Weekend Tunes: The Mountain Goats Made a Wrestling-Themed Album

The Mountain Goats made a pro wrestling album!
Photo Credit: Lissa Gotwals/courtesy of the band

The most surprising people can be wrestling fans sometimes. For example, I never knew Jon Stewart liked wrestling until a few months before he guest-hosted RAW. Along the same lines, indie rock stalwart the Mountain Goats didn't seem to me to be into the medium, and yet their most forthcoming album, Beat the Champ, is a concept album dedicated to professional wrestling. For those who are averse to paying for things, you can sample it for free via NPR's First Listen series.

I listened to the first track, "Southwestern Territory," which coincidentally was the first ever Mountain Goats song I ever heard. I didn't "get" it right away, but then again, I'm probably not the guy to ask about the Mountain Goats (that would be Amazin' Avenue podcast wiz Jeff Paternostro). So why would I highlight a band I don't listen to? Well, it's not every day someone makes a wrestling album. Kid Rock never made a wrestling album. Neither did Metallica or Lynyrd Skynyrd. But the Mountain Goats? Yeah, they made a wrestling album. So you should at least give it a spin.

In other Mountain Goats news, Tom Breihan wrote a feature about the lead singer John Darnielle going to his first wrestling show in 35 years, and surprise, surprise, it was a Chikara show. It's amazing how professional wrestling fandom finds you even after you've left it behind.