Scratch Arthur Digby Sellers off the "References to Use in Band Names" List
I recieved the above poster (click on it for a bigger image) for my birthday. It's pretty sweet, they're individually printed by hand by the guy who runs F2-Design, and he has several awesome designs for bands of varying decrees of fame. The Mountain Goats are a band that has forever endeared themselves to me, for the sole reason that John Darnielle wrote me back within like an hour and a half to politely decline my invitation to compose an original song for the National High Five Day soundtrack however many months ago. You know you've made the big time when you merely responding to someones email, even if to decline whatever offer/invitation/scheme they are proposing, makes their day.
When I opened the poster, I noticed the small text below the enormous "MOUNTAIN GOATS" that read "The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers." This seemed very familiar to me. I thought that it was maybe the name of a Mountain Goats EP, or his tour. It's the kind of name that you feel like you've heard a few years ago, when you were supposed to be paying attention in English class, or maybe some kind of buffoonish, aristocratic monocle wearing cartoon character. Both would seem to be likely Mountain Goats references. Fortunately, my neighbor, (who minutes later collapsed into the bushes on my patio), was able to identify Arthur Digby Sellers as a minor (ie comatose) character in The Big Lebowski. Husband of Pilar, father of Larry, ADS was confined to an iron lung and did not speak in one of the post popular cult classics of all time, thus cementing his fate to 100% absolutely have a band named after him somewhere down the line. (Next up: Salacious Crumb)
And The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers are just that band. It's safe to say that since they are on my wall, and named the way that they are, that I was rooting for myself to like them. Fortunately, the autoplay song on their Myspace page, "Lisa", is the kind of low key, string-laden song that doesn't suck, and I think it has made me a fan. What does it remind me of? Several bands you've heard that decided to just be slightly wierder. No dumbing anything down, no "The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers will change your life" effect. In fact, all three of their streaming myspace songs sound completely different from each other. I say listen to "Lisa," and if you're intrigued, go to their official homepage where you can download one of their entire albums for free. It's called Psalterie, I just got it, and I'm gonna see what sticks with me from it. You might not be as inclined, since you don't have the band up on your wall. But then again, you haven't gotten any emails from the Mountain Goats lately either, have you?
The first song on the album is called On The Occasion Of A Departure. Download it.
