This month, we’ve been blessed with not just one but two extremely endearing, SFF-related internet moments. The first, of course, was Claudia Black’s thread about her encounter with a young James McAvoy.
The second is much shorter but no less magical: It turns out Wonder Woman—Lynda Carter—is a fan of the Mountain Goats, the prolific, literary, brilliant band led by writer (and SFF reader) John Darnielle.
We only know this fact because of TikTok.
Recently, the 2002 Mountain Goats song “No Children” has become so big on TikTok that Spotify streams of the song have surpassed those of the band’s arguably best-known tune, “This Year.” (Personally, I will always foolishly believe the band’s best-known tune is “Going to Georgia,” but that is because I am old, and also because people do very good covers of it.)
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Many things get TikTok famous, including books, but this is a particularly odd one. As Rebecca Jennings explained at Vox:
No, it’s weird that the Mountain Goats are TikTok famous because the Mountain Goats are perhaps the least likely candidates for “viral TikTok sensation” on the planet. The band, which formed 30 years ago (and, for long swaths, consisted of just one member) and originally recorded their music on DIY-style boomboxes, has released an astounding 20 albums. These albums seem relatively unconcerned with breakout singles or hits and more interested in shaping larger complex narratives about topics from Dungeons & Dragons to professional wrestling to child abuse.
It’s weird and it’s great, and no one is complaining, least of all Darnielle, who was funny and smart and generous when speaking to Variety about the unexpected explosion of a 20-year-old song about divorce.
Our childish dreams of how these things works have value. So when something like this happens in my life, well, that’s a dream come true. We did not tell people, “Check out ‘No Children,’ you’re gonna love it.” No. they took it and they ran with it, and it’s beautiful. If there was more stuff like that in the world, the world’s a better place. Not just for me, but for whoever, because there’s a million fun songs out there for people to find that people do not need to be told by the influencer factory which one to listen to.
What does this have to do with Wonder Woman (now also Asteria, pictured above)? Well, she, too, is delighted by a world in which the Mountain Goats go viral.
I like living in a world where songs by the @mountain_goats go viral. Good job, Internet.
— Lynda Carter (@RealLyndaCarter) October 26, 2021
Because Darnielle is active (and excellent) on Twitter, he saw this, and it got even better:
I am sorry to get all fannish but I watched the premiere episode of Wonder Woman the week it aired when I was a kid and was/remain a giant fan. An honor to know you dig our tunes.
— The Mountain Goats (@mountain_goats) October 26, 2021
The Mountain Goats going viral is great. Imagining Lynda Carter listening to “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” might be even better.
If you would like to start listening to the Mountain Goats but are overwhelmed by the number of records you might choose from, the AV Club is here to help. (They are correct; The Sunset Tree is a great place to start.) Darnielle has also written two novels, with a third, Devil House, due out in January.
