The 50 Best Songs of 2009

As part of PopMatters’ 20th anniversary, we are revisiting classic features. Travel back in time a decade ago to 2009, when indie rock was in its full ascendency,and hear the songs that soundtracked the era.

                                      
Music
    
        The 60 Best Albums of 2009
    
PopMatters Staff

        20 Sep 2019
    
Music
    
        The Mountain Goats Get Fantastic(al) for 'In League with Dragons'
    
Justin Cober-Lake
Justin Cober-Lake

        24 Apr 2019
    
Music
    
        The Best Indie Rock of 2017
    
Christopher Thiessen
Dan Kok

        04 Dec 2017

Recent

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John Darnielle's 'Universal Harvester' Holds a Mystery Within a Mystery

Universal Harvester isn't what it looks like, but part of the fun and force come in finding out what it really, maybe is.

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The Mountain Goats Turn a Concert Into a Celebration of Survival

Sharing good times to help get through the bad with the Mountain Goats.

Interviews

Fact and Fiction: The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle on Wrestling and the Creative Process

The prolific songwriter and now acclaimed author John Darnielle tells PopMatters how he created his wrestling-themed album Beat the Champ, what he calls the Mountain Goats' "most musically interesting record by a country mile".

Books

Human Interaction Is Nailed Down in 'Wolf In White Van'

John Darnielle's debut novel is an exploration of self-reliance, pain, and acceptance. Isn't that enough?

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The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s: 80-61

In this next segment of PopMatters' look back on the music of the 2000s, we examine works by British electronic pioneers, Americana legends, and Armenian metal provocateurs.

Reviews

The Mountain Goats: 27 October 2012 - Chicago

The Mountain Goats end their Transcendental Youth tour on a triumphant note.

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Just Stay Alive: An Interview With John Darnielle of Mountain Goats

The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, named by several as one of the greatest contemporary songwriters, reveals what happens behind the scenes for the new release Transcendental Youth, among many other topics.

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Merge Is Streaming the Mountain Goats' 'Transcendental Youth'

The latest Mountain Goats album 'Transcendental Youth' drops next week and, as is becoming traditional with indie rock, it's streaming in full this week.

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The Mountain Goats: All Eternals Deck

The ever-prolific and always compelling John Darnielle returns with another batch of songs haunted in ways both literal and metaphorical.

Jer Fairall

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The Extra Lens: Undercard

Franklin Bruno proves himself an integral part of this collaboration with John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats.

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Various Artists: Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox

Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, Will Oldham, Stephin Merritt, the Mountain Goats, the late Jay Reatard, and dozens more pay tribute to one of the best songwriters no one has ever heard of -- and what a joy it is to listen to.

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Get Holy: An Interview With John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats

Upon the release of the Mountain Goats' latest album, the band's founder and songwriter talks about the literary influences on his prolific output and the biblical theme of his latest opus.

Jer Fairall

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The Best Albums of 2008: 40-31

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Into the Void: John Darnielle on Sabbath, Extreme Metal, and Indie Rock

Begrand dives into metal fandom with the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, who discusses the Mighty Riff, the uneasy relationship between indie and metal camps, and the life experiences behind his new book on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality.

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John Darnielle has always been excitable, but on Heretic Pride he busts at the seams, giving us a record as infectiously frantic as it is dark and brooding.

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Searching for John Darnielle

The details of the Mountain Goats leader's life remain surprisingly vague for a confessional singer-songwriter.

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The Mountain Goats: The Sunset Tree

John Darnielle tears into his past and paws through the bloody remains, creating a powerful set of songs from the viscera.

Peter Funk

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The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed

Mountain Goats have just added a further chapter in an ongoing saga of (micro) relationships examined against a backdrop of (macro) global concern, We Shall All Be Healed being the most explicit yet.

David Antrobus

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As part of PopMatters’ 20th anniversary, we are revisiting classic features. Travel back in time a decade ago to 2009, when indie rock was in its full ascendency,and hear the songs that soundtracked the era.

Universal Harvester isn't what it looks like, but part of the fun and force come in finding out what it really, maybe is.

Sharing good times to help get through the bad with the Mountain Goats.

The prolific songwriter and now acclaimed author John Darnielle tells PopMatters how he created his wrestling-themed album Beat the Champ, what he calls the Mountain Goats' "most musically interesting record by a country mile".

John Darnielle's debut novel is an exploration of self-reliance, pain, and acceptance. Isn't that enough?

In this next segment of PopMatters' look back on the music of the 2000s, we examine works by British electronic pioneers, Americana legends, and Armenian metal provocateurs.

The 2002 release All Hail West Texas marked a turning point for the Mountain Goats, as John Darnielle went from underground home recording cult hero to wider acclaim. With this week's reissue of All Hail West Texas, we review essential tracks from the Mountain Goats' back catalog.

The Mountain Goats end their Transcendental Youth tour on a triumphant note.

The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, named by several as one of the greatest contemporary songwriters, reveals what happens behind the scenes for the new release Transcendental Youth, among many other topics.

The latest Mountain Goats album 'Transcendental Youth' drops next week and, as is becoming traditional with indie rock, it's streaming in full this week.

The ever-prolific and always compelling John Darnielle returns with another batch of songs haunted in ways both literal and metaphorical.

Franklin Bruno proves himself an integral part of this collaboration with John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats.

Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, Will Oldham, Stephin Merritt, the Mountain Goats, the late Jay Reatard, and dozens more pay tribute to one of the best songwriters no one has ever heard of -- and what a joy it is to listen to.

Upon the release of the Mountain Goats' latest album, the band's founder and songwriter talks about the literary influences on his prolific output and the biblical theme of his latest opus.

Begrand dives into metal fandom with the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, who discusses the Mighty Riff, the uneasy relationship between indie and metal camps, and the life experiences behind his new book on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality.

John Darnielle has always been excitable, but on Heretic Pride he busts at the seams, giving us a record as infectiously frantic as it is dark and brooding.

The details of the Mountain Goats leader's life remain surprisingly vague for a confessional singer-songwriter.

Do goats get lonely? John Darnielle attempts to explain on the latest bucket drawn from his bottomless song well.

John Darnielle tears into his past and paws through the bloody remains, creating a powerful set of songs from the viscera.

Mountain Goats have just added a further chapter in an ongoing saga of (micro) relationships examined against a backdrop of (macro) global concern, We Shall All Be Healed being the most explicit yet.