The Mountain Goats Take Aim at the Fame Game on New Song ‘Get Famous’

The Mountain Goats have dropped another new song, “Get Famous,” from their upcoming album, Getting Into Knives, out October 23rd via Merge.

“Get Famous” is a vintage bit of soulful rock & roll befitting the studio where the Mountain Goats recorded it: the legendary Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, Tennessee, which Sun Records founder Sam Phillips built when the original Sun Studio was no longer big enough to handle the demand. The track boasts a snappy groove bolstered by rich horns and a bubbling organ, as frontman John Darnielle sings, “Light up the sky like a comet/Make yourself want to vomit/Shine like a cursed star/Show everybody exactly who you are/Get famous!”

“If I told you all how much fun we had making this one you wouldn’t even believe me, but we hope it comes through,” Darnielle said of the song in a statement.

“Get Famous” marks the second offering from Getting Into Knives, following “As Many Candles as Possible.” The band recorded the LP over a single week with an array of Memphis musicians and Matt Ross-Spang producing (Ross-Spang previously served as the engineer on the Mountain Goats’ 2019 effort, In League With Dragons).

Getting Into Knives marks the Mountain Goats’ second project of 2020, following the impromptu Songs for Pierre Chuvin. Darnielle wrote and recorded that LP in 10 days, and released it with the aim of helping the Mountain Goats and their touring crew make up some of the income they lost when they were forced to cancel their touring plans due to Covid-19. Darnielle notably made Songs for Pierre Chuvin using the same Panasonic RX-FT500 boombox he used to make the first Mountain Goats recordings nearly 20 years ago.