reflective tape on our sweatpants, gaping holes in our shoes.

googling "death metal band" is funny.

So, I stayed up late watching Overnight last night, which had been recommended to me ages ago but I finally now just got around watching. It's basically the unmaking of Troy Duffy, who was more or less plucked from obscurity by Harvey "the Butcher" Weinstein and given a big fat deal to make a movie from his script only to have it turn to shit when he alienated everyone (including the Harv, his family, and bandmates - oh yes he had a band) with his brash, pompous behavior. It's a pretty good movie, though I think I learned more about The Weinstein's stranglehold on hollywood than anything else. Anyway, one of the shots in the movie that really tears a guy up is in the very end the band (who had been offered a huge contract as well, and sincerely saw themselves as being the Next Great Thing) is shown what they're doing after the demise of the band, and they're just miserable. The one guy is a carpenter, the drummer is bagging groceries... it's just a shame. I guess in the end the moral is don't be a loud, obnoxious dick (or hang out with them). Or at least stay on the bigwig's good side. At first it reminded me of the old Langston Hughes poem, and then I realized "fuck that, their dream came true, they just then ran the plane into the side of the mountain". so yeah, I'm not shedding many tears I guess.
Anyway, I woke up with The Mountain Goats in my head. A band that is really hit-or-miss with me, but have easily written some of the most powerful songs of the last 10 years. John Darnielle has a gift that isn't easy to overlook. He's got a great sense of timing and melody, and he's one of the few people capable of really making me believe in his characters. One of the only other bands I can think of that can currently do that to me is the Hold Steady, who I get to see tonight. This is not an original comparison, as proven by the great New Yorker article from over a year ago, but it's an apt ones. Anyway, I had 2 songs that I used to get me out of bed this morning and clear the misguided conceit of that Duffy movie. The first one might be my favorite Mountain Goats song, and while the original recording from We Shall Be Healed is probably better (John Vanderslice makes that guitar sound so...wide. It's like the strumming can knock you from your seat), I love this live version because it features Mr. Vernderslice on keyboards and other various doohickeys. Is that even a word? Apparently it is. Also, Darnielle changes the words around a pretty good deal, probably out of boredpom with the originals. I once heard him say he doesn't like playing this song very much-which didn't stop me from begging him to play it. he did.
The second song is from the same show, approx. 2 songs later. It's about 2 teenagers who form a death metal band and set out to destroy the world. Darnielle sings about them with a passion that you almost never hear. They are the young and hungry Troy Duffys, and you never know if they might actually win in the end. Plus, any song that has an entire venue of people chanting "Hail Satan" along with an accoustic guitar has to be pretty much worth listening to, right? right?

Palmcorder Yajna (live) - The Mountain Goats (direct link)

The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton (live) - The Mountain Goats (direct link)

Buy We Shall Be Healed and All Hail West Texas here and here, respectively. Or download the rest of the show here. Or travel back in time and see the show here, I don't care.

Anyway, I don't know if I'm gonna get a chance to post tomorrow since I won't get home tonight until very late, but we'll see. If you wanna see a million pictures of the Hold Steady live, check 'em out here.