The Mountain Goats

"The next Mountain Goats record will be about wrestling" - I am 100% on board with this.

"The next Mountain Goats record will be 50% jazzier" - uhhhhh

― Andrew Farrell, Friday, April 10, 2015 4:00 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Totally the reverse for me!

lots of that old black metal stuff gives me kind of a dick dale picking vibe

― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, April 13, 2015 12:01 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

... please, tell me more

― bernard snowy, Monday, April 13, 2015 1:16 PM (57 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Basics Of Black Metal
author: Morgal date: 04/23/2009 category: music styles
rating: 9.4 / votes: 34

black metal:

Hi readers! I wrote this article because I would like to help for beginners who already know the basic metal music techniques but want to learn the basics of black metal guitar playing. I playing black metal music for years and I have realized many things about this style of guitar playing. My lesson is about the 2nd generation of black metal (it's the 90s).I don't like the early black metal music (except Bathory by Quorthon). I think the early "black metal" music is rather heavy metal music with dark lyrics than black metal. The 2nd generation of black metal has begun with bands like Darkthrone, Mayhem, Burzum etc. To play in this style I recommend tune your guitar to standard tuning. The black metal guitar playing is mainly based on tremolo picking. It's very important technique. The most beginner guitar player cannot perform this correctly. In black metal you have to follow the blast drum beat with tremolo picking. The key to master this technique is: you have to do the up and down strokes ONLY with your wrist. Never use your arm, only the wrist moving. To play accurate with this technique, you have to stay your wrist somewhere. I tries many variations, but I think the best for me is when I play on the E-A-D string my wrist stay on the thinner strings ( G-H-E), when I play on the G-H-E strings my wrist stay on the thicker strings (E-A-D). Black metal songs' tempo is from 140bpm (Mayhem, Nargaroth, Gorgoroth) up to 200+bpm (Satyricon, Dark Funeral, Dimmu Borgir). First time practice with slower songs here comes two details of famous songs from Darkthrone and Mayhem.

dick dale (from guitar player):

Recorded by his band the Del-Tones in 1961, Dick Dale’s earliest signature instrumental “Let’s Go Trippin’” is widely considered the first surf-rock song. While it contained none of his soon-to-be trademark tremolo picking style (more on that in a minute), the song resonated with the California beach crowd and climbed the charts to #4 regionally....

tremolo picking (he even titled a song on 1994’s Unknown Territory after it) certainly lives up to its name. Dick Dale’s single most famous signature move has to be his semi-muted, trem-picked even glissandi up or down the low E string. To illustrate, try using Ex. 4a as either a one-bar pickup, or dropping it into the last bar of a song’s progression, which essentially creates the same effect. Next, Ex. 4b’s Terra Dicktyl intro riff comes on strong with non-tremmed, descending chromatic eighth-notes on beats one and three of each measure interspersed with trem-picked, open-E dotted quarters acting as pedal points.

the technique is pretty similiar obvious the musical vocabulary/sound very different but that always stuck out to me.

now this is different than everything that I was told from guitar mags during the trash metal era, black metal's tremelo picking is a distinct break from bands like Slayer who always made a big deal about using ONLY downstrokes...here the wiki entry on "downpicking"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downpicking

Downpicking, sometimes referred to as Downstroke picking, is the technique used by musicians that perform on plucked string instruments in which the plectrum, or pick, is moved in a downward motion, relative to the position of the instrument, against one or more of the strings to make them vibrate. If downstrokes are played without the addition of upstrokes (as in alternate picking), the tip of the pick never comes in contact with the strings during the time the hand is moving back up to repeat the downstroke.

....

Extremely fast eighth-note downstroke picking was used in the mid 70's and beyond by famous punk guitarist Johnny Ramone, who used the technique to play full live shows at fast tempos (usually around 180 to 200 bpm). This required extreme levels of stamina, but produced a very high-energy, aggressive sound. This extremely demanding, then-uncommon and somewhat innovative style contributed to Johnny Ramone's reputation as a legendary guitar player, and it influenced many now-famous rock guitarists. Downstroke picking has become a common technique in metal and thrash rhythm playing, notably exemplified by Metallica's James Hetfield, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, Slayer's Kerry King, and Anthrax's Scott Ian among others. The popular, easily recognized guitar work of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is almost entirely played using downstroked eighth-notes at a tempo of 212 BPM (about 7 downstrokes per second).

hey dow, rasslin' is not a sport.

I forget if this has been covered here, but the deluxe vinyl that sold out immediately at the label's site is available in some record stores. I picked up my copy today.

This is definitely more of a downstroking affair. I was really thinking about the drums though.

yeah I thought that's what you were driving at -- hence my confusion over UMS making the surfrock/blackmetal connection [via guitar-playing style that isn't on the song in question]

& really the most metal-feeling part of the song (to me) isn't the rockabillyish verses so much as the fist-pumping singalong chorus

sad face about missing tonight's show

^^^

Apologies if this was posted already, but if it was, I missed it:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/how-the-mountain-goats-john-darnielle-became-the-best-storyteller-in-rock-20150407?page=3

The Mountain GoatsVerified account
‏@mountain_goats

That @nyctaper show I just RT'd is one of the most fun shows we've ever played btw so grab it

RT

Anson Burtch
‏@aburtch

RT @nyctaper: @mountain_goats April 12, 2015 City Winery – http://www.nyctaper.com/2015/04/the-mountain-goats-april-12-2015-city-winery-flacmp3streaming/

awesome. made a spotify playlist if you want to quickly organize the setlist after you download.

the previous night was really fun too. my sister went and had a blast. there's a great cover in this set whose provenance I won't spoil here because the way JD announces it in the set is perfect.

http://www.nyctaper.com/2015/04/the-mountain-goats-april-11-2015-city-winery-flacmp3streaming/

thanks to 'animal mask' i now won't be able to watch tag team wrestling without crying about the tender beauty of it all

I really like this piece:

http://penguinrandomhouse.ca/hazlitt/blog/flamboyance-and-ruin-mountain-goats-beat-champ

Whelan's u say hmmmm

Mishearings that keep butting into my 'humming a song around the house' Part 23: "Climb the turnbuckle high / take two falls out of three / black up for local TV"

yeah, it's "take two falls out of tree"

not exactly mishearing but I am still unclear on the right way to read the line "black out for local TV" -- at first I took it as a reference to the 'TV blackouts' that sometimes affect NFL/NCAA/other (nationally-)televised American sports, but it seems unlikely that such a thing would apply under the circumstances? so then I wonder if "(pretend to) pass out in front of some cameras, for a local telecast" is actually the primary sense, & the other just a felicity of language.

Think I've seen that expression used re actors in Tarzan movies, even in Westerns, when director wanted them to look more savage, dangerous; can imagine it being a wrestling thing too, in some times & situations.

"Blacking up" is what I meant; thought of it when listening to song, though sounded like "black out" there.

the previous night was really fun too. my sister went and had a blast. there's a great cover in this set whose provenance I won't spoil here because the way JD announces it in the set is perfect.

http://www.nyctaper.com/2015/04/the-mountain-goats-april-11-2015-city-winery-flacmp3streaming/

― louie louie whoa baby imago (how's life), Friday, April 17, 2015 4:46 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_EMrL7D3SA

That's the one!

I also enjoyed the partial cover of "The Next Time I Fall In Love" (sadly, I wasn't at this, or any, MG show, I just listened online). JD had once mentioned how he tried to get Amy Grant to sing on The Life of the World to Come; as ideal as she would have been for *that* record, I really hope he keeps offering and I hope that one day she accepts.

darnielle interviewed by WWE! http://www.wwe.com/inside/mountain-goats-beat-the-champ-john-darnielle-27341240

I'm digging the phrase "believable love of evil", also this article makes me wonder how JD would fare as a broadcast commentator (for wrestling or other sport)

fwhoar

not exactly mishearing but I am still unclear on the right way to read the line "black out for local TV" -- at first I took it as a reference to the 'TV blackouts' that sometimes affect NFL/NCAA/other (nationally-)televised American sports, but it seems unlikely that such a thing would apply under the circumstances? so then I wonder if "(pretend to) pass out in front of some cameras, for a local telecast" is actually the primary sense, & the other just a felicity of language.

― bernard snowy, Friday, 24 April 2015 16:35 (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

idk about california specifically but territory era wrestling was well known to keep the good stuff off tv, so you would have to go to the event and tv used to be promo packages or squash matches (when the star would easily beat an unknown or weak opponent to look good). 2/3 fall matches would be a special attractions to go to the event for, and i don't think there are many filmed instances before the late 80s wwe tag team wrestling. also it wasn't often a more dangerous story would be done on tv, i.e. making someone black out, or idk blinding the junkyard dog or whatever. it all points towards it being a big money, beloved and experienced character. otoh yes also a great use of language and maybe i just think too much about wrestling.

im also v excited about Song For Sasha Banks.

Another fan: MST3K's Joel Hodgson:

https://twitter.com/joelghodgson/status/595587235724001280

Video for "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" starring the man himself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9YvDfiAXT8

Dude.

A hoy hoy, thanks for your thoughtful reply to my questions upthread; that makes a lot of sense now.

that video is great

The tearing up of the pictures of cats and grandmothers was the part I loved. A riff on a particular convention of wrestling, or just exaggerated cartoon badassery?

it's a schtick that wrestlers used to engage in a lot to show they were heels (sinead too tho i doubt she was aware of the connect).
dunno if this is still part of the modern kayfabe ritual

So good. My favourite bit is when he tears the picture of Frankenstein in half.

last person to do anything similar to good effect would be jericho ripping on his own fans signs i think. Its a really fun vid.

Great show last night:

http://www.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2015/06/03/mountain-goats-get-over-at-gamh

Lovely surprise to hear that voice at the end of Paper Towns. The lead character has a Mountain Goats poster in his bedroom.

heard "deianara crush" the other night for the first time in ages. god, when he says "that's something I'D RATHER NOT BE REMINDED OF," that will never not slay

John Green's a pretty big fan, has been posting a song a day for a while:

http://fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com/tagged/42-days-of-the-mountain-goats

I disagree -- that opening Medea sequence with the centaur is not insufferable.

http://www.vice.com/read/talking-with-john-darnielle-about-horror-his-novel-wolf-in-white-van-and-the-endless-possibilities-of-story

http://www.stereogum.com/1837622/the-mountain-goats-john-darnielle-rolling-stones-christopher-weingarten-made-a-noise-cassette/mp3s/

http://www.thatcutesite.com/uploads/2010/08/puppy_holds_ears.jpg

i like it

lol scott

Shouldn't that be a hipster puppy?

no WHO GIVES A SHIT jpeg on the cover, no credibility

this is good btw

https://twitter.com/congressedits/status/674244582486335493
The Mountain Goats Wikipedia article edited anonymously from US House of Representatives
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=694325421&oldid=691240032

i JUST changed my DN but be advised that "nice boys who make the good, rocking tunes" is available