11-08-19 | Songs for Listening | John Darnielle

John Darnielle, writer, composer, guitarist, and vocalist for the band the Mountain Goats picked tunes for Friday, November 8 at Songs for Listening.

Here's a brief note from John on his picks:
"I have been listening mainly to jazz & classical -- the Prokofiev is from a complete survey of the sonatas that I'm loving & comparing somewhat to a few versions I have by Yevgeny Kissin, and I'm going to get to Freddy Kempf's versions next, probably. (I always wait to visit the great big names on catalog -- starting with e.g. Ashkenazy always feels unimaginative, we know the greats will be great, why not cast the net around a little?) But I want my list to reflect where I'm actually at in one moment in time -- so, 3 of these (Prokofiev & Nightfell & Borknagar) are things I've listened to just today, and in the case of the Prokofiev & Borknagar, things I listened to yesterday, too; the Theon Cross is something I can revisit on any given day, it's so magical; and the Big Thief one is from one of the lead-pipe cinch albums of the year, a truly wonderful song."

John’s first novel, 'Wolf in White Van', was a NY Times bestseller, National Book Award nominee, and a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize for first fiction, and widely hailed as one of the best novels of the year. His subsequent novel, 'Universal Harvester', was amongst NPR and the Washington Post's best books of the year. In his acclaimed work with the Mountain Goats, John has put out 16 albums + numerous singles, cassettes, and side projects. He lives in Durham, NC, with his wife and sons.

'Wild Father's Heart' by Borknagar from 'True North'
'Piano Sonata No. 5 in C Major' by Prokofiev, performed by Anne-Marie McDermott
'Letting Go' by Theon Cross from 'Fyah'
'Not' by Big Thief
'(As Now) We Must Succumb' by Nightfell from 'A Sanity Deranged