I did a lot of music criticism. I don't think much of it was any good. I think I wanted to show off a lot when I was younger. Now I just want people to enjoy the story. If it were possible to publish anonymously, that would be awesome. John Darnielle More Quotes by John Darnielle More Quotes From John Darnielle I'm not really a goal-oriented guy. I started doing the Mountain Goats just for the sheer hell of it. John Darnielle mountain guy goal I don't write my own publicity materials, I just read 'em and give 'em the OK. John Darnielle ems writing giving Gender relations are a sad story of men talking trash about women all over the world. John Darnielle stories talking men It makes me envious of anybody who can say truly that they don't care what anybody thinks of what they do, because I care a lot about the people who like my stuff. John Darnielle care people thinking I'm so disconnected from an indie-rock community that I am the hermit people used to guess I was. John Darnielle indie-rock rocks people I usually kind of can't wait until my records leak. Back in the day, you could give people tapes, but you can't do that anymore, because it would be available to everyone on the planet within an hour. John Darnielle waiting giving people When I was kid, they always used to tell me to keep notebooks. I look at my shelves now and it's just nothing but notebooks. And if I haven't gotten an idea but I have time to work, I'll pull one out and I bet there will be five or six sentences that will kick me off. John Darnielle notebook kids ideas While writing is a mystical process, it's also work. If you show up to work five days in a row, nobody's going to pat you on the back - everyone does that. Well, do that with your writing. Just show up. Be there for it. When you get an idea, write it down somewhere and then be a steward of that idea. John Darnielle doe writing ideas I am a person of high energy. That, and I sit down and I write when I get an idea - I put other things aside. John Darnielle energy writing ideas I know it's a cliché to say I write for myself, but I write for myself. John Darnielle knows writing As an artist, you always have to be growing. You don't just want to do what you already know people like. John Darnielle growing artist people There's this idea that there was a point in our childhood when we were in some way better than we are now and we should try to hang on to that. John Darnielle childhood trying ideas Literature is a mystical place for me. It's not dry. It's where miracles happen. John Darnielle dry miracle literature Human beings are selfish by nature. Everything that happens to a child, you immediately grab your own child and say, "I will never let that happen to you." John Darnielle selfish humans children Not everybody relates to pain, but if you can watch other people playacting it, you can absorb some of that vibe. It's like watching horror movies - you want to have the experience, but in a safe environment. John Darnielle safe-environment pain people In wrestling, people just throw each other around, possibly actually bleed, and are still friends in the locker room afterwards. But there's a real glee - a feeling goes up in the arena, especially on non-TV days. If it's just people in a room and somebody starts to bleed, that's very exciting. John Darnielle real wrestling people If you get into a fight and somebody punches you, you get two feelings. One: That really hurts. Two: That relief in the realness of, like, Wow, this is what it is. It's not an intellectual process. John Darnielle fighting hurt two If you're standing in the middle of a ring and you're playing the villain, and everyone is booing and throwing things at you, that's real. John Darnielle booing villain real Kayfabe is kind of a code. To break kayfabe is to let people know that the punch was not real and that the match was scripted. John Darnielle kind real people The fact that somebody's telling you a story about people who didn't exist doesn't make the experience of the story any less real in your heart and mind. John Darnielle real heart people
