain of "I've got a radio" and the

Time for an odd thing to say: this is one of the most consciously "songy" of the songs so far. The repeated refrain of "I've got a radio" and the tight but coherent narrative break it away from the "sung poetry" of a lot of the cassette tape songs. There's

After two days of experimentation we return to something more foundational and closer to John's poetic and folk-inflected roots. The music here is a lyric transmission system and the recording

After two days of experimentation we return to something more foundational and closer to John's poetic and folk-inflected roots. The music here is a lyric transmission system and the recording is delightfully rough, ending with an "umm..." and a rush of wind on a cheap built in microphone. This is

Sometimes when you're listening to early material by an artist you can catch the moment that they "get it". Not when they become successful, but a point some distance before

Sometimes when you're listening to early material by an artist you can catch the moment that they "get it". Not when they become successful, but a point some distance before that where they first do something that sounds like them. There's a point in pre-Discworld Terry Pratchett's novel The Dark

In one sense, this was the song so far in this year (and in This Year) which sounded least like The Mountain Goats. Which made it the song that sounded

In one sense, this was the song so far in this year (and in This Year) which sounded least like The Mountain Goats. Which made it the song that sounded the most like The Mountain Goats. Coming to the band more than thirty years into their career it's easy to

I remember a quiet joy when I was first learning to play the guitar, of working out things that I considered to be "cheats". I was never a good guitarist,

I remember a quiet joy when I was first learning to play the guitar, of working out things that I considered to be "cheats". I was never a good guitarist, but one reason guitar is such a popular instrument is that the level of good you have to be before