Once described by Rolling Stone as "rock's best storyteller", the Mountain
Goats' John Darnielle started out recording albums on a Panasonic boombox in the
early 1990s before becoming an established indie rock troubadour admired for his
DIY spirit and his endless tales of everyday American life. Raised in Southern
California, his parents' divorce led to a childhood plagued by drug addiction.
Getting his life back on track, he became a psychiatric nurse, formed the
Mountain Goats in 1991, and released his first cassette album, Taboo VI: The
Homecoming, in 1992. Named after a Screa...