For me, very few songs have the power to summon the visceral sensation of my early-seventies childhood like “Summer,” the languid, Latin-tinged single released in June 1976 by War, a band then at the end of an exceptional run of singles. Somehow the tempo, abetted by scraped percussion and lyrical references to C.B. radios and […]
The Mountain Goats
Posted inMusic
The Mountain Goats, Loamlands Team Up for FU HB 2 Benefit
Local benefits raising money to fight HB 2 continue to pop up, and there’s a great new one on deck in Durham. Next Thursday, May 12, John Darnielle will perform a solo set as the Mountain Goats at The Pinhook for a show titled “FU HB 2.” Loamlands, the excellent folk rock outfit of Pinhook […]
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On the ropes with the Champ: John Darnielle on parenthood, wrestling and The Pinhook
Some 30 months have passed since Durham’s the Mountain Goats released Transcendental Youth in late 2012. That marks the longest stretch between albums since John Darnielle started recording on a Panasonic boom box in the early ’90s. Granted, there was Wolf in White Van, Darnielle’s debut novel that hit No. 9 on The New York […]
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The Mountain Goats’ Beat the Champ
The Mountain Goats broke the Merge Records website. In late January, the Durham label announced it would soon be releasing its third album by the longtime outlet of singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Though Darnielle has been incredibly prolific during his quarter-century career, this new music, collectively titled Beat the Champ, would mark his first musical release […]
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NARAL Pro-Choice NC’s Rock for Roe returns with MC Taylor and Friends
Last week, The Pinhook announced that NARAL Pro-Choice NC’s annual Rock for Roe benefit would return to the venue for the third consecutive year. While the past two benefits have featured special solo sets from the Mountain Goats, this year’s headliner is Hiss Golden Messenger’s Mike Taylor, billed as MC Taylor and Friends. The 2013 […]
Posted inCulture
Live review: John Darnielle on radio quiz show Ask Me Another in Durham
Ask Me Another with John Darnielle The Carolina Theatre Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. Fans of the NPR-syndicated Ask Me Another filled the Carolina Theatre on a chilly mid-November evening for a live taping of the radio quiz show, which normally calls WNYC home. Host Ophira Eisenberg, who called Durham “a chiller Brooklyn with barbecue,” […]
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John Darnielle discusses his harrowing first novel
John Darnielle Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m., $5 Motorco Music Hall 723 Rigsbee Ave., Durham 919-901-0875, motorcomusic.com Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m., free Quail Ridge Books & Music 3522 Wade Ave., Raleigh 919-828-1588, quailridgebooks.com John Darnielle crafts intensely emotional songs as The Mountain Goats. Now he’s crafted an intensely emotional first novel. Wolf in White Van follows […]
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Live: Longevity, liberty and Imperial Teen at Night 3 of Merge 25
Merge 25 Night 3: Hospitality, Imperial Teen, David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights, the Mountain Goats, Wye Oak, Destroyer Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro Friday, July 25, 2014 Sets get cut short at music festivals, especially at events such as Merge 25, where bands gather to celebrate something besides boosting their own signals. Acts accustomed to having […]
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Google Play premieres Merge mini-documentary, offers free downloads
July is the Month of Merge, as the label continues its yearlong windup in celebration of its 25th anniversary and a festival the end of the month. The latest of their promotions comes from Google Play which has a short documentary about Merge in addition to several tracks by label bands that Google Play users […]
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Video: Boys benefit Girls Rock at the Haw River Ballroom
Let’s hear it for the boys: On Friday night, a handful of local male musicians came together for a concert benefitting local nonprofit Girls Rock NC. The dudes delivered a solid night of music that, for the most part, paid tribute to the female musicians and other women in their lives who inspired them. The […]