Corporate magazines still suck
I went to a Mountain Goats concert tonight, maybe my sixth or seventh (not doing a thing, promise), and as he has in the past, John Darnielle refused to perform anything anyone in the crowd asked for and instead played almost exclusively songs from his newest record. He does this on every tour, regardless of how good or bad his latest stuff is, and he does it defiantly, with some obvious contempt for the people who are yelling things out. "We have a setlist." He either implies this with his looks or says it straight out, with scorn and impatience. Tonight someone asked for "Golden Boy," which I think is from one of his first albums, and Darnielle said something about how in the afterlife that person would be able to hear "Golden Boy" all the time, but that right now we weren't there yet and there was no way he could hear it. Every year someone in the audience yells out for "Going to Georgia" and "No Children," and neither is ever, ever performed. Darnielle seems to take satisfaction in withholding these songs. Because they're fan favorites I guess? How could he justify this to himself?
One way is that he believes that if he didn''t play only his newest stuff, he'd be admitting that his old stuff was better. And I could see him not wanting to admit that.
Then again, shouldn't he force himself to? Like, wouldn't it be good if people who were past their prime could just own up to it and act accordingly? Do we not believe that a person could ever be past their prime? I feel like it's an American idea, maybe, that there's no such thing. You're supposed to always believe that you can do better than you're doing -- that you can't ever peak. Obviously that's not true though! People peak. People start getting worse at whatever it is they do. It's quite possible that John Darnielle will never write a song as good as "No Children" or "Going to Georgia" ever again.
This is explained, I think, by how we think about geniuses who died young. Because we want to believe that something big was lost when they died, we want to believe that their masterpiece or whatever was still in their future when they were taken from us. It is hard to admit, but it's quite possible that if Kurt Cobain had lived, he would have, at some point, become less relevant/good than he was the last time he made a record. Same with Tupac, Biggie, etc. Different but similar: Salinger's latest books, the ones about the Glass family he's been secretly writing or whatever, are maybe not as good as his first ones. John Lennon is a weird one, because his music had already gotten very bad by the time he died, and it seemed pretty likely that he would never be as good as he once had been. And so his death left a weird taste in people's mouths, I think. The same way Paul McCartney's survival does. Also Dylan's.
Anyway, Eminem's apaprently working on a new album, to be called-- according to a very extensive Wikipedia page-- "King Marshall." I think of this, from "Til I Collapse," 2003:
One other thing about the Mountain Goats show: every year everyone's sad that Darnielle doesn't play their favorite old songs, and everyone mostly just stands there patiently while he's indulging himself and playing the new album. Whenever he plays an old one though, the place comes alive, everyone sings along, etc. And every year, the songs that inspire this reaction grow more numerous. Which is to say, anything that came out before the most recent album is sure to make people happy -- the songs that we don't like this year will be the songs we love when we see them again on their next tour.
Everybody let's watch our heads.
One way is that he believes that if he didn''t play only his newest stuff, he'd be admitting that his old stuff was better. And I could see him not wanting to admit that.
Then again, shouldn't he force himself to? Like, wouldn't it be good if people who were past their prime could just own up to it and act accordingly? Do we not believe that a person could ever be past their prime? I feel like it's an American idea, maybe, that there's no such thing. You're supposed to always believe that you can do better than you're doing -- that you can't ever peak. Obviously that's not true though! People peak. People start getting worse at whatever it is they do. It's quite possible that John Darnielle will never write a song as good as "No Children" or "Going to Georgia" ever again.
This is explained, I think, by how we think about geniuses who died young. Because we want to believe that something big was lost when they died, we want to believe that their masterpiece or whatever was still in their future when they were taken from us. It is hard to admit, but it's quite possible that if Kurt Cobain had lived, he would have, at some point, become less relevant/good than he was the last time he made a record. Same with Tupac, Biggie, etc. Different but similar: Salinger's latest books, the ones about the Glass family he's been secretly writing or whatever, are maybe not as good as his first ones. John Lennon is a weird one, because his music had already gotten very bad by the time he died, and it seemed pretty likely that he would never be as good as he once had been. And so his death left a weird taste in people's mouths, I think. The same way Paul McCartney's survival does. Also Dylan's.
Anyway, Eminem's apaprently working on a new album, to be called-- according to a very extensive Wikipedia page-- "King Marshall." I think of this, from "Til I Collapse," 2003:
Till I collapse I’m spilling these raps long as you feel 'emAlso "Soldier," same year:
Till the day that I drop you'll never say that I'm not killing 'em
'Cause when I am not then Ima stop pinning 'em
And then I am not hip-hop, and I’m just not Eminem.
Listen to the sound of me spillin' my heart through this pen,I can't tell if I want "King Marshall" to happen, or if I'd rather it lived alongside "Chinese Democracy" and "Detox" in purgatory.
You motherfuckers know that I'll never be Marshall again
Full of controversy until I retire my jersey,
till the fire inside dies and expires at thirty
One other thing about the Mountain Goats show: every year everyone's sad that Darnielle doesn't play their favorite old songs, and everyone mostly just stands there patiently while he's indulging himself and playing the new album. Whenever he plays an old one though, the place comes alive, everyone sings along, etc. And every year, the songs that inspire this reaction grow more numerous. Which is to say, anything that came out before the most recent album is sure to make people happy -- the songs that we don't like this year will be the songs we love when we see them again on their next tour.
Everybody let's watch our heads.
Labels: the top feels so much better than the bottom so much better
posted by Leon at 5:41 PM
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