{"id":1673,"date":"2018-03-31T14:55:50","date_gmt":"2018-03-31T20:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673"},"modified":"2018-03-31T14:55:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-31T20:55:50","slug":"and-night-night-comes-to-texas-i-only-listen-to-i-only-listen-to-the-mountain-goats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAnd night, night comes to Texas\u201d: I Only Listen to I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Untitled\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/anterobot\/26271014137\/in\/dateposted\/\" data-flickr-embed=\"true\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/804\/26271014137_0afeba63b8.jpg\" alt=\"Untitled\" width=\"375\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Over the past several months, Joseph Finks <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/id1279366432\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats<\/em><\/a> podcast has been a particularly illuminating listen. Going song-by-song through the Mountain Goats\u2019s 2002 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/All-Hail-West-Texas-Remastered\/dp\/B00DYAVB9M\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>All Hail West Texas<\/em><\/a>, the podcast is an engaging convergence of fandom, analysis, and documentary-like insight. Co-hosted by the singular member of the Mountain Goats (at least at the time that <em>All Hail West Texas <\/em>was recorded), John Darnielle, each episode finds Darnielle and Fink reflecting on the writing of a single song on the album. Each episode also includes a cover of the song in question and a discussion with the musicians tackling the track.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you don\u2019t think you are a Mountain Goats fan, it\u2019s a unique look into a singular creative process as well as a handful of covers that grow more playful by the episode.\u00a0Julian Koster\u2019s surreal, instrumental homage to Jeff Davis County Blues is a personal favorite.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"42\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 42px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1622529175\/album=1063136394\/size=small\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n<p>Craig Finn\u2019s full band spin of \u201cFault Lines\u201d \u00a0and Amanda Palmer\u2019s anthemic take on \u201c\u201dThe Mess Inside\u201d accentuate the strength of Darnielle\u2019s original songwriting.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"42\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 42px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=3395835907\/album=1063136394\/size=small\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"42\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; height: 42px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=3198562905\/album=1063136394\/size=small\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The somber dusk of this first season approaches as the final track, \u201cAbsolute Lithops Effect\u201d will be released imminently.<\/p>\n<p>Individually, the components that make the 40ish minutes of each episode so compelling are nothing new. Interviews with artists, fans digging into theories and offering personal anecdotes about art, playful covers of songs\u2014these have existed long before podcasts (like Fink\u2019s other series <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.welcometonightvale.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Welcome to Night Vale<\/a>)<\/em> came into popularity. Other than <em>access<\/em> to work alongside John Darnielle, there is no magical alchemy pulling this show together. That being said, I think the distribution of this podcast highlights the blurred lines of consumption and production in this participatory moment.<\/p>\n<p>Listening to each episode is an invitation into how work is dreamt and produced. It\u2019s also a reminder that the intense connections we might each hold to work are also something we collectively share and that make us human. In this sense, <em>I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats<\/em> has been a healing podcast for me. Discussing \u201cJeff Davis County Blues,\u201d Fink describes how the song reminds him of his late father&#8211;a personal connection that Darnielle could never have envisioned as he penned the song more than 15 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>noise<\/em> of the news-related podcasts I exhaustingly consume in this moment of Trumpism feels unhealthy; Fink and Darnielle\u2019s podcast has been a respite from the loud and political world we continuously work to improve. Perhaps, as The Mountain Goats sing on the third track of <em>All Hail West Texas<\/em>, the humanity of compassionate creativity can \u201clet the silence that\u2019s our trademark make its presence felt.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Tell people this is awesome:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1673\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-1673\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-pinterest-1673\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span>Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span>Tumblr<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-reddit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-reddit sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=reddit\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Reddit\"><span>Reddit<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-1673\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span>Pocket<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past several months, Joseph Finks I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats podcast has been a particularly illuminating listen. Going song-by-song through the Mountain Goats\u2019s 2002 All Hail West Texas, the podcast is an engaging convergence of fandom, analysis, and documentary-like insight. Co-hosted by the singular member of the Mountain Goats (at least [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Tell people this is awesome:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1673\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-1673\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-pinterest-1673\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span>Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span>Tumblr<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-reddit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-reddit sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=reddit\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Reddit\"><span>Reddit<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-1673\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1673&amp;share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span>Pocket<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe04s-qZ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1673"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1675,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673\/revisions\/1675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}