the extra glenns

208. Infidelity

Alex Russell Infidelity , , , ,

The first of a two part story about cheating, “Infidelity” focuses on short-term returns.

Track: “Infidelity”
Album: Infidelity (as The Extra Glenns) (1993)

“This is a song about when you’re just on the cusp of doing something terribly wrong… and it’s nice.” – John Darnielle

John Darnielle introduced “Infidelity” with the above quote in 2002 in San Francisco. He wrote a handful of songs that express this idea, but “Infidelity” the song on Infidelity the single is the prototype. The single was released in 1993 by Harriet Records, a now-defunct label that also released some albums for The Magnetic Fields. It’s an Extra Glenns record, but the distinction between the Glenns and the Mountain Goats doesn’t mean much thematically. It’s pure John Darnielle, especially the early years, as characters look out over nature and ponder their place in the world and the consequences of their actions.

“We watched the water // we looked right through it // and I let my hand rest a minute on your stomach // like there was nothing to it” is as physical as it gets in “Infidelity,” but the title of course suggests so much more. Franklin Bruno’s backing vocals add some serious melancholy to the song, which complicates the emotions further. These people are essentially in the same situation as the two in the much-later song “Alibi,” but we’re not supposed to be nearly as happy for these two.

The earliest live record of “Infidelity” I can find is from 1995 at The Empty Bottle in Chicago. John Darnielle says “this is, like, a true story” and follows the performance with “Adultery,” a much angrier song about the same couple. Cheating is wrong, we all agree, but John Darnielle presents a range of emotions without ever showing us the other impacted characters. We’re left to imagine what they know (and don’t know) and how this will resolve.

177. How I Left the Ministry

Alex Russell Undercard , , , , , , , ,

 

A series of romantic gestures from two unlikely characters complicates a quick look at a preacher’s infidelity.

Track: “How I Left the Ministry”
Album: Undercard (2010)

Franklin Bruno, John Darnielle’s partner in the offshoot band The Extra Lens, wrote “How I Left the Ministry.” I was shocked to learn that, but it makes sense because of how savage the result is. The only difference between the two seems to be that John Darnielle implies most of his darker results and Franklin Bruno is comfortable with more explicit language, but even that is me reaching. The two are clearly kindred spirits and that’s what makes their side band work.

“How I Left the Ministry” opens with a set of explosive tones that could be mistaken for “triumphant” if not for the first verse. Immediately, our narrator tells us that they’re in a major car accident and they’re with their neighbor’s wife. Undercard opens with a screaming, roaring song called “Adultery,” so we’re definitely in familiar territory, but it’s unique because of the title. The song never mentions it, but “How I Left the Ministry” is a much more powerful title after you know what happens to our narrator.

At 102 seconds, “How I Left the Ministry” is over in a flash. It’s one car accident and several reflective lines and then it’s gone. That makes it all the more impressive how many details are crammed into 12 lines. The person in the passenger seat traces a heart on the driver’s leg and we feel empathy. The power of a song like this (and spiritual, younger cousin “Alibi”) is in the ability to twist our expectations. This is a religious figure in the community and someone’s wife, so in the absence of other details we aren’t expected to want them to make it to the Days Inn. It’s never that simple in a Mountain Goats song, no matter which name they’re using.

066. Malevolent Seascape Y

Alex Russell Martial Arts Weekend , , , , , , , ,

 

Two characters examine how they feel about a third leaving their lives in “Malevolent Seascape Y.”

Track: “Malevolent Seascape Y”
Album: Martial Arts Weekend (2002)

The Extra Glenns and The Extra Lens are the same band: John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats and Franklin Bruno of Nothing Painted Blue. The duo has released two 12-track albums and while songs like “Malevolent Seascape Y” are technically not Mountain Goats songs, the entire idea of “the Mountain Goats” is really just any band that either has John Darnielle in it or only John Darnielle in it. There are common themes and some Extra Glenns/Lens songs show up in Goats shows, so it really is a distinction without a difference. If you want to tell me “Adultery” isn’t a Mountain Goats song (and possibly the Mountain Goats song) then that’s your hill to die on.

“Malevolent Seascape Y” comes from Martial Arts Weekend, which feels like a lighter-but-still-abrasive Goats record. The closing track features a metaphor in which love is compared to a dying hospital patient, so we’re definitely in familiar territory. In this song, two people watch a ship disappear over the horizon. The ship contains a third character that is connected to the duo, but the meaning of “Seascape” is left vague. The characters are almost wistful about the situation, but we don’t really know what it all means for them.

The narrator thinks to themselves “I guess this makes it all easier // I guess it’s smooth sailing now” but they close with “I guess it never really mattered anyhow.” The only clue in the song comes up when one character gives the narrator a seashell and asks them to listen to it. The narrator hears nothing and says “I knew the three of us meant less than nothing.” Darnielle suggests that big moments don’t always come with explanations. Not all departures have lessons. Sometimes people just leave.