Sunday 8 January 2017

All The Colours of The Rainbow Blood My Face: Beat The Champ (2015) and Beautiful Violence
"Some things you will remember 
some things stay sweet forever"
-"Animal Mask"
If you know anything about the Mountain Goats, you know how unconventional their perspective on life is. The painful humour, paired with precision-oriented sound. I discovered the Mountain Goats through a friend introducing me via mix CD (with the unforgettable track "No Children".) He, and his friends and their persistent love for the Mountain Goats have encouraged my following of them as well. 

Beat The Champ is something really special. A story album that makes glamorous the act of professional wrestling. An album that manages to capture the rollicking violence, as well as a sordid sadness that peers into the mind of the wrestlers the band discusses. 

"The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" is an instantly memorable tune, one that includes funny and inspirational lines such as: "I hated all of Chavo's enemies / I would pray nightly for their death", and "I need justice in my life / here it comes." This song manages to infuse a sort of childish energy into the act of wrestling (something I have never been a devout fan of.) And there is an inevitable beauty to a song like this because, much like David Bowie's The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, the Mountain Goats assume their listeners are an avid fan-base already. It's a lot of fake it until you make it. Bowie pretended to be a star until he became one, while the Goats pretend to be wrestlers (and to assume that their audience will be engaged with such a narrative.) Thus, I personally feel as though I am a pseudo-wrestling fan for the purposes of this art. The art compels you to care about something you didn't know you wanted to care about. 

Beyond being funny, and musically catchy, Beat The Champ is so elegantly put together. From the eerie shriek of strings, to the bullet-fast drum rolls, the Goats show they are masters of atmosphere.   

These songs have grown to take up more and more of my time, as I think of lines like "everybody's got their limits / nobody's found mine" ("Choked Out"), and "I came to you / hands wrapped in adhesive tape" ("Animal Mask"). The lines stick in you like a "foreign object," as John Darnielle sings about repeatedly in "Foreign Object."

John Darnielle has said that some of the songs are "really more about death and difficult-to-navigate interior spaces than wrestling." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_the_Champ) Thus, Darnielle gives the listener a permission to interpret more beyond songs about wrestling - to immerse their own messy lives in this splendid shower (or perhaps blood bath is more accurate) of musical genius, in order to reconcile with their own particular feelings. 

The album manages to be so much simultaneously, while it appears a jazzy, emotional ballad such as in "Fire Editorial", it is also a riveting excitement-infused experience, such as in "Choked Out" (which makes a great pump-up song, if you like to imagine your responsibilities as enemies waiting to be taken down. 

"Werewolf Gimmick" is perhaps the happy/sombre medium between the jingly depression, and the jangly violence the album evokes, opening with the line "I was not there for rehearsal / I don't need it anymore." This song reflects a sort of over-saturated attitude toward the speaker's career. A laissez-faire approach to a sport that requires invigoration, and palpable sparking energy. Here, one can understand Darnielle's discussion of death, and non-wrestling subject matter, as he navigates his metaphor aptly, and seamlessly to reflect a dark, and enveloping gloom. 

The first half of the album is a relatively gleeful (albeit maniacal) look into professional wrestling - or life issues disguised as such, while the last half of the album is contemplative, delving into the menacing factors we as listeners were all too willing to adopt with Darnielle's persona before. This album turns the idea of grief on its head, as Darnielle sings of "colours of the rainbow" blooding his face - a sort of prism effect is available here, where grief is on one end, and the permutations of this exploration take form in wrestling comparisons, and swaying jazz ballads. This album is successful in creating an energetic confusion, that leaves the listener wanting to solve it as though it were a Rubik's cube. To decode the emotions is to psychoanalyze the entire human psyche - it's simply impossible. I encourage anyone to listen to Beat The Champ, and subsequently find themselves in an adventurous realm that dives deep into loss, such as in the line "I don't wanna die in here" ("Heel Turn 2"), and more meaty, and scary issues where Darnielle sings "If you can't beat 'em / Make 'em bleed like pigs" ("Foreign Object"). 

There's nothing quite like this album, just like there's no band quite like the Mountain Goats. And while the Goats are influenced by bands such as Mission of Burma, on this album, they are ultimately guided by a foreign weirdness that lies in wait for us to understand, and indulge in (as if they were some bizarre import liquor). I encourage you to drink the strange brew that is the Mountain Goats, and I hope you find their approach to life both strangely charming, and persistently memorable, and meaningful. 
- K. MacFarlane

  

16 comments:

  1. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERBAL PORTION I WAS COMPLETELY CURED FROM A TERRIBLE TINNITUS.
    How can I ever stop thanking Dr William for the great deed he have done for me, i got an accident when I was 27 years old, from that day on i started experience ringing ear (tinnitus) i have taken all the western drugs prescribe by various doctor but to no avail . my tinnitus was very loud in the afternoon and I sleep less at night because of this problem i stop my work, few days later i was going through the Internet and I saw a post of so many people testifying about Dr William herbal remedies on how they was being cure for over many years suffering from tinnitus the story Really motivated me that I have to speak with my husband about it, and he said i should give him a try, i contacted Dr William and explain all i have be facing in my life. He assured me that everything is going to be fine if only I can get his herbal portion, i said yes and I requested for it, few days later the herb was sent to me in Kuwait,i started using it as instructed by Dr William for me to take it for 21 Days which I did, can you imagine after talking Dr William herbal medicine for just two weeks i started experience results, it was like a miracle,and now i am permanently cure from this terrible tinnitus, i promise that am going to publish his herb on thing my last breath for the great deed he have done for me. For those with similar ear problem should please contact him on his email address drwilliams098675@gmail his a good man and am proud of him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks to Dr Williams I am so happy today, I have been suffering from tinnitus for the past 2 years now, and i have spent a lot on western drugs which has all proved abortive, i have tried all means in life to become tinnitus free , but there was no answer until i decided to try herbal solution and i found Dr Williams online and i contacted him and after I took his medication as instructed, i am now tinnitus free within those week of usage, i am so much happy, thanks to Dr Williams for helping me get my life back again without any form of crisis, i promise to tell your name and good deeds to the whole world,if you have tinnitus you can email him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for more information .

    ReplyDelete
  3. CURE TO TINNITUS WITHOUT SIDE EFFECT: I was diagnosed with tinnitus and ears watts. My tinnitus hurt so bad that I was usually in bed for about 8 hours and soreness killers (even prescription strength) don't stop the loudness (except to knock me out) even if I take triple the dosage. Every night that come to pass it always louder and louder and all the doctors would do is monitor it, prescribe me countless pain control pills and pain medication with no positive result. until recently I contacted a Doctor who put an end to this problem. If you are having problem with tinnitus or any ears problem contact Dr. William for advice and possible solution without any side effect (drwilliams098675@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just wanted to say a huge thank you to Dr Williams for everything he have done in my life. I have been in tears for so many years now, having found that am having tinnitus, lesion after some years of being under extreme stress., . I spent 24 hours freaking out and finally calmed down after reading some testimony on here about Dr Williams herbal medicine to tinnitus. The moment came and I mumbled out to my husband about Dr Williams product (with a few tears) and he was AMAZING – . He was just worried about me been free from the ringing in my ears , after taking Dr Williams medicine for just within a period of one month. We went to the doc together who confirmed that i was tinnitus free.
    Thank you again for being upfront, truthful and taking this pain away from me for more information about his product you can email him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com i hope you can also help other terrified people in a similar situation.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been in the tinnitus community for a while now and I have experience what you are going though with tinnitus , I do know people that have got
    tinnitus from having their implants done. Ringing in the ear after an implant can go away on its own, but that is BS of what the mouth and jaw specialist said. I have definitely seen and heard of a connection between tinnitus and teeth and mouth. There is a treatment for ringing ears and if you are
    interested you can contact Dr William herbal remedies that what I take that stop the ringing in my ear that was really driving me crazy, don't Lose hope .,I have found a solution for my fellow citizens . If you haven't I would suggest trying Dr William herbal supplement. Again, this is a thing that takes time and usually requires time and patience for it to work WITH no side effects. But I'm not hear to sell you the product, I'm only hear to tell you that it works, but it is a journey and can be difficult. I hope at this point it want away on it own. Good luck . his email address drwilliams098675@gmail.com for advice and for his product

    ReplyDelete
  6. DR WILLIAMS HERBAL CURE TO TINNITUS

    Appreciation is the key to doing more that is why I have took some time out to thank some one who cured me of my 4 years tinnitus problem. It became a major problem to me as it was affecting my life and I was no longer comfortable so I decided to look for a solution and I came across a post of Dr Williams and how he has been helping people of the same problem with his herbal remedies I contacted him and explain to him all I have been facing in my life. He told me how to get his product and how to taking it after every thing I find out that all was now okay with me and that my tinnitus problem was gone that is why I have come out today to say thank you to him and for any one suffering from tinnitus you can Contact him on drwilliams098765@gmail.com his a man that take good care of his children

    ReplyDelete
  7. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERBAL PORTION I WAS COMPLETELY CURED FROM A TERRIBLE TINNITUS.
    How can I ever stop thanking Dr William for the great deed he have done for me, i got an accident when I was 27 years old, from that day on i started experience ringing ear (tinnitus) i have taken all the western drugs prescribe by various doctor but to no avail my tinnitus was very loud in the afternoon and I sleep less at night because of this problem i stop my work, few days later i was going through the Internet and I saw a post of so many people testifying about Dr William herbal remedies on how they was being cure for over many years suffering from tinnitus the story Really motivated me that I have to speak with my husband about it, and he said i should give him a try, i contacted Dr William and explain all i have be facing in my life. He assured me that everything is going to be fine if only I can get his herbal portion, i said yes and I requested for it, few days later the herb was sent to me in Kuwait,i started using it as instructed by Dr William for me to take it for 21 Days which I did, can you imagine after talking Dr William herbal medicine for just two weeks i started experience results, it was like a miracle,and now i am permanently cure from this terrible tinnitus, i promise that am going to publish his herb on thing my last breath for the great deed he have done for me. For those with similar ear problem should please contact him on his email address drwilliams098675@gmail.com his a good man and am proud of him.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am sophie from Canada, I once suffered from a terrible and Chronic tinnitus ,in 2016, the doctor told me it has no permanent cure i was given medications to slow down its progress, i constantly felt my health was deteriorating as i constantly go out of breath,and this noise was really terrible especially when am sleeping, i have this constant ringing in my ears for about 8 months, this was really a terrible noise ,on thin one day that i was going through the internet,and i came across a post of Mrs Kate on how she was been cured from tinnitus through dr Williams herbal product, I contacted this herbal doctor via his email and explain everything to him and make purchase of his product,few days later he sent me the herbal medicine through courier service, when i received the herbal medicine i used it for 3 weeks as prescribed and i was totally cured of tinnitus within those week of usage,on thin now i have not hear anything ringing in my ears.if you need his help you can Contact this herbal doctor via his email drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help

    ReplyDelete
  9. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERBAL PORTION I WAS COMPLETELY CURED FROM A TERRIBLE TINNITUS.
    How can I ever stop thanking Dr William for the great deed he have done for me, i got an accident when I was 27 years old, from that day on i started experience ringing ear (tinnitus) i have taken all the western drugs prescribe by various doctor but to no avail my tinnitus was very loud in the afternoon and I sleep less at night because of this problem i stop my work, few days later i was going through the Internet and I saw a post of so many people testifying about Dr William herbal remedies on how they was being cure for over many years suffering from tinnitus the story Really motivated me that I have to speak with my husband about it, and he said i should give him a try, i contacted Dr William and explain all i have be facing in my life. He assured me that everything is going to be fine if only I can get his herbal portion, i said yes and I requested for it, few days later the herb was sent to me in Kuwait,i started using it as instructed by Dr William for me to take it for 21 Days which I did, can you imagine after talking Dr William herbal medicine for just two weeks i started experience results, it was like a miracle,and now i am permanently cure from this terrible tinnitus, i promise that am going to publish his herb on thing my last breath for the great deed he have done for me. For those with similar ear problem should please contact him on his email address drwilliams098675@gmail.com his a good man and am proud of him.

    ReplyDelete
  10. COMPLETE CURE TO TINNITUS: I had tinnitus in both ears for fifteen years with a high pitched two tone sound, the noises are constant and have learned to ignore the ringing. Later, another sound was added, a deep tone that has a sporadic rhythm, that mimics human speech. It varies from soft and muted, to painfully clear, and loud. Have try sound machines, ear plugs, my hearing aid, and medication all to no avail rather I have a difficult time sleeping. Lately I was directed to a Doctor called William on internet who provided solution to the problem. Do not be discourage, dr williams product is a permanent cure to Tinnitus. Contact him with this email (drwilliams098675@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks to Dr Williams I am so happy today, I have been suffering from tinnitus for the past 2 years now, and i have spent a lot on western drugs which has all proved abortive, i have tried all means in life to become tinnitus free , but there was no answer until i decided to try herbal solution and i found Dr Williams online and i contacted him and after I took his medication as instructed, i am now tinnitus free within those week of usage, i am so much happy, thanks to Dr Williams for helping me get my life back again without any form of crisis, i promise to tell your name and good deeds to the whole world,if you have tinnitus you can email him on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for more information .

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am Shelley from Los Angeles,California, I want to testify on how i got cured from tinnitus, I have suffered from ringing ears since the year 2011 with so mush pain,that i have to spend so mush money getting pain relief in the hospital, and I have visited several doctor ,but all to no avail, my world was gradually coming to an end because of the buzzing sound in my right ears, until i saw a post in a health forum about a herbal Dr Williams who use herbal portion in curing people from different kind of diseases including tinnitus, at first i doubted if it we be able to cure me, but i decided to give it a try, when i contacted this herbal doctor via his email, he prepared a herbal portion and sent it to me via courier service, when i received this herbal medicine, he gave me step by step instructions on how to apply it, when i applied it as instructed, i was completely free from tinnitus just for 1 months of usage,i we recommend this to all my friend family in the world today who still suffering from tinnitus you can contact him through his email on drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am sophie from Canada, I once suffered from a terrible and Chronic tinnitus ,in 2016, the doctor told me it has no permanent cure i was given medications to slow down its progress, i constantly felt my health was deteriorating as i constantly go out of breath,and this noise was really terrible especially when am sleeping, i have this constant ringing in my ears for about 8 months, this was really a terrible noise ,on thin one day that i was going through the internet,and i came across a post of Mrs Kate on how she was been cured from tinnitus through dr Williams herbal product, I contacted this herbal doctor via his email and explain everything to him and make purchase of his product,few days later he sent me the herbal medicine through courier service, when i received the herbal medicine i used it for 3 weeks as prescribed and i was totally cured of tinnitus within those week of usage,on thin now i have not hear anything ringing in my ears.if you need his help you can Contact this herbal doctor via his email drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help

    ReplyDelete
  14. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERBAL PORTION I WAS COMPLETELY CURED FROM A TERRIBLE TINNITUS.
    How can I ever stop thanking Dr William for the great deed he have done for me, i got an accident when I was 27 years old, from that day on i started experience ringing ear (tinnitus) i have taken all the western drugs prescribe by various doctor but to no avail my tinnitus was very loud in the afternoon and I sleep less at night because of this problem i stop my work, few days later i was going through the Internet and I saw a post of so many people testifying about Dr William herbal remedies on how they was being cure for over many years suffering from tinnitus the story Really motivated me that I have to speak with my husband about it, and he said i should give him a try, i contacted Dr William and explain all i have be facing in my life. He assured me that everything is going to be fine if only I can get his herbal portion, i said yes and I requested for it, few days later the herb was sent to me in Kuwait,i started using it as instructed by Dr William for me to take it for 21 Days which I did, can you imagine after talking Dr William herbal medicine for just two weeks i started experience results, it was like a miracle,and now i am permanently cure from this terrible tinnitus, i promise that am going to publish his herb on thing my last breath for the great deed he have done for me. For those with similar ear problem should please contact him on his email address drwilliams098675@gmail.com his a good man and am proud of him.

    ReplyDelete
  15. ALL THANKS TO DR WILLIAMS WITH HIS HERB I WAS CURED FROM A TERRIBLE TINNITUS.
    . Is my pleasure to comment on this site and i thank the admin of this site for his/her great work so far. I really don’t know how to thank DR WILLIAMS for helping me get cured for over 20 year of suffering from a terrible tinnitus, my tinnitus started when i was 28 year i thought is going to end one day but even get worse as days went by,i have tried all western drugs prescribed by doctors but to no avail i lost total concentration, even at night i screams even more because the sounds become louder because everywhere is quiet. i came across DR WILLIAMS contact through a headline news on internet about how DR WILLIAMS have help so many people to get cured of tinnitus and so many other with similar body problem ,i contacted him and he told me how to get his herb,few day later he sent me the herbal portion which i take every morning for 28 days, and his medicine was able to restore my hearing back to normal and now am very okay without any side effects whatsoever If you have Tinnitus, you can contact him on his email address drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am sophie from Canada, I once suffered from a terrible and Chronic tinnitus ,in 2016, the doctor told me it has no permanent cure i was given medications to slow down its progress, i constantly felt my health was deteriorating as i constantly go out of breath,and this noise was really terrible especially when am sleeping, i have this constant ringing in my ears for about 8 months, this was really a terrible noise ,on thin one day that i was going through the internet,and i came across a post of Mrs Kate on how she  was been cured from tinnitus through dr Williams herbal product, I contacted this herbal doctor via his email and explain everything to him and make purchase of his product,few days later he sent me the herbal medicine through courier service, when i received the herbal medicine i used it for 3 weeks as prescribed and i was totally cured of tinnitus within those week of usage,on thin now i have not hear anything ringing in my ears.if you need his help you can Contact this herbal doctor via his email drwilliams098675@gmail.com for help

    ReplyDelete