The Mountain Goats “No Children” (Best of the Decade)

It probably says something about me that I have always enjoyed dark humor. BBC’s The Office, Larry David, Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen are all infinitely more funny to me than any slapstick humor could ever be. My tendency towards self deprecating, sarcastic humor directed me right to John Darnielle and his crushing work under the Mountain Goats moniker. While his subject matter is often very serious, he finds a way to get a smirk out of even the least humorous things in the world without ever resorting to posturing or going for the lowest common denominator. My favorite example is the song “No Children” from 2002’s Tallahassee. The track is pretty much a fuck you to just about everyone, with a specific focus on a lost love, and it doesn’t mask his anger or irritation in the slightest. A common refrain from the song includes Darnielle singing in his nasally voice “I hope you die, I hope we both die.” It is hard for anyone who has ever experience a nasty break up to not let a smile creep out when you hear Darnielle sing “And I hope when you think of me years down the line/You can’t find one good thing to say/And I hope that if I found the strength to walk out/You’d stay the hell out of my way.” If that line isn’t something gets you going, the Mountain Goats just aren’t for you. If you are like me, the Mountain Goats have been a consistent presence with each of their excellent LPs during the past decade, with Tallahassee barley squeaking out as my favorite from this really great artist.

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Also: The Mountain Goats “Ezekiel 7 and The Permanent Efficacy of Grace” Video