B-Side Worship: The Mountain Goats - "New Chevrolet in Flames"

The Mountain Goats – “New Chevrolet in Flames”
"See America Right" Single, 4AD, 2002

Like clockwork, every new Mountain Goats record produces at least 2-6 b-sides, most of which any other band would use as a lead single on their latest album. John Darnielle is no mere mortal. Or wait, yes he is, that is part of his appeal. He’s the everyman who apparently never stops writing. Just a normal guy with a prolific streak that gives Bob Pollard a run for his money. I’ll be covering a lot of Mountain Goats tracks hroughout this feature promoting great B-Sides, but “New Chevrolet in Flames” from the Tallahassee sessions is not only my favorite MTN GTS B-Side, but my favorite B-Side of all time. It helps that Tallahassee is my favorite album and that the Mountain Goats are one of my favorite bands. It also has one of my favorite lyrics: “Oh would that you would kiss me/ With the kisses of your mouth/ Because your mouth is sweeter than wine and has a more complicated history than the American South.” AND THIS TRACK WAS BURIED IN THE “SEE AMERICA RIGHT” SINGLE! This lovely tale of getting drunk on Colorado Bulldogs (effectively a White Russian with Coca-Cola added. After falling hard for this song, I spent a period of three months asking bartenders if they knew how to make one. Most didn’t, except one guy in Austin, who made me one of the most delicious cocktails I’ve ever had) and setting a car on fire is a masterpiece.