folk rock

Record #973: The Mountain Goats – Beat the Champ (2015)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

It seems that I must continue to belabor the point that there are many, many, many blind spots in my musical perspective. I am constantly in a state of confessing my ignorance of well revered artists, drawing reactions of “what do you mean you’ve never listened to…” Usually, I remind them that I like, just got into the Cure.

The Mountain Goats is one of these bands. Despite however much I’ve heard their name thrown around by tastemakers I respect or listed alongside bands I love, I have looked at their substantial discography and passed on the massive excavation project ahead of me.

But, I’m also a massive wrestling fan. And so when my friend Josh brought the oft-heard refrain that I neeeed to listen to the Mountain Goats, he tied an extra juicy carrot to the end of that string: Beat the Champ, a folk rock album about pro wrestling. And while this sort of project could be played for humor—and there’s plenty of humor to be found—John Darnielle handles the subject with a reverence that only a true wrestling fan can muster.

Continue reading →

Record #915: Joe Baughman + the Righteous Few – Antichrist Complex (2022)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

I’ve spent much of my life trying to fight the idea that the “local” in “local bands” is a polite way of saying “bad.” After all, if they were any good, wouldn’t they have graduated from being local bands, right? We all know the universe unilaterally reward talent with notoriety to a proportional degree, right? Obviously, we know that’s absurd, but the idea persists.

One of my most frequent rebuttals to this prejudice is my friend Joe Baughman and his backing band, that is most recently called The Righteous Few. Their performances, whether in a theater or a basement, have been filled with the sort of ambitious, freewheeling quirkiness that brought acts like Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens to prominence. While there’s no real substitute for seeing this costume-clad beastly collective in person, Antichrist Complex is the closest they’ve ever put to tape, complete with horn and string sections, instrument changes, and lyrics just as manic as the unpredictable swirl of folk rock, funk, and gospel bursting out of the band.

Continue reading →

Record #849: Harry Chapin – Greatest Stories Live (1976)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

For most people, the career of Harry Chapin begins and ends with “Cat’s in the Cradle.” Some die-hards might also bring up “Six String Orchestra,” which was immortalized in a Muppet Show sketch, but Chapin’s place in the cultural consciousness doesn’t extend much past that.

But superfan that my father was, many of my earliest musical memories are centered around the folk singer. This album in particular would often stream out of the family stereo in our old house, my sister and I running and dancing and singing along. And while “30,000 Pounds of Bananas” carries the most specific memories (alongside “The Rock” from Portrait Gallery, which I remembered being on this disc), coming to Greatest Stories Live as an adult brings an appreciation for Chapin’s effortless storytelling that makes me realize my dad might have known what he was talking about.

Continue reading →

Record #790: Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks of God (2021)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

As I have mentioned many times before, I somehow went a decade and a half without hearing Manchester Orchestra, despite hearing their name constantly. I decided to change this last year and instantly became a fan.

And just in time too, because shortly after that point, they released The Million Masks of God, a dazzling technicolor spectacular that is as catchy, aggressive, lush, heavy, and emotive as anything they’ve ever released.

Continue reading →

Record #764: Dustin Kensrue – Carry the Fire (2015)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

The one thing that truly set Thrice apart from the throngs of other early-to-mid -00s post-hardcore bands was the ability of lead singer Dustin Kensrue to craft great choruses. Even at their moshiest, there was a pop sensibility that displayed a deep appreciation for blues, folk, and classic R&B that demanded singalong.

Even as they’ve expanded their sonic palette to incorporate elements of post rock, sludge metal, and electronica, his love of roots music has remained central. Beggars may be the only album in history to cite both Isis and Billie Holiday as influences.

With this in mind, longtime Thrice fans should find no surprises in his 2015 solo record Carry the Fire, a relatively subdued pop record that finds him embracing these elements without the need for hardcore catharsis.

Continue reading →

Record #714: James Taylor – Greatest Hits (1976)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

In the summer of 2006, I was between my freshman and sophomore years of college. With no job and few friends left in my home town, I spent most of the summer driving across Michigan, crashing in friends’ living rooms (or kitchen floor, in one instance), occasionally happening on open mic nights or jam sessions or campfires where the acoustic guitar in my backseat would be of use.

My vehicle in those days was a late 90s Chrysler Town & Country that I inherited from my mom when she upgraded. The once mighty stock sound system was now neutered, its CD player rendered useless. Driving between cities, finding strong (and listenable) radio stations proved impractical.

All I had was a tape deck, and a garage sale copy of James Taylor’s Greatest Hits on cassette. Such was my soundtrack for that summer, and many months in between (it may have stayed in the deck as long as two years).

And while I usually pass on Greatest Hits compilations, when I found this the other day, I had to take it—and not just for the memories.

Continue reading →

Record #681: Better Oblivion Community Center – Better Oblivion Community Center (2019)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Few songwriters are as prolific and profound as Conor Oberst. In fact, it was his album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning that first convinced me of the power of a songwriter and an acoustic guitar (and turned me from a punk rocker to a folk singer for a few years in college).

Outside of his work with Bright Eyes, though, nothing has grabbed me. Desaparecidos was a great punk band, but that’s never what I listen to him for. The one-off supergroup Monsters of Folk was a supreme disappointment (apart from “Dear God”). The Mystic Valley Band was pleasant enough, but failed to make much of an impression.

But then there’s Better Oblivion Community Center, his songwriting duo with the equally profound and prolific Phoebe Bridgers, which is his best work in almost a decade.

Continue reading →

Record #672: Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (1969)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Sometimes, life feels like a random intersection of others lives. In 1969, there was just over three and a half billion people on the planet. And somehow, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones found one another and formed one of the most important bands in the whole scope of pop music history.

And they released this record, which would become one of the most influential albums of all time.

Continue reading →

Record #675: Jars of Clay – Much Afraid (1997)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Let’s get one thing straight right out of the gate: I love this album. Wholly, completely, and without irony.

It’s not just a nostalgia thing either: despite Jars of Clay’s mainstream success in the mid 90s, I didn’t get into them until a decade later (when I stole all of my mom’s JoC CDs after graduating high school). Even after getting into more respectable music, I’ve always loved Jars of Clay. They’re not just good for a CCM band—they’re good period.

And even in the midst of a long and consistent career and in the shadow of a widely celebrated debut, I think their sophomore release, Much Afraid, has always been my favorite.

Continue reading →

Record #674: Jackson Browne – Saturate Before Using (1972)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Creating the perfect debut record is a difficult task. It needs to capture a compelling snapshot that introduces them to the world while also fitting their potential in the same frame. Debuts are often youthful, packed with the ambition of an artist with something to prove.

But on his own debut, Jackson Browne seems to skip all that, starting instead in the middle of a respectable career.

Continue reading →