There is no shortage of blood
Mike Powell does his normal superlative job talking about the Mountain Goats, a band ("band"?) that I can't believe I've only known for less than a year. He really nails how important they are to those of us who have fallen:
Listen, I’m a Mountain Goats fan, and as a Mountain Goats fan, you have, I think, signed an abstract agreement with The Spirits by some manner of psychic bloodshed to not only accept John Darnielle’s pinpricks of clarity and revelation, but to bob in their wake, to tremble at their touch, to laugh at their insight, etc. It’s the difficult high you chase in the music—the second that shines... when you get down to it, the Mountain Goats are almost entirely about moments wherein some quality of the song—the performance, the recording, something—explodes its content into something less close-readable, something dependent on experience.
I've only actually heard two of the five moments he discusses, but I can tell Mike has nailed them all regardless.
Listen, I’m a Mountain Goats fan, and as a Mountain Goats fan, you have, I think, signed an abstract agreement with The Spirits by some manner of psychic bloodshed to not only accept John Darnielle’s pinpricks of clarity and revelation, but to bob in their wake, to tremble at their touch, to laugh at their insight, etc. It’s the difficult high you chase in the music—the second that shines... when you get down to it, the Mountain Goats are almost entirely about moments wherein some quality of the song—the performance, the recording, something—explodes its content into something less close-readable, something dependent on experience.
I've only actually heard two of the five moments he discusses, but I can tell Mike has nailed them all regardless.
He did a fine job with "Quito," didn't he?
Posted by
Alfred Soto |
10:41 AM
He did, although I might even prefer the bit on "International Small Arms Traffic Blues."
Posted by
Ian |
11:13 AM