- Tallahassee (album)
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Tallahassee 
Studio album by the Mountain Goats Released November 5, 2002 Genre Folk rock Length 44:35 Label 4AD Producer Tony Doogan the Mountain Goats chronology All Hail West Texas
(2002)Tallahassee
(2002)We Shall All Be Healed
(2004)Tallahassee is an album by the Mountain Goats. It was the band's second new album to be released in 2002, and it marked quite a few changes. First of all, after releasing records (and cassettes) on small record labels such as Shrimper, Ajax, and Emperor Jones, Tallahassee was the first Mountain Goats album to be released on a widely-known independent label, the British alternative rock label 4AD. It was also the first Mountain Goats album to have an official single released, for the song "See America Right."
Most importantly, however, is that this is the first record on which the Mountain Goats is more or less an actual "band." Up to this point, most recordings under the Mountain Goats name have either been solo cassette recordings by leader John Darnielle or higher-quality recordings featuring Rachel Ware on bass. On Tallahassee, Darnielle is joined by two past collaborators, multi-instrumentalists Peter Hughes and Franklin Bruno. It was co-produced, recorded, and mixed by producer Tony Doogan at Tarbox Studios in Cassadaga, New York, assisted by Michael Ivins of The Flaming Lips.
Contents
The story
Tallahassee is completely devoted to two of Darnielle's recurring characters, a married couple constantly on the edge of divorce. They are known to fans as "the Alpha Couple" as all previous songs about them have titles beginning with the word "Alpha" (e.g. "Alpha Incipiens," "Alpha Desperation March"). The final song on the album is titled "Alpha Rats Nest" as a nod of sorts to the other songs.
In the songs on this album, the Alpha Couple move into a house on Southwood Plantation Road in Tallahassee, Florida. The house is falling apart, an obvious metaphor for their crumbling marriage. Sick of themselves and each other, they begin drinking themselves to death.
The album's liner notes, presumably written from the husband's point of view, add another dimension to the story, as does the album's promotional website, written by Darnielle and designed by his wife Lalitree.[1]
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[2]The Guardian 
[3]Pitchfork Media (6.7/10)[4] PopMatters (favorable)[5] Robert Christgau (A)[6] The music online magazine Pitchfork Media gave Tallahassee a 6.7 out of 10 when it first released [7] as well as putting it at at number 176 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[8]. The album also received positive reviews from websites such as PopMatters [9] and Dusted. [10]
Track listing
- "Tallahassee" – 4:42
- "First Few Desperate Hours" – 3:03
- "Southwood Plantation Road" – 2:45
- "Game Shows Touch Our Lives" – 3:48
- "The House That Dripped Blood" – 2:53
- "Idylls of the Kings" – 3:32
- "No Children" – 2:46
- "See America Right" – 1:54
- "Peacocks" – 3:44
- "International Small Arms Traffic Blues" – 2:50
- "Have to Explode" – 3:21
- "Old College Try" – 2:52
- "Oceanographer's Choice" – 4:08
- "Alpha Rats Nest" – 2:10
Personnel
- John Darnielle: guitar, vocal, bells, keys, xylophone, harmonica
- Peter Hughes: bass, guitar, harmony vocal, drums, keys, shaker
- Franklin Bruno: guitar on "See America Right," piano on "Have to Explode" and "No Children"
- Michael Ivins: tambourine on "Southwood Plantation Road"
References
- ^ Lalitree Darnielle. "Credits". http://www.4ad.com/tallahassee/credits.html. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ The Guardian review
- ^ Pitchfork Media review
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ Robert Christgau review
- ^ Pitchfork Staff. "Tallahassee". pitchfork media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5450-tallahassee/. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
- ^ Pitchfork staff (September 28, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200-151". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7706-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-200-151/3/. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ^ Dave Heaton. "Tallahassee". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/m/mountaingoats-tallahassee.shtml. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
- ^ Jason Voss. "Tallahassee". Dusted. http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/491. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
External links
Studio albums Zopilote Machine · Sweden · Nothing for Juice · Full Force Galesburg · The Coroner's Gambit · All Hail West Texas · Tallahassee · We Shall All Be Healed · The Sunset Tree · Get Lonely · Heretic Pride · The Life of the World to Come · All Eternals Deck
Cassette releases Taboo VI: The Homecoming · The Hound Chronicles · Transmissions to Horace · Hot Garden Stomp · Taking the Dative · Yam, the King of Crops
EPs & singles Songs for Petronius · Chile de Árbol · Beautiful Rat Sunset · Philyra · Orange Raja, Blood Royal · Songs for Peter Hughes · Songs About Fire · Nine Black Poppies · New Asian Cinema · Isopaniṣad Radio Hour · On Juhu Beach · Devil in the Shortwave · Jam Eater Blues · See America Right · Palmcorder Yajna · Letter from Belgium · Dilaudid EP · Babylon Springs EP · Satanic Messiah
Split albums Why You All So Thief? (with Simon Joyner) · Tropical Depression EP (with Furniture Huschle) · Bedside Recordings Vol. 1.2 (with John Vanderslice) · Black Pear Tree EP (with Kaki King) · Moon Colony Bloodbath (with John Vanderslice)
Compilation albums Unreleased Hail and Farewell, Gothenburg · Jack and Faye
Former members Franklin Bruno · Richard Colburn · Nora Danielson · Lalitree Darnielle · Alex Decarville · Maggie Doyle · Alastair Galbraith · Erik Friedlander · Christopher McGuire · Scott Solter · John Vanderslice · Rachel Ware
Related articles Discography
Categories:- 2002 albums
- The Mountain Goats albums
- Culture of Tallahassee, Florida
- 4AD albums
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