The vibes are different between “Heel Turn 1” and “Heel Turn 2” but either way, you watch a transformation.

Track: “Heel Turn 1”
Album: Unreleased

You can hear the story behind “Heel Turn 1,” sorta, at this show in Alabama in 2018. You can then hear John Darnielle read the description of the song straight off of the Mountain Goats Wiki, which is a little surreal, as he looks up the lyrics. I’m on the record as finding these moments charming and this one is no exception. This is the 588th post on this site alone and we aren’t even talking about some of the more secret tracks, so you’ve gotta cut him some slack for not immediately remembering an obscure song that he purposefully did not release. I certainly don’t know every word, either. I love these moments.

“Heel Turn 2” is the much more brutal sequel that serves as the centerpiece for Beat the Champ. The former version is jangly and fun, in that way that a song about making someone beg for mercy can be fun through the stylings of John Darnielle and company. I have a buddy who loves the Goats almost as much as I do and he calls this one one of his all-time favorites.

Through “Heel Turn 1” we see a hero become a villain and, beyond that, we see their justification. The other one hit me first, they say, and it spirals from there. “Always help old ladies cross the street” is a cliché, but that’s the point. We need broad strokes in wrestling. We need to know, from the back of the auditorium (or gym, or VFW, or what have you) that this is the hero. Then we need to see them flip.