"The Legend of Chavo Guerrero"- The Mountain Goats

When you're a kid, you need distractions from all of the: boredom, bad romance and bad parenting that afflict you. Everything seems to loom much larger then, so if you don't have anything to cling to you can feel overwhelmed. That's the general conceit of "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero," a propulsive effort that's our first taste of the Mountain Goats' upcoming "wrestling album" Beat the Champ. In this case, the specter of John Darnielle's abusive stepfather returns to wreak all sorts of havoc. He lets a young Darnielle down every chance he gets and openly mocks his hero Chavo Guerrero, a member of the distinguished Guerrero wrestling family. The louder he screams the further Darnielle retreats into the blue light of a luchador broadcast. "Look high, it's my last hope, Chavo Guerrero coming off the top rope," Darnielle sweetly wavers during the chorus as his acoustic guitar and Jon Wurster's drums lock into place. As fake as wrestling is, there's a real joy to it that we all could use; regardless of age.

(Beat the Champ is the Mountain Goats' first album since 2012's stellar Transcendental Youth and it's out April 7 in North America, April 13 in Europe, and April 3 in Australia/New Zealand, through Merge. For an explanation of the album you can check out Darnielle's Tumblr. Finally, the band's announced a tour to promote Beat the Champ and you can find the dates after the jump.)

Mountain Goats Dates:

1/24-25: San Francisco, CA - Sketchfest
4/2 Nashville, TN: Mercy Lounge
4/3 Asheville, NC: The Grey Eagle
4/4 Savannah, GA: The Jinx
4/7 Chapel Hill, NC: The Cat’s Cradle
4/8 Washington, DC: 9:30 Club
4/9 New York, NY: Webster Hall
4/11-12 New York, NY: City Winery
4/13 Philadelphia, PA: Union Transfer
4/14 Boston, MA: House of Blues
4/16 Cincinnati, OH: Bogart’s
4/17 Detroit, MI: Majestic Theatre
4/18 Chicago, IL: Vic Theatre
4/19 Minneapolis, MN: Cedar Cultural Theatre
4/21 Louisville, KY: Headliners
4/22 Columbus, OH: Wexner Center
4/23 Chicago, IL: Mr. Small’s Theatre
5/8-10 Atlanta, GA: Shaky Knees Festival
5/26 Denver, CO: Gothic Theatre
5/27 Salt Lake City, UT: Urban Lounge
5/29 Seattle, WA: The Showbox
5/30 Portland, OR: Wonder Ballroom
6/1 San Francisco, CA: The Fillmore
6/3 Los Angeles, CA: Mayan Theater

Track Attack- "Old College Try" (The Mountain Goats)

"The warning signs have all been bright and garish," Mountain Goats singer John Darnielle recounts over woebegone organ and frayed acoustic guitar in Tallahassee cut "Old College Try". Considering the career Darnielle has carved out as the only steady member of the Mountain Goats, the line may as well describe his songs. "Dance Music"'s chipper guitar ditty barely concealed a tale of domestic violence. In "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature", assured drum pats couple with an identity crisis where the narrator "can't breathe." For all of its stir, 2012's "Harlem Roulette" still dealt with a once-great musician's withering death. When you use the word "garish" to describe the Mountain Goats' discography, it has little to do with color. Within their world of fallen stars, forgotten homes, and short-lived meetings the word is taken in the ugliest context. Songs that don't spit bile outright have it coursing through every inch of their veins.

And while it's worth debating, few songs in the group's fraught catalog deserve the term more than "Old College Try". Appearing on Tallahassee, a Cinéma vérité documentary of the fan-favorite Alpha Couple falling apart at the seams, "Old College Try" signals the final stitches being ripped out. To an optimistic ear though, that's not what's happening at all. Despite the minor organ figure, the pledge "I will walk down to the end with you, if you will come all the way down with me," reads like a vow from the holiest of marriages. A marriage that neither life nor death could ever possibly vanquish. But Darnielle himself is on record as saying in concert, “This is a song about two people who love each other very much, but accept their lot in life to torture each other to death.”

Besides such towering figures like life and death are rarely what sink a marriage. Instead it’s the "small things" we've been told a million times not to sweat. It's having one too many drinks and staying out late one too many nights. It's being caught casting a look in the wrong direction. Something as innocent as an impulse buy can snowball into a discussion on responsibility and budgeting. In some cases, a marriage's death knell is heard by "simply" falling out of love. Liking a person is hard enough, let alone loving them. More than any drink, that's the great obstruction to the Alpha Couple's marital bliss. Cooped up in a decaying house in an alien town, they only have each other to depend on. But they don't like each other anymore and when you feel nothing for another person, what motivates you to help them?

Their great answer to the $64,000 question is to see things out to the bitter end, not out of compassion but ugly competition. Leaving is admitting defeat and both are far too stubborn to say "you win." So they apologize "for stuff I haven't done yet," rather than work towards to avoiding tragedy. "Our love has never had a leg to stand on," the Alpha male recounts at another turn. Imbued with all this foresight, they refuse any sort of crutch. They'd rather languish. Neil Young's notion "it's better to burn out than fade away" is the farthest thing from either of their minds. If you slowly fade away, eventually you'll be forgotten. Time won't remember you or what you've done. And that's all either of them wants, to be forgotten. 

Thanksgiving Playlist

Whether it's family, friends, food, or football everyone has something to be thankful for not just today, but everyday. That said, it's easy to fill up on too much food, throw the remote down after the Cowboys give up another touchdown, or storm off after your relatives give you just a little too much lip. I for one am thankful for music, and whether your day be friendly or dysfunctional, I hope there's something in this playlist that whets your appetite more than another plate of mashed potatoes ever could.

Have a safe and happy holiday, and try not to injure yourself during the Black Friday madness tomorrow, all those discounted DVDs won't watch themselves.

"Mashed Potato Time"- Dee Dee Sharp

"And Your Bird Can Sing"- The Beatles

"Ham & Eggs"- A Tribe Called Quest

"Family Business"- Kanye West

"Thanksgiving"- Kendrick Lamar

"She Don't Use Jelly"- The Flaming Lips

"Harvest"- Neil Young

"Macy's Day Parade"- Green Day

"Food Fight"- Titus Andronicus

"Chicken and Meat"- Das Racist

"Lonesome Electric Turkey"- Frank Zappa

"Vegetables"- The Beach Boys

                                                         "Yams" ft. Triple C's- Rick Ross

"Nutmeg"- Ghostface Killah

"Meat is Murder"- The Smiths

"Chicken Grease"- D'Angelo

"Filipino Box Spring Hog"- Tom Waits

                                  

                                                 "Peach, Plum, Pear"- Joanna Newsom

                                  

                                                            "Pecan Pie"- Golden Smog
                                     



                                           "Yam the King of Crops"- The Mountain Goats