I have a very good friend who will never get over what happened with the Mountain Goats. This friend discovered the Mountain Goats when the Mountain Goats was just John Darnielle, slashing at an acoustic guitar and braying weirdly perfect two-minute poetic sentiments into boombox microphones. When the Mountain Goats became an actual band, one that would feature additional instruments and record in actual studios, he lost all interest. It wasn't for him anymore. (I don't think he even likes Tallahassee.) This guy knows that he is wrong, that the band has built this whole other catalog that goes way beyond what Darnielle was doing during that early embryonic period, that most of the people who love the Mountain Goats love them for other reasons than his. He doesn't care. He has his Mountain Goats, and everyone else has theirs. For the longest time, I thought my friend was nuts. And then Girlpool happened.