The problem with writing songs about old wrestlers is that, well, there are less of them than there should be. Lou Thesz made it to 86, Red Bastien made it

The problem with writing songs about old wrestlers is that, well, there are less of them than there should be. Lou Thesz made it to 86, Red Bastien made it to 81, Vern Gagne nearly hit 90, but they were outliers, with the averages dragged down by people who should

If you were to do a song about every wrestler whose life had ended in tragedy, you'd probably need more than a year's worth of songs. Even when lives don't

If you were to do a song about every wrestler whose life had ended in tragedy, you'd probably need more than a year's worth of songs. Even when lives don't end early, they often end badly, it is a pretty hard business that used to be an incredibly hard business,

One of the best double modes a song can have is: This is a story about a guy who plays a wolfman who is taking it too far, who has

One of the best double modes a song can have is: This is a story about a guy who plays a wolfman who is taking it too far, who has given up the kayfabe of it all and is going full method with his bullshit, and that's absolutely great. This

ah, this one fucking hurts. Great song, very theatrical, captures the horror of the moment. But let's talk for a moment about Bruiser Brody, a man probably more responsible for

ah, this one fucking hurts. Great song, very theatrical, captures the horror of the moment. But let's talk for a moment about Bruiser Brody, a man probably more responsible for modern wrestling than any other performer. A wildman of the old school with a new school sensibility. The model for

Let's face it, if you were going to write a song about the breathless and shocked prose of the dirtsheets, it would probably be in the musical style of an

Let's face it, if you were going to write a song about the breathless and shocked prose of the dirtsheets, it would probably be in the musical style of an early to mid 20th century musical, one of the ones about rugged machinery and the burly men who operate it.

And here's the other half of yesterday. This is the turn to evil told in weakness and regret, and is an instructive lesson in evil, encapsulated by the line You

And here's the other half of yesterday. This is the turn to evil told in weakness and regret, and is an instructive lesson in evil, encapsulated by the line You found my breaking point... congratulations! A line with a shaking laugh in it. This isn't the breaking point of Choked

One of the joys of being a singer-songwriter is that it allows a creative soul to be their own commissioner, and that allows for occasional bouts of indulgence, such as

One of the joys of being a singer-songwriter is that it allows a creative soul to be their own commissioner, and that allows for occasional bouts of indulgence, such as writing a song about a subject, deciding that you prefer another approach to the same subject, and writing another song

As a rando on Yahoo Answers asked decades ago: Are you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go ape shitt And this is a song about going

As a rando on Yahoo Answers asked decades ago: Are you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go ape shitt And this is a song about going ape shitt. Which is different from turning heel (more on that over the next couple of days). Going apeshit is

Not sure I have much on this one. I'm kind of exhausted after a lot of week all at once. John says this one is an allegory for the birth

Not sure I have much on this one. I'm kind of exhausted after a lot of week all at once. John says this one is an allegory for the birth of his son. It's very nice and I'll take him at his word.

Sometime songs revel in silliness to hide or ease something bleak. Mountain Goats are masters of the upbeat song with downbeat lyrics. Sometimes, as in yesterday's song, they're there to

Sometime songs revel in silliness to hide or ease something bleak. Mountain Goats are masters of the upbeat song with downbeat lyrics. Sometimes, as in yesterday's song, they're there to show that in times of darkness there is still light. The world might be bleak, but here is justice and

Quick content warning: the video for this song contains disgraced pro wrestler and abuser Joey Ryan. There's no nostalgia like bittersweet nostalgia, and John Darnielle is the source of some

Quick content warning: the video for this song contains disgraced pro wrestler and abuser Joey Ryan. There's no nostalgia like bittersweet nostalgia, and John Darnielle is the source of some of the most bitter and some of the most sweet. The surface level of this song is a delightful romp

OK, so we might be getting Extremely Into my Shit now. A Mountain Goats album not just about wrestling but about territories wrestling, and in particular a song about a

OK, so we might be getting Extremely Into my Shit now. A Mountain Goats album not just about wrestling but about territories wrestling, and in particular a song about a journeyman making towns. Exactly my combination of dirt, pathos, and soaring instrumentation, about a subject I deeply love. Pro wrestling

Another month gone, and a fine song to end it on. There's this thing about the title tracks on albums when they have them. They become (whether they mean to

Another month gone, and a fine song to end it on. There's this thing about the title tracks on albums when they have them. They become (whether they mean to or not) the overture of the album. Transcentental Youth the album is about growing up and growing past, and growing

Some mountain goats songs are contemplative, some are frozen in horror, some are reminiscences. Some are celebrations, and not everything being celebrated is something that is traditionally thought of as

Some mountain goats songs are contemplative, some are frozen in horror, some are reminiscences. Some are celebrations, and not everything being celebrated is something that is traditionally thought of as being good. This song is an exultation of the joys of ferality, which is a different thing to wildness. A

If ever there was a platonic ideal of a Mountain Goats song it's this one. There are others that I go to first, but this has everything you need from

If ever there was a platonic ideal of a Mountain Goats song it's this one. There are others that I go to first, but this has everything you need from a Mountain Goats song in its purest form. Absolutely flawless musicianship, a completely soaring vocal. Astonishingly clever lyrics. An absolute

Sometimes a song hits you from an unexpected direction. This one is a song about, basically, losing it, letting the emotions out in ways that feel evilm, trying to come

Sometimes a song hits you from an unexpected direction. This one is a song about, basically, losing it, letting the emotions out in ways that feel evilm, trying to come back together, not really managing it, but with only hald an hear on the lyrics it sounds like a song

This song is a bit of a time traveller. When I was listening to songs from We Shall All Be Healed, I kept waiting for this song as thematically it

This song is a bit of a time traveller. When I was listening to songs from We Shall All Be Healed, I kept waiting for this song as thematically it is such a song from that era. But actually it fits in just as well with these retrospective songs about

This isn't the album about loneliness, but this is very much a song about being alone in the sense of not wanting to subject other people to yourself. I've had

This isn't the album about loneliness, but this is very much a song about being alone in the sense of not wanting to subject other people to yourself. I've had that moment. When I first moved to Cambridge I was apart from my wife for several months, and I urgently

It's Sunday night, I'm tired, I've felt vaguely ill all weekend, and now I have to contend with one of the most enormous sounds Mountain Goats ever did. I first

It's Sunday night, I'm tired, I've felt vaguely ill all weekend, and now I have to contend with one of the most enormous sounds Mountain Goats ever did. I first heard this song 3 or 4 years ago and it's been a guiding force in my life since then. On

One of the hardest things in the world to fully accept, and one that's simultaneously deeply reassuring and deeply disturbing: we were always like this. And that's for a very

One of the hardest things in the world to fully accept, and one that's simultaneously deeply reassuring and deeply disturbing: we were always like this. And that's for a very broad definition of we and an only moderately broad definition of this. We like to think of people too far