New Music: The Mountain Goats: "Pinklon" / "Ethiopians" / "Red River Valley" / "Babylon Burning" (Daytrotter Session)
Mountain Goats fans by now know singer-songwriter John Darnielle not just as a painstakingly compelling lyricist, but also as a superb critic on his blog, Last Plane to Jakarta. The Durham, N.C. lo-fi hero delivers both music and commentary in his just-posted DayTrotter session, performing four previously unreleased songs and typing a paragraph to describe each. Selections include a "cowboy song" entitled "Red River Valley", a Tallahassee-style melodrama called "Ethiopians", and "Pinklon", about a boxer Darnielle ranks as "one of the best heavyweights of the 80s". The session also features a cover of the Wailers' "Babylon Burning", limited to 1,000 downloads. "White dudes with acoustic guitars are probably better off not attempting to cover reggae songs," Darnielle admits. He's a harsh critic.
MP3s:> The Mountain Goats: "Pinklon" / "Ethiopians" / "Red River Valley" / "Babylon Burning"