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Post by SMAP on Nov 3, 2012 16:48:38 GMT -5
6. Game Shows Touch Our Lives[/u]
I am not afraid to say that under the right circumstances this song has the power to make me and various others weep uncontrollably. That atmosphere is unbelievable. This is probably the most powerful guitar work on the album, the refraining guitar part is so incredibly somber and beautiful, I could almost picture it opening up a super sappy movie that has a surprising amount of depth underneath the slightly overly sentimental acting. And I guess I just made a bad metaphor now too, because that kind of describes this song as well. The song starts off normal enough, you figure this will be pretty similar to what the album has been so far (Tallahassee, First Few Desperate Hours, and Southwood Plantation Road) and all of a sudden BAM! John raises his voice to one of a weak and scared little boy who just fought his heart out, describing the "holding on to you with a desperate strength" It's just an emotional overload that is the first of many on this song, and throughout the album in general. And even though throughout the song John lays down some of his most witty lines, and uses some of his most beautifully emotional singing, you can hear that wonderful guitar part just churning out the same somber lick... over and over. And it works perfectly, especially with the slight piano, and the occasional cymbal roll that come bursting in. It's as if the world outside of the Alpha Couple's conflict will never change and will always be as disappointing and sorrowful, no matter what they try to do and no matter what they say. By the time John reaches the lyric about "carrying you up the stairs that night" he reaches an absolute peak in his voice. It's incredible and feels like you're soaring and just quickly crashing down again. At this point I don't even have words to describe this song anymore it's just beautiful... I think I'm going to just cut to the lyrics part.
Now the lyrics are also in their own little world. John just doesn't know when to quit. The way he disappointingly ends some of his lyrics like "And you smoking... like a chimney" And "Everything going to be okay soon, maybe tomorrow... maybe the next day" you feel just as crushed as he is. Up until this point on the album you don't necessarily find the Alpha Couple a wreck... just hopeful and going through a bad time. Then you reach this song and throughout the rest of the album you realize just how fucked up they really are, but how desperately they both want to be in love with each other again, even if they can't help but hate each other. The song is actually very romantic when you think about it... he's desperately trying to still love her no matter what, thinking of this like a game show, and that they have to win the prize of true love again eventually. Even though there's just no physical, real passion left. And they both know it deep down. But nothing will keep him from trying. And I really can't drop every little quotable and memorable little line that John sings into this song, like he does in every Mountain Goats song as nearly every line is one of thm, just listen to the song already if you haven't. It's mindblowing. Here's his absolute crowning achievement though...
" People say friends don't destroy one another
What do they know about friends?"
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Post by SMAP on Nov 4, 2012 20:08:23 GMT -5
5. First Few Desperate Hours[/u]
This just goes so perfectly after the opener Tallahassee. I don't know what it is, but by the end of the previous song you feel a little bit sleepy, in a good way of course, but the previous song was lengthy and tranquil and then you get probably the most upbeat song on the album right after it. The guitar just rips through right at the beginning already. In all honesty, this song is probably the hardest song to describe why I like it so much, but it's one of the few songs that clicked with me on the album from the beginning. The melody of the verses give me some kind of subtle melancholy feeling, even though that really isn't present in the lyrics. John gives this narrative and rolls with it. There's repetition abound in the lyrics, slight harmony with his backup band for every repeat, and it's just this subtle variation that puts the whole song into this tight groove. I love how the vocals just kind of trail behind the fast pace of the guitar and bass and instead go more mid tempo, with semi long breaks. I guess as much as I love it when John puts incredible meaning behind his songs, at times, I almost prefer his style of just giving you this fun singalong that is so much more easy going compared to what's to come on the album. I just love this song so much... I don't even know how to describe it. Perhaps it just gives you that little excited feeling for when you enter a new town or state or even country, like landing a plane almost. Up there in the sky you feel light and in the air, but you can feel the fast paced buzz of the cities below, and your anticipation builds as you land. There's just a little special something that blends well together in the sound to create such a work of art, it has so much personality to really stand out from all of the stuff that it comes prior to on the album. The bubbling bass, the light voice of John, and the frantic looseness of the guitar all add up into one beautiful concoction.
Now, the lyrics are also a bit of a laid back oddity on the album as well. this one does little to further the Alpha Couple's plot at all. It feels like they're just arriving now, seeing what life in Tallahassee is really like. And they seem ready and hopeful, despite the "bad luck from Tampa" These lyrics just get me all excited in some strange way. The repeated lyrics continue to stick in your mind, the all around ignorant peppiness works like a charm to get you into some kind of blissful comfort zone, before the whole album turns upside down on Southwood Plantation Road. And just all the little metaphors and descriptions John makes to his current life and setting are lovely. Sagging like withering flowers? Cloven hoof prints turning up in the garden? Hillside struggling to stand? These may sound depressing on paper, but even though John says them in such a melancholy way, they somehow sound like joys when put to this song. And I truly believe they're meant to be. The whole song is kind of a puzzle to me as to why I find it so joyful, because as I break it down, all the components should make these words depressing... but they aren't. It's as if he's trying to remind you of times you've entered somewhere subconsciously knowing it'll be a terrible experience, but you feel excited and happy anyway, completely ignorant to the upcoming danger. Love it.
"But they draw like flies
And there's a stomach-churning shift
In the way the land lies
And they lean like towers
On a hillside struggling to stand
Through these first few desperate hours"
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Post by SMAP on Nov 5, 2012 19:20:01 GMT -5
Was supposed to be finished by today because it's the album's tenth anniversary today, but things got in the way for a few days. But I guess I'll continue anyway.
4. No Children[/u]
Nope, as much as a classic as this is, I just couldn't bring myself to put it above the three songs left in this countdown. This is by far The Mountain Goats' biggest hit (partially due to it's incredible usage in Adult Swim cartoon Morel Oral) and with good reason. It's get the killer desperate hooky melody and harmony of "I HOPE YOU DIE" sung with an incredible amount of heart and soul, some of the most clever and quirky lyrics ever put to paper, with a surprisingly dark and emotional edge to them, as well as the amazing piano lick that drives the song through it's course. This song is just pure genius, put smack dab in the middle of the album, you really get the feeling that the whole album was building up to this point, and I really believe it is, although it's one hell of a ride to this point. The whole feel of the album turns at this point, prior to this it felt like despite all of the troubles, the Alpha Couple had a chance to stay in control of their emotions still, but in the heat of the moment, after a lot of drinking and arguing, they declare how much they want each other to die. It feels so foreign, the piano coming into prominence, which hadn't happened yet in the album, gives the feeling that something new has happened that provoked this fighting, something totally unexpected and out of the blue. I love this to bits. The desperation slowly builds at the beginning of each verse, with somewhat rational lyrics, but they all seem to end up with him shouting, confused and alone at heart about how he wishes to die. For HER to die. No, the both of them. It's a perfect combination of the angry and confused put to a ridiculously joyful piano and melody that ends up clashing in a funny, but touching and all too realistic way. I can't help but be somewhat scared of this song though in a way, John sounds like a complete madman here. Even if his reasoning is almost justifiable, I've never heard someone want so badly to suffer. Not even suicidal people that I've met, as many of them only really want a way to end pain, but John seriously just wants to suffer. Make her suffer too. He realizes now how much of jackasses they both are and feel a need to rectify any hope at being happy ever again, literally drinking themselves to death. Despite all of this though, Alpha Rat's Nest is still even more so morbid in my eyes, I feel a little more uneasy at the chant along chorus that No Children sets up, and the fact that many believe this is a blind love song is unbelievable. Yes, it is a love song, just in an incredibly twisted fucked up sense.
The lyrics are probably the peak of the album's songwriting here. John just takes his clever little quotes and runs with it. These lyrics are incredibly pessimistic, but done in such a lovable way that you can't really feel totally hurt singing them. It's like you hate anything remotely enjoyable, and all you want to do is find joy in the what does you wrong and hurts you deeply on the inside. It turns any sensible human logic totally upside down, and the thing is, I think we all, in at least some vague way have felt this way. Just gotten so curious about the wrong side of tracks and want to make yourself feel bad, period. As I said before, you could twist this and make it out as a really fucked up love song. He wants to damage their lives so badly that hating each other will be the least of their problems, and they will die together, whether it's homicide or binge drinking or just giving up in general. By the end you hear the lyrics describing how he wants her coming down with him hand in unlovable hand and I end up doing the cheesiest thing that I can't resist... I can't help but feel John's voice tell me to lock my hands together and I do just that. It's so powerful. Brilliant song.
"And I hope when you think of me years down the line
You can't find one good thing to say
And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You'd stay the hell out of my way
I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die"
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Post by Elysia Drake on Nov 5, 2012 23:19:38 GMT -5
no children heEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL YES
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Post by Takuto on Nov 7, 2012 0:00:20 GMT -5
no children heEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL YES |
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Post by Elysia Drake on Nov 7, 2012 0:28:41 GMT -5
no children heEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL YES |
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Post by SMAP on Nov 7, 2012 19:09:20 GMT -5
I love how this literally only gets attention when I mention No Children. SMH.
3. Alpha Rats Nest[/u]
This song... it took me so long to get this song. I could say that for number two on this list even more, but that's for another day. I always really liked the guitar and bass, but was surprised and even a little annoyed with how short and "anticlimactic" this closer seemed, especially after the insanity of Oceanographer's Choice. But after repeated listens it slowly started to click with me more and more... wow this is the catchiest song on the album, too bad there's no substance. Wait, no, there is, he's just going for a quick and rushed happy ending. What exactly are these lyrics about? Oh God wait... holy shit. The song just had dawned on me. This is a quickie of a song because the Alpha Couple are dead. They killed themselves burning down their own house. They did this because they knew they just experienced the last moment together that could be remotely pleasant ever again, and just wanted to amp up the suffering. The song practically is acoustic power pop, with a chant along ending where John is urging you to sing about all of the damages and wrongs in the world, you would never believe if it wasn't for the lyrics that this song is an ultimate downer. You probably would think it's about the beginning of spring or something, it sure sounds like that. I mean this is the peppiest sounding song on the album, it's a really fun head bopper, there's not a trace of sinister-esque meaning in the sound, which makes the realization of the song and it's meaning all the more jarring. John's voice has never sounded more joyful... all the Alpha Couple wants to do is die in the most miserable way possible. It makes my theory that Oceanographer's Choice is about them making up almost surely true... it has to be, I mean it's already alluded in that song's line of "the way the ceiling starts to swerve"
Hell, this is alluded to throughout the whole album. No Children declaring "I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away" International Small Arms Traffic Blues saying "There is a shortage in the blood supply, but there is no shortage of blood" and Old College Try stating "Things will shortly get completely out of hand, I can feel it in the rotten air tonight" it's amazing going through the little details in the album and seeing truly understanding the meaning of this song. It's like uncovering a mystery. Now that bass part... godamn that gets stuck in my head nearly twice a month I swear. The guitar part is just as good, but there's something so springy and bouncy about that bass, especially the way it hangs on for one second after it all ends, for some reason it reminds me of old low budget kid's VHS tapes ending, it has that same amount of naive innocence in it. Every word written in this is just appalling.... sucking the dying hours dry? Sing for the damage we've done and the worst things that we'll do? John why do you sound so twistedly happy? This utter insanity put on paper, I think I now know what it's like to be in a mental asylum thanks to this song, they really couldn't have put a more bittersweet ending and ironically romantic theme in this song, gotta call this perfect really.
"Some day we'll both wake up for good
I will try hard not to scream
The evening wind will shake the blinds
You're stirring from your slumber
We've got something hateful on our minds"
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Post by Takuto on Nov 8, 2012 22:11:13 GMT -5
SMH
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Post by SMAP on Nov 16, 2012 20:09:43 GMT -5
2. Have To Explode[/u]
This song is truly a masterpiece. Probably the most underrated song on the album, I rarely see anyone talk about it, yet it's so amazing. I'll admit, for a good long time I probably would've called this my least favorite on the album. Not because it's bad, but purely because it's so much more minimal slower paced. I mean sure, there's tons of those on the album, Tallahassee, Game Shows Touch Our Lives, International Small Arms Traffic Blues... but this one is just such a downer compared to those, I thought it was boring. I think I was absolutely crazy back then though, as on some days I could definitely call this my favorite on the album. I mean, with lyrics like these, I'd expect this from a band like Red House Painters or Joy Division, they are so unbelievably depressing, and just up the ante off of the prior song International Small Arms Traffic Blues, which is already pretty depressing as is. There's this small bumbling little distorted acoustic guitar in the back of the song that drives throughout the entirety of it that works wonders. It gives me this kind of feeling similar to a hangover, which I can definitely see being intentional given the song's subject matter.
I feel like this is probably the most subtle song on the album, I'm amazed at just the huge amount of emotion that some people could spend years just trying to convey that John writes into just 2 short verses. The monotone defeated voice of John just gives you the feeling that you are actually part of the Alpha Couple, lying on that tile floor, hopelessly wishing for just a tiny bit of emotion other than bitterness and resentment from your partner. There's the quick abrupt moments where the vocals break out into a wishful held tone... he raises his voice slightly, and these just give some of the most heartbreaking cries for help I've ever heard, specifically when realizes "the fuse will have to run out sometime" it's just absolutely gorgeous. This song also gives you this surprise during certain points, in the form of the perfectly used piano. The piano always comes at key emotional points to provide just a small note or two, but it's louder than the rest of the song and comes to the forefront of it the work. I have a feeling it's supposed to represent tears, as it's not too noticeable in the beginning, as if your eyes are just beginning to water, but by the time the singing is over, they come down in a gradual gentle stream, even louder than before. But they don't give off the feeling of taking a spotlight, they're perfectly natural and humble. The lyrics have this real defeated and broken atmosphere, at this point the quality of them is so good that you really just have to listen to the song, my words couldn't even begin to describe their greatness, or I'm just lazy.
OK OK that piano as tears metaphor probably is just because I start crying at that part, SO BEAUTIFUL
"Name one thing about us two anyone could love
We roll out the red carpet
When rotten luck comes down the road
Five four three two one
Watch for the flash"
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Post by SMAP on Nov 23, 2012 20:40:45 GMT -5
1. Old College Try[/u]
It's odd really, even though Tallahassee is my favorite Mountain Goats album, this would be the only one that would make it into my top 5 favorites for the band, but this could also very well be not just my favorite Mountain Goats song, but my favorite song period.
Just.... just listen to that organ. If John used that in every Mountain Goats song the rest of humanity would just give up on trying to make music. It's straight out of heaven and downright pleasing to the ear, throughout the whole song even while John is breaking down with every last drop of emotion in his voice, the organ just glistens and flows, never wavering, like an absolute tidal wave of the earth just going by while the Alpha Couple's life is being strained of every last drop of happiness. I mean, at first glance John may seem a little airy in this, as if he's not too into what he's saying, but when you really feel the lyrics, you realize that he's just tired. He's offering his wife one last chance. And in his own little sad and desperate view, he believes they're going to go the end together, and it will be alright no matter what. In his own head, he knows this will happen, but in reality now matter how much he convinces himself, they're going to end up hating each other, and either be stuck with that for the rest of their lives, or into one sad and bitter divorce. This is what leads to the last strike of passion in Oceanographer's Choice, and eventually the morbid finale of Alpha Rat's Nest.
John is not backing down though, you he emphasizes just how much he means what he's saying when he says that he WILL walk down to the end with you, and then he hesitates for a moment which always seems to catch me off guard, as if he's unsure of what he's about to say, and pleads, "if you will come all the way down with me" throughout the song you can hear the bright tap of the guitar accompanying that ever flowing organ, and it just seems to be highlighted right in that little pause John has. I can't even really begin with the lyrics, as the undying but ill-fated optimism applies to nearly every situation, putting so much effort in and getting little return, it's unbelievable how detailed yet perfectly subtle these lyrics are. And well that organ solo at the end... just perfect. Then again this whole song is, but that is the pinnacle of music. The way it glides away and haunts you in this welcoming but somehow frightening way is inhuman, I swear. Not to mention the insanely brilliant amount of wordplay in the lyrics, that my horrible and unorganized writing skills shouldn't even begin to explain, as all I would do is make it sound incredibly stupid. All I can say is, let the music do it justice. It all adds up into the perfect package in the end, and I can safely say this song is the one single song that has truly shaped me into who I am today. Man this write up isn't doing any justice, just listen to this, it is the human race's constant worries and emotions and irrationalness just all put into one nearly three minute package, just leaving you wanting nothing but more. Read these lyrics and tell me I'm wrong, I dare you.
"I want to say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet
Things will shortly get completely out of hand
I can feel it in the rotten air tonight
In the tips of my fingers
In the skin on my face
In the weak last gasp of the evening's dying light
In the way those eyes I've always loved illuminate this place
Like a trashcan fire in a prison cell
Like the searchlights in the parking lots of hell"
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