Mountain Goat-astic!!

The Mountain Goats - "No Children"



The Mountain Goats - Lion's Teeth

About three years ago, I was at a party having this really profound conversaion with this Jewish girl about music, largely centered around her having phenomenal taste, and me wanting to wear her reproductive organs as a ski mask. About thirty seconds before Bystol decided to cockblock me BY DENYING THE HOLOCAUST, she mentioned the Mountain Goats, and how I should check them out. I made a mental note of this that eventually drifted into the crowded pasture where my other dormant ideas go to wander, and forgot until I read about Aesop Rock's upcoming Mountain Goats collaboration. This then lofted the idea into the stratosphere of things I need to actually follow up on (past due notices, poopy pants, burning toast, et cetera). Finally, I was able to digest it all, and it lived up to all of the swastika-cular hype that Bystol drove it to so many moons ago.

If a comparison was absolutely necessary, I'd say there's a little Elliot Smith, some Jeff Mangum, and more than a passing similarity to
every basement cassette recording Lou Barlow ever made. These are all good things, however, as are the hyper literate lyrics, the recent trend towards stringed accompaniment, and the fact that none of the songs mean anything. Except the album where they mean everything. And finally, he has an amazing blog, where he advocates, among other things, new recordings from Guns N Roses, ITunes alternating between fantastic and dogshit, and the year in metal. I'd call him a rennaissance man, but I fear that the connotations of that phrase have shifted in years past. Thus, I will call him, simply the man.