Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

While "This Year" generally gets the most accolades of the songs on The Mountain Goat's arguably most signifcant song cycle, The Sunset Tree , due to its catchy chorus and relatable message, my favorite track on the album is undoubtedly "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod," although its nearly impossible to pick a song from this stellar set of doubtful, autobiographical uncertainties. The album fits into what I consider John Darnielle's greatest period, the albums that added more instrumentation starting with Tallahassee and stretching to Heretic Pride . Of course, there are also cases to be made for Darnielle's earlier boom box tape recordings. After that, I drifted away from their catalog and am hoping to revisit the later albums more extensively.  I could probably write about most of Darnielle's songs, but "Tetrapod" connects more closely to my life than many of the others because of its relationship to music, growth, and fear. The pain o...

The Mountain Goats have long been critical darlings, but, more recently, they have found a wider fan base. Always consisting of John Darnielle, and in the last number of years, Peter Hughes and Jon Wurster (Also of Superchunk, Bob Mould's backing band, and the Dead Milkman song, Stuart), they put on a rocking show and turn out album after album of literary indie rock. Since 2002, particularly with the release of Tallahassee and the start of their tenure at 4AD , their output has been far more polished and now consists of more instrumentation. Darnielle's early recordings were recorded on his Panasonic RX-FT500 boombox and are very raw and immediate,  often just nasally vocals and acoustic guitar. Once in awhile keyboards or backing vocals pop up. Albums like Sweden and Coroner's Gambit primarily rely on Darnielle's impassioned delivery and clever lyrics. On All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee , the sixth and seventh albums, Darnielle started exploring album leng...

20. Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth (Merge) John Darnielle needs little introduction. He consistently writes and releases literary, life-affirming records that show up on yearly best-of lists. Since he started recording with a full band, Darnielle has crafted works of quiet beauty with an attention to more intricate instrumentation. Yet something has been missing since 2006's Get Lonely , and I found myself listening less. Darnielle's story-telling seemed to be stuck in a rut; his songs became samey and trite. Maybe I had listened for too many years and I needed a break. Transcendental Youth changes that; Darnielle seems to be back on the right path. He is less concerned with song cycles and instruments, and more focused on crafting lovely, literate songs. 19. Justin Townes Earle - Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now (Bloodshot) While not as strong as the last two, Earle's new record is still excellent. There is never a truly bum...