Now Here We Are Thirty Years Later

Richard O'Brien
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  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

A memoir in Mountain Goats songs, by Richard O'Brien. Each episode focuses on a year in my life from 1990 onwards through the lens of a song written or recorded that year by John Darnielle.

  1. Epilogue: ‘Arguing With the Ghost of Peter Laughner About His Coney Island Baby Review'

    2D AGO

    Epilogue: ‘Arguing With the Ghost of Peter Laughner About His Coney Island Baby Review'

    You will always have been here once. Today's epilogue episode is about commemoration, legacy, and staying warm inside the ripple. The song is John Darnielle's elegy for David Berman, 'Arguing With the Ghost of Peter Laughner About His Coney Island Baby Review.' Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/epilogue-arguing-with-the-ghost-of

    15 min
  2. 2020: ‘Getting Into Knives’

    2D AGO

    2020: ‘Getting Into Knives’

    Held to my vision all these days. Today's episode is about hateful instruments, careers in lo-fi, and things coming to an end. It's 2020 and the song is 'Getting Into Knives.' Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/2020-getting-into-knives

    21 min
  3. 2019: 'Up the Wolves' (Live, 2019-11-15)

    FEB 15

    2019: 'Up the Wolves' (Live, 2019-11-15)

    There's gonna come a day when you feel better. Today's episode is about a strong homemade edible, meeting the President of Ireland, and making the art you love your own. It's 2019 and the song is 'Up The Wolves,'  live at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, on 15th November 2019.  Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/2019-up-the-wolves-live-2019-11-15

    15 min
  4. 2018: 'Younger'

    FEB 10

    2018: 'Younger'

    Now I have everything I need. Today's episode is about self-reference, expanding ambition, and being further along in your own timeline. It's 2018 and the song is 'Younger.'  Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/2018-younger

    12 min
  5. 2017: 'Stench of the Unburied'

    JAN 9

    2017: 'Stench of the Unburied'

    It'll take twenty years for the toxins to flush. Today's episode is about looking back at a lost age, earnestness and foolishness, and things which dim and flicker but won't stay dead. It's 2017 and the song is 'Stench of the Unburied.'  Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/2017-stench-of-the-unburied

    16 min
  6. 2016: 'Blood Capsules'

    12/19/2025

    2016: 'Blood Capsules'

    This was my last and best idea. Today's episode is about work songs, desperation, and what an ageing wrestler can do when he can't see his way clear to a change in perspective. It's 2016 and the song is 'Blood Capsules.'  Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/2016-blood-capsules

    13 min
  7. 2015: 'Unmasked!'

    11/27/2025

    2015: 'Unmasked!'

    A sort of unrestrained fantasia. Today's episode is about the public and the private, rituals of humiliation, and Roland Barthes' 'The World of Wrestling.' It's 2015 and the song is 'Unmasked!'  Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/2015-unmasked

    15 min
  8. 2014: 'Song for Black Sabbath’s Second North American Tour'

    11/11/2025

    2014: 'Song for Black Sabbath’s Second North American Tour'

    New creatures with new hearts. Today's episode is about Ozzy Osbourne and the joy and shock of playing music all around the world when you never expected to make it beyond Birmingham. It's 2014 and the song is 'Song for Black Sabbath's Second North American Tour.'  Substack version of the episode, featuring links and references for all quotations and archive recordings: https://thirtyyearslater.substack.com/p/2014-song-for-black-sabbaths-second

    11 min
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A memoir in Mountain Goats songs, by Richard O'Brien. Each episode focuses on a year in my life from 1990 onwards through the lens of a song written or recorded that year by John Darnielle.

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