This may seem confusing to the more semantically inclined,but John Darnielle is the Mountain Goats.

One man, two hands,one guitar, one band (two bands if you count the Extra Glenns, John's side project with Franklin Bruno, ex-Nothing Painted Blue.) Sadly, that parenthetical statement will prove totally incomprehensible to non-indie rockers, but the Goats should not be the domain of cardiganed kool kids and suchlike - they should be acclaimed as the true natural wonder that they are. John's lyrics cut straight to the innards; there's no mistaking his simultaneously jovial and morose delivery; and about his frenetic, crazed guitar strumming, the more said the better. People who don't like the Mountain Goats are automatically put on my "don't-trust" list, and that list can have all sorts of catastrophical ramifications. So far, their best release is the astonishing "Nothing for Juice," but as far as I know, they've never put out a shitty record.

K. Thor Top Ten Pick Hits of Songs By The Mountain Goats That I Can't Stop Singing, Even Though People Threaten To Fuck My Shit Up:

"Young Caesar 2000"
"Going To Scotland"
"Hot Garden Stomp"
"Alabama Nova"
"Waving At You""
Going To Georgia"
"Ontario"
"I Corinthians 13:8-10"
"Going To Lebanon"
"Going to Queens"

There exists an astonishingly completist Mountain Goats website put up by some guy at Duke University. Sadly, if not oddly enough, this guy's other musical interests tend to run more toward Phish. Oh well, nobody's perfect, and this site, while a wee tad ugly, delivers the total goods; lyrics, chords, letters, set lists, weird secret information that I never knew, etc. Buy the records, and fall in love with falling in love again.