the last exit

my favorite things by the mountain goats
(live at the bottom of the hill 5/26/2004) 

champagne bubbled up through the neck of the bottle
and sweet sounds came out through the radio
it was john coltrane
goddammit, i love john coltrane

With the suspension of adolescence, I think about parts of early indie… where there’s an idolization of childhood… There’s this idea that there was a point in our childhood when we were in some way better than we are now and we should try to hang on to that. But at the same time I think people who listen to that stuff value their adult reading skills and value their ability to listen to a song on several levels at once. I think most indie rock is trying to impress multivalent listening. I think suspended adolescence is more of a cultural trope than an artistic indie-rock one.

linda blair was born innocent (live at bottom of the hill 6/23/05) by the mountain goats

(this entire show and many other bootlegs are available for free on the Mountain Goats official site, actually)

John introduces this track by saying:

This is a song, which is about those special times you share with the ones you love, when the ones you love have a quarter-pound of quality bathtub crank. And you give ‘em a holler on the phone and you say
“Oh it’s been so long” and they’ll say
“Yes, yes, where does the time go?” and you say
“I don’t know it’s funny that way isn’t it so I hear you have a quarter pound?”
“Oh yes, wherever did you hear? I just got it this weekend from Tino. “
“Oh, is Tino out of jail?”
“Oh, yes, oh he’s fine, he’s got a Jetstream. He’s doing very well.” 

against pollution by the mountain goats

“We Shall All Be Healed” is probably the most important Mountain Goats album to me, because it deals with the nature of addiction in the most sympathetic and compelling way I’ve ever seen. Addicts are addicts for life, and if you’ve ever felt what it’s like to truly love any kind of substance, you know that a simple detox doesn’t cure your love affair. 

Towards the end of the album, there’s this song, which, through the corruption of a Bible verse or two, says that we will ultimately transcend our flaws and addictions. 

when the last days come
we shall see visions
more vivid than sunsets
brighter than stars
we will recognize each other
and see ourselves for the first time
the way we really are 

golden boy by the mountain goats

*A word from St. John Darnielle. I think he might have been our only decent teacher.*

you must give to the March of Dimes
you must be on guard against wickedness at all times
and you will find that your efforts have brought you great joy
when your spirit is munching on that Golden Boy
because there are no Pan-Asian supermarkets down in hell
so you can’t buy Golden Boy peanuts there 

lovecraft in brooklyn (aesop rock remix) by the mountain goats

woke up afraid of my own shadow
like, genuinely afraid
headed for the pawn shop
to buy myself a switchblade 

girls like status by the hold steady

it was song number three on John’s last CD
“I’m going to make it through this year if it kills me”
and it almost killed me
and song number four on that first D4 
you want the scars but you don’t want the war
now that’s just hardcore
these kids are clever to the core