5/29/25: example text
5/30/25: more example text
5/31/25: even more example text
i am starting this diary not with something i listened to recently, but rather with possibly my favorite album of all time: FULL FORCE GALESBURG by my favorite band THE MOUNTAIN GOATS. i won't waste too much time on background details since i just wanna get right into it.
the principle draw of the Mountain Goats in my eyes is JD's lyric writing, which was a tremendous guiding influence for me during a dark period in my life, both creatively and emotionally. his work in the 90's really puts this quality at the forefront. many if not all of these songs are presented raw with little musical variation beyond a guy in a small house in iowa singing over his acoustic guitar. in my eyes, this feels like the exact point where his early playful and divorce-obsessed style intersects with the deep introspection his music would grow into on albums like the Sunset Tree and Get Lonely. i would say the Coroner's Gambit is in a very similar camp, although i find its offerings less compelling and more scattered on the whole.
the couple on Full Force Galesburg embody a classic Mountain Goats trope: the two people who remain together against all signs that say they are horrible for one another. this is not as overt as it is on an album like Tallahassee or even in many of the early Alpha Couple songs, which is what makes it all the more appealing. JD is an expert at giving his listeners just enough of a glimpse at something with such precision that it captures your imagination. there is a profound negative space in almost all of his songs that you so desperately want filled, and that's what makes JD's lyricism so great.
as for favorite songs, Maize Stalk Drinking Blood is an incredible song about shame with a devastating chorus line. Snow Owl is too real for me sometimes; i swear to god JD found a time machine and wrote it about my life 30 years later. Down Here is kinda slept on which is a shame because its such an insane banger. JOHNSON JOHNSON IS MY NAME. both Evening in Stalingrad and Original Air-Blue Gown have this haunting dreamlike violin accompaniment that just washes right over me. the latter especially is one of the most tragic songs about grief i have ever heard. obviously Minnesota is wonderful too; it's exceptionally long, but it earns the extra runtime. the closing track It's All Here in Brownsville took a while to grow on me, but it's probably the song i most wanna dance to on the whole album. the only song i'm really iffy on is US Mill but even that's a B tier song honestly.
this is probably more words than i will afford any other album. other entries will probably be more along the lines of first impressions rather than essays like this. i just love this one so much i had to start with it. 10 out of 10 easy