"The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton" - The Mountain Goats
Another of my musical favorites, the Mountain Goats, will be appearing on the Colbert Report in about twenty minutes. Very excited.
John Darnielle is one of the great songwriters out there. I was thinking about how he compares to McMurty and in some respects they are similar. Both write about little people in fucked up situations with a great deal of frequency. Both are poets of the everyday. McMurtry's overall tone though is one of knowing sadness, leavened by flashes of humor. His deep, stark voice is anchored in melancholy and even when he rocks out he never seems to fully leave the sorrow behind. Darnielle, on the other hand, has a manic physicality and a slightly grating, limited, but effective voice. He plays the acoustic guitar primarily but does so with a punk energy that hasn't been seen since Gordon Gano debuted with the Violent Femmes all too long ago. Darnielle has crazy eyes and seems like a man possessed when in mid-song. He is also a raconteur on stage, given to lengthy and funny digressions -- McMurtry barely says a word.
My favorite line:
when you punish a person for dreaming his dream,
don't expect him to thank or forgive you.
Enjoy - time to watch.