Heart in the air

During my time at Houghton I was introduced to the music of Will Oldham through Dan Kraviewz' (sorry I probably slaughtered your last name) subscription to the SubPop singles club and, subsequently, the Imaginary Cate O'Brien's CD collection (via Ben Gallman who was convinced that she did in fact Exist).
Following leads on Oldham rarities, I struck up a friendly correspondence with a young Dutch lad named Ruben. Ruben introduced me to The Mountain Goats.

In a recent interview for the Willamette Week Online, John Darnielle (who IS the Mountain Goats) exchanges haikus with his interviewer.
For example, examining the new song "magpie" ....
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Erik Friedlander pushes this short tune along with deft mandolin work while Darnielle warns, "The magpie will come at midday and you will go down on all fours."

Q. Preparing yourself
for an ominous ending
What is the magpie?

A. Only a traitor
undresses his metaphors
As if they were whores
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Unfortunately, I can't find a copy of this song online, but Amazon has four tracks from the new album that you can listen to here.