The band uses upbeat tunes to discuss heavy subject matter.
By: Mary Wilson, Opinions Editor
When I sat down to write this article, I didn’t know where to start. How do I begin to write about my all-time favorite band, the North Carolina based indie folk rock outfit known as the Mountain Goats?
This is my attempt.
The Mountain Goats (stylized the Mountain Goats) was formed in 1991 in California. Early recordings featured frontman John Darnielle singing into a boombox with just an acoustic guitar. The hiss of the tape recorder almost seemed like another band member. Through the years, Darneille has picked up a bass guitar player (Peter Hughes), a drummer (Jon Wurster) and a multi-instrumentalist (Matt Douglas).
To date, there are 17 full length studio albums, six cassette-only releases, more than two dozen EPs and singles, six collaborations and split releases, four compilation albums, and four released demos.
So yeah. There’s a lot of Mountain Goats songs.
Darnielle is well-known for his lyrics (there was an online petition to name Darnielle as Poet Laureate) , versatility and ability to weave intricate stories. He’s also a National Book Award nominated novelist, and a judge for this year’s contest.
Album concepts have covered a broad range of issues: to name a few, a dysfunctional alcoholic couple in Florida (2002’s Tallahassee), Darnielle’s childhood and adolescence with an abusive stepfather (2005’s The Sunset Tree), substance abuse and addiction (2006’s We Shall All Be Healed), an album with Bible verses as titles (2009’s The Life of the World to Come) professional wrestling (2015’s Beat The Champ) and goth culture (2017’s Goths)
So I’ve decided that each time my editor assigns me a story, I’ll take two songs from the Mountain Goats catalog and discuss them. Will anybody besides my editor read it? Maybe.
Album cover
© 2001 Emperor Jones.
“Fall of the Star High School Running Back” from 2001’s “All Hail West Texas”
I don’t know of many other songs that last less than two minutes and tell the story of–as the title suggests–fall of the star high school running back, complete with the star rushing for “an average of eight and third yards per carry” in his sophomore year (from what I understand, this is a football term, and it’s a big deal) then blowing his knee out at an out of town game in junior year, “nowhere to go but down, down down, nothing but the ground left for you to fall to.”
The song continues at its frantic pace, telling listeners that by July of that summer, the once-star football player had “figured out a way to make real money” and had “chrome spokes” on his Japanese bike. But, the song continues, “selling acid was a bad idea and selling it to a cop was a worse one.” It finishes, “the new law said that 17 year olds could do federal time and you were the first one, William Stanaforth Donahue, your grandfather rode the boat over from Ireland but you made a bad decision or two.”
That’s a lot of subject material to cover in not even one minute and fifty seconds, and Darnielle even includes the subject’s first, middle and last name. Despite the song’s rather depressing lyrics–a 17 year old with a bright, promising football future suffered a career-ending injury, started selling acid, then sold acid to a cop, eventually becoming the first 17 year old to do federal time–it sounds like a happy song. The guitar strumming is cheerful, and by the time the material is processed, the song’s over.
“The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” from 2001’s “All Hail West Texas”
This is another short song. It comes in at under two minutes and 40 seconds. It tells the story of–you guessed it–the best ever death metal band in Denton, Texas.”
Jeff and Cyrus, the members of the band, practiced twice a week in Jeff’s bedroom. They couldn’t decide on a name, but believed they were headed for “stage lights and learjets and fortune and fame” so they made “prominent use of a pentagram” and stenciled their “drumheads and guitars with their name.”
Darnielle then tells us that this was how Cyrus got “sent to the school where they told him he’d never be famous, and this is why Jeff, in the letters he’d send to his friend, helped develop a plan to get even.”
The song continues at an almost overwhelming rate, “When you punish a person for dreaming his dream, don’t expect him to thank or forgive you. The best ever death metal band out of Denton will in time both outpace and outlive you, Hail Satan. Hail Satan, tonight. Hail Satan. Hail, Hail.”
(Note for my mom and any other concerned family members that may be reading this: I am not a satanist.)
The guitar pattern sounds almost soothing, its predictability a stark contrast to the lyrics: two kids formed a band, then one of the kids was institutionalized. Punished for dreaming his dream. In my (non satanist) opinion, the song ends the way it does because Jeff and Cyrus have had all hope stripped from them, but still fight against all odds.
Next time, I’ll be discussing two more songs. Until then, give the Mountain Goats a listen.
