I Only Listen to The Mountain Goats logo Photo: (Credit Rob Wilson)
For a long time The Mountain Goats were just a one man band; the singer and songwriter John Darnielle started recording songs at home in the Nineties then released them on cassette tape or 7 inch vinyl.
Now The Mountain Goats have other members, they record their albums in a proper studio, tour the world, and have built up a very loyal fanbase. Among them is the writer and podcaster Joseph Fink whose long-running audio series 'Welcome to Night Vale' imagines life in the very strange desert town of Night Vale, through news reports, announcements and ads on the local radio station.
Putting Fink and Darnielle- two quirky creators- together to mull over music, life, the creative process, and an old Mountain Goats' album song by song, doesn't exactly sound like a recipe for mainstream success. But their show 'I Only Listen To The Mountain Goats' has been called one of best podcasts of 2018, and has won over lots of listeners.
In the first season, fanboy Fink geeked out about the Mountain Goats' 2002 album 'All Hail West Texas' with Darnielle giving insights into how he wrote these songs, and his experiences along the way. And in many episodes a musical guest joins them to do a cover version of the song they've been talking about. You don't have to be a Mountain Goats fan to enjoy it, and the two have an honest, easy rapport as they open up about life, and their work.
Season Two started recently and it was all recorded last year while Darnielle was still putting together The Mountain Goats' latest album, 'In League With Dragons'. So the pair riff about the whole process of releasing music into the world while this is actually happening.
We share some of an episode where they're joined by another podcaster, PJ Vogt, one of the hosts of the popular tech show, Reply All. 'I Only Listen To The Mountain Goats' is a production of Night Vale Presents with Merge Records. Hosted by Joseph Fink and John Darnielle, produced by Christy Gressman, edited by Grant Stewart, and mixed by Vincent Caccione.
