The Mountain Goats tried to cover this cover of his own at the show in Portland ME on 4/17. John loves it that much. And he absolutely should- this is amazing!
@@shesarockstudios I think this cover highlights the sadness/despair of the song, whereas the original highlights the sort of regret/anger. both are pretty incredible in their own right.
@@ceeb420 This cover isn't bad but it really changes the song. This one puts you into an almost depressed lull but the energy of the original fills you with pride and strength.
One of my favorite musicians covering one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums from another of my favorite musicians? Consider my day made.
@@eversostrange6337 I totally agree it's better but John Darnielle himself said this was the best cover that's ever been done of it I love both so much
When Julien sings "Hand in unloveable hand. And I hope you die... I hope we both die" it changes my own interpretation of the song. Almost like instead of being so angry and resentful of the other person in the relationship, she feels so much sympathy for them that she hopes they die as a result of being put out of their own misery. In order to end their suffering. Same goes for hoping she dies as the narrator too. Resigning both of them to their fate instead of wanting to punch them.
Ngl this is my original interpretation of the song. I was pretty broken when I broke up with my ex. And then I discovered this song. I used to sing "I hope I blink before you do..." And in the chorus, I used to sing "I hope I die. I hope I die alone...." Yep. Was in a pretty dark place. I'm better now. :')
I used to listen to No Children a lot back when I realized I didn't feel safe or happy living with my family. Right at the end of high school and into college, during the thick of Covid. It sounds like it's full of unapologetic rage and contempt. But, to me... it always felt apologetic and despaired while also being full of rage. Sorrowful rage. All these feelings happening at the same time, and the "I hope you die, I hope we both die" felt like a sort of... apology in of itself? I hope you die because I hate you, but then I'm sorry we're trapped like this, if only we could be put out of this misery. A wish for anything better than the endless cycle of pain, or perhaps sickly hoping or knowing it will continue, that those hopes are empty threats. All that to say, what I felt hiding underneath the lyrics of the original, I got to hear with this cover. The way I often listened to this song, hearing this underlying truth. It's just beautiful. It drags out the true sorrow that was hiding all along. Thank you.
Julien Baker likes The Mountain Goats. Damn I knew I loved her for a reason. I was secretly hoping she'd be in "I only listen to the mountain goats", this is the next best thing
Nothing I regret more than discovering Julien Baker a few weeks after she came to my town. Waiting for her to come around again is so painful, I crave to see her perform live over any other artist. Patiently waiting for those west coast tour dates to come around!
Your voice is ethereal. An echo of a memory you look back on with gladness and sorrow. You brought a fresh take on some amazing pieces of music - well done.
I have (had? hopefully have still counts, even though it's been some time since we talked) a friend who once wryly told me that No Children was "their song" about an abusive relationship they were still in at the time. At the time it was obviously the original version, and I think it needed to be, both because of the absurdity and anger of it, but when I listen to this cover now I think of them and that relationship in a much sadder, further away way and how awful everything was; how stupid and useless I felt just watching it happen. (Julien's songs remind me of that friendship a lot of the time, and some of the songs by other boygenius members about her.) It's a beautiful cover and a totally different take.
Yo! You totally changed up the lyrics. That was a fucking boss move. It made me listen. Made me hear it again like the first time I heard it and it blasted my brain again. Thank you!
Please tell me that there is a studio version of this song. I'll buy it, just tell me where it is. I am a huge fan of the Mountain Goats. Just never heard anything with the raw, real power of the original until today.
Anyone know what the song she segues into is? Never heard her before, came here on John Darnielle's recommendation after seeing the video of him covering this. Got a feeling I'm going to be checking out more of her work though, could listen to that voice for days.
I finally figured it out: It's "Everybody Does." I listened through both of her albums before realizing she is doing a different intro than for her studio version, which has more strumming.
If you havn't found it (or her stuff) yet - That is actually "Blacktop" after the cover - then the intro to "Everybody Does" from her first record "Sprained Ankle".
😭😭😭😭😭😭 no children usually makes me laugh.... this makes me wanna blow my head off at my wife's grave.... excellent change in the feel. I would have started crying had I been there. Excellent preformance.
This is only my opinion, but I wish she had done this with a faster tempo. She made it her own, and I like it, but for me something got lost. Maybe her version simply sounds more melancholy than bitter and angry. Either way, I dig it. Just my two cents.
When Julien sings "Hand in unloveable hand. And I hope you die... I hope we both die" it changes my own interpretation of the song. Almost like instead of being so angry and resentful of the other person in the relationship she feels so much sympathy for them that she hopes they die as a result of being put out of their own misery. In order to end their suffering. Same goes for hoping she dies as the narrator too. Resigning both of them to their fate instead of wanting to punch them...
Late but here's a simple version! Standard tuning. D A I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow G D I hope it bleeds all day long D A Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises G D We're pretty sure they're all wrong D A I hope it stays dark forever G A I hope the worst isn't over D A And I hope you blink before I do G A And I hope I never get sober D And I hope when you think of me years down the line Bm You can't find one good thing to say G And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out A You'd stay the hell out of my way G 'Cause I am drowning A There is no sign of land D You are coming down with me G Hand in unloveable hand D And I hope you die A D I hope we both die
She's in a band called Forrister, but for her solo work, she just doesn't want one. She has a violinist who tours with her now and plays on her newer songs, but really, what needs to be added? She sounds fantastic just on her own.
I think the performance is beautiful. That being said I think the whole song is lost in this arrangment. The only thing half recognizeable is the lyrics. I think if it stayed closer to the original Melody and varied it a little for more of a ballad effect it could have been alot more powerful personally speaking. Other than that she's a great singer and I like the vibes. Just not sold on the arrangement.
I think the point is she's approaching and interpreting the lyrics differently, and picked an arrangement that matched her interpretation. I like hearing my favorite bands do straightforward covers of songs I like but those are never more than just fun novelties, you don't get Jimi's version of All Along the Watchtower or Prince's version of Creep or Iron & Wine's version of Such Great Heights or Johnny Cash's version of Hurt without taking a chance on your own vision for the song
This is one of those rare moments where an artists covers another artist and they somehow capture the heart of the song better than the original writer.
I wouldn't say better, her take is totally different, darker. The Mountain Goats version lighter and far more synicacal. Both versions are great, I always thought of the song as a synical expression of feeling about the ideas of marriage, but Julien turned it into an expression of the sadness of a disolving marriage. (I could be totally wrong, but that is what I got). Saw the Mountain Goats this year, hoping Julien Baker comes to Vancouver soon. Won't miss that.
I love Julien very much, but as a The Mountain Goats fan I digress. Yes, her version is beautiful and melancholic, but I think the point of No Children is to embody the anger and contempt the couple has for each other, Tallahassee in general is supposed to be filled with anger and again, I loved this cover but nothing can top John Darnielle's raw and uncut No Children.
I can see why this is getting the praise that it is, from the comments and from the original songwriter, but for me that praise is directed at an evoked feeling VERY different from what I got out of the original song. No Children has this unapologetic energy to it that really drives home the absurd nature of the central couple. It's relatively fast pace and staccato tone drive this jarring narrative of two people that really are miserable with one another, pushing it at you faster than your mind is able to adjust to it. "I hope I lie, and tell everyone you were a good wife" is a mental slap in the face, but only just hard enough to daze instead of sting, frequently leading to uncomfortable laughter on a first listen. The oddness of things is furthered by the construction of this couple's relationship in the song. These people have friends trying to help them, have an extended history with one another that context (and the songwriters previous works) promises was just as rocky, and despite what is assured to be a mutual loathing, are depicted as fully committed to one another in that misery, finding comfort in that shared misery in a way that only this kind of toxic relationship can. They are in this together, "hand in unlovable hand", until the ship sinks to the murky depths to be crushed by unbearable pressures. Part of why I love this inversion of a love story is for how up front and unapologetic it is. For how stark a depiction it is of this toxic relationship that should by all right end but clearly will not. I love this because it pushes that kind of relationship, one we have all either heard of or experienced, out of the shadows and into the light. It's not hidden away, festering like a cancer, as so many similar relationships and marriages were from decades past, but instead on full display. And that's why I can't get behind this cover. It takes away the very elements of the original song that resonated with me so much. It's slow and reserved, seemingly trying to allow time to adjust to the absurd reality of this couple's dysfunction. It even insinuates some redemptive capacity for the couple, which I understand is the core of the draw to those that enjoy it, but which, again, takes away entirely the power and purpose behind the original in my eyes. This song was selected as a representation of an American Anthem by NPR, and in the related interview the songwriter described fans in relationships calling it "their song", as well as how concerned this made him for their future together. But for me that makes perfect sense because it would take an already fundamentally strong relationship to hear of this union of hate and, rather than exposing discomfort in the couple, instead strengthening their bond over confidence that this situation is separate from their experience. A couple that can laugh at this song together, and desire repeated sessions to relive that joined moment, is one that knows they harbor no resentment toward one another, and never will, because any dissatisfaction that may arise will be addressed in the open. Like fucking adults. I love No Children for what it says about those that love it, and I wouldn't change a single thing about it.
julien baker is extremely thoughtful and intelligent and this song isn’t that hard to get she just covered it, and if she did it exactly the same that would have been pointless, however if this were how the original were recorded it wouldn’t have the same point so i see what you’re saying.
@Green Eggs -i mean she’s playing the lyrics totally straight and really leaning into the melancholy. the original version by the mountain goats is super-cheeky: i laugh every time they get to “i hope we both die” followed by a few blank bars where a conciliatory sentiment would go if it were a more conventional song (e.g. “but i still love you,” or some such tripe; just brilliant how the musical phrase goes unresolved, even leaving the melody on an unstable scale tone!) anyway, to me, that’s the secret sauce that sells the high emotion at the climax of the song (“hand in unloveable hand”). like the best episodes of futurama, it’s got me laughing right up until i’m sucker punched by gross sentimentality, and the contrast makes it land that much harder.
@@doctaflo Not playing it in the same style as the original isn't "missing the point". John's version is a sort of tongue-in-cheek helpless and defeated perspective. Her's is much more saturnine and tired--it conveys an entirely different type of defeat. One of exhaustion as opposed to frustration. Covers aren't supposed to sound like attempts at imitating the original. Also, John Darnielle himself loved this cover so much that he tried to cover her cover at a show, so apparently he doesn't think she missed the point and he wrote the song in the first place.
In an interview, the original singer and writer said this is the best cover of his song
John Darnielle didn't say its the best cover, he said its "the best version" Which is so so cool.
@@eliburch3173 reminds me of how Bob Dylan said that Jimi Hendrix's recording was the best version of All Along the Watchtower.
he has a shit taste then
That's awesome, which interview was that?
It’s such a pitifully glorious achievement of a song describing the lack of achievement, not sure if that should be a compliment or an insult.
The Mountain Goats tried to cover this cover of his own at the show in Portland ME on 4/17. John loves it that much. And he absolutely should- this is amazing!
CircusSmileXD i feel the album had wayyyy more feeling than this. still a good cover but i think The Mountain Goats should stick to their version
I was there holy fuck... they were amazing
@@shesarockstudios I think this cover highlights the sadness/despair of the song, whereas the original highlights the sort of regret/anger. both are pretty incredible in their own right.
@@ceeb420 This cover isn't bad but it really changes the song. This one puts you into an almost depressed lull but the energy of the original fills you with pride and strength.
Does anyone have a recording of this?
One of my favorite musicians covering one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums from another of my favorite musicians? Consider my day made.
Chromatic Wasp same
+
The blending of her rendition of no children into one of her most beautiful songs in blacktop. Someone help, I’m a puddle
This was the last thing I would have expected as a cover.... she totally made this her own... phenomenal
Anyway I have literally never been the same since I heard this.
Likewise.
God same
Same...
Check out the mountain goats version it's much better
@@eversostrange6337 I totally agree it's better but John Darnielle himself said this was the best cover that's ever been done of it I love both so much
When Julien sings "Hand in unloveable hand. And I hope you die... I hope we both die" it changes my own interpretation of the song.
Almost like instead of being so angry and resentful of the other person in the relationship, she feels so much sympathy for them that she hopes they die as a result of being put out of their own misery. In order to end their suffering.
Same goes for hoping she dies as the narrator too. Resigning both of them to their fate instead of wanting to punch them.
Exactly
@@kariannerydberg3624 but wow what a moment
Ngl this is my original interpretation of the song. I was pretty broken when I broke up with my ex.
And then I discovered this song.
I used to sing "I hope I blink before you do..." And in the chorus, I used to sing "I hope I die. I hope I die alone...."
Yep. Was in a pretty dark place. I'm better now. :')
the "I am drowning." oh. my. GOODNESS.
I used to listen to No Children a lot back when I realized I didn't feel safe or happy living with my family. Right at the end of high school and into college, during the thick of Covid. It sounds like it's full of unapologetic rage and contempt. But, to me... it always felt apologetic and despaired while also being full of rage. Sorrowful rage. All these feelings happening at the same time, and the "I hope you die, I hope we both die" felt like a sort of... apology in of itself? I hope you die because I hate you, but then I'm sorry we're trapped like this, if only we could be put out of this misery. A wish for anything better than the endless cycle of pain, or perhaps sickly hoping or knowing it will continue, that those hopes are empty threats.
All that to say, what I felt hiding underneath the lyrics of the original, I got to hear with this cover. The way I often listened to this song, hearing this underlying truth. It's just beautiful. It drags out the true sorrow that was hiding all along. Thank you.
i used to listen to no children at the same time/point in life too!
Julien Baker likes The Mountain Goats. Damn I knew I loved her for a reason. I was secretly hoping she'd be in "I only listen to the mountain goats", this is the next best thing
Nothing I regret more than discovering Julien Baker a few weeks after she came to my town. Waiting for her to come around again is so painful, I crave to see her perform live over any other artist. Patiently waiting for those west coast tour dates to come around!
THIS IS A LIFE CHANGING DISCOVERY
She makes this a lot starker than the original.
Your voice is ethereal. An echo of a memory you look back on with gladness and sorrow. You brought a fresh take on some amazing pieces of music - well done.
Dang, I forgot how good this cover is, and this is the best performance I've ever seen her do of Blacktop.
Was there last night. A dream come true. She is absolutely amazing and such a beautiful soul!
I have (had? hopefully have still counts, even though it's been some time since we talked) a friend who once wryly told me that No Children was "their song" about an abusive relationship they were still in at the time. At the time it was obviously the original version, and I think it needed to be, both because of the absurdity and anger of it, but when I listen to this cover now I think of them and that relationship in a much sadder, further away way and how awful everything was; how stupid and useless I felt just watching it happen. (Julien's songs remind me of that friendship a lot of the time, and some of the songs by other boygenius members about her.) It's a beautiful cover and a totally different take.
how did I not see this sooner it’s the best thing
Holy fucking hell, this is incredible
I love this thank you
Fantastic acoustics for a fantastic cover :)
Just saw her a couple months ago in STL, and now I find myself looking and hoping she comes anywhere nearby, already.
wow. i can't wait to see her tomorrow for the first time.
Yo! You totally changed up the lyrics.
That was a fucking boss move. It made me listen. Made me hear it again like the first time I heard it and it blasted my brain again.
Thank you!
This is beautiful. Omg.
my heart broke in the good way
YOUR FEELS ARE NOT SAFE!!!
Amazing!
god she knows her audience
i feel a lump in my throat, sobbing on the floor
i'm not crying, you are
next level greatness
I wish this was on spotify
Fuck man. Mountain Goats can make me cry, for sure, but this had me bawling.
Song 4 u Allison forever I hope one day you feel like this
Please tell me that there is a studio version of this song. I'll buy it, just tell me where it is.
I am a huge fan of the Mountain Goats. Just never heard anything with the raw, real power of the original until today.
Anyone know what the song she segues into is? Never heard her before, came here on John Darnielle's recommendation after seeing the video of him covering this. Got a feeling I'm going to be checking out more of her work though, could listen to that voice for days.
I finally figured it out: It's "Everybody Does." I listened through both of her albums before realizing she is doing a different intro than for her studio version, which has more strumming.
If you havn't found it (or her stuff) yet - That is actually "Blacktop" after the cover - then the intro to "Everybody Does" from her first record "Sprained Ankle".
Damn...
yaaaaassss
🙏🏻
Chills
hoo boy that's some good shit i tell ya what
my soul just left my body
OMG
😭😭😭😭😭😭 no children usually makes me laugh.... this makes me wanna blow my head off at my wife's grave.... excellent change in the feel. I would have started crying had I been there. Excellent preformance.
This is only my opinion, but I wish she had done this with a faster tempo. She made it her own, and I like it, but for me something got lost. Maybe her version simply sounds more melancholy than bitter and angry. Either way, I dig it. Just my two cents.
Fuck and now I'm crying
its okay i didnt want to be happy today i guess :)
When Julien sings "Hand in unloveable hand. And I hope you die... I hope we both die" it changes my own interpretation of the song. Almost like instead of being so angry and resentful of the other person in the relationship she feels so much sympathy for them that she hopes they die as a result of being put out of their own misery. In order to end their suffering. Same goes for hoping she dies as the narrator too. Resigning both of them to their fate instead of wanting to punch them...
Is this allowed??? It's great
Brb gonna go cry
Anyone know the chords and tuning?
Late but here's a simple version! Standard tuning.
D A
I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow
G D
I hope it bleeds all day long
D A
Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises
G D
We're pretty sure they're all wrong
D A
I hope it stays dark forever
G A
I hope the worst isn't over
D A
And I hope you blink before I do
G A
And I hope I never get sober
D
And I hope when you think of me years down the line
Bm
You can't find one good thing to say
G
And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out
A
You'd stay the hell out of my way
G
'Cause I am drowning
A
There is no sign of land
D
You are coming down with me
G
Hand in unloveable hand
D
And I hope you die
A D
I hope we both die
It should be represented by both parties.
As with a relationship it's not always a one way street, have to accept our own flaws and fuck ups as well.
Takes ages to sing it in that tempo :)
I have to unlike this so I can like it again
Its good but its missing the manic energy that made the original great
Yeah it kind of gets pulled into the "ballad" aspect a little too deep and loses the punchiness of the lyrics, imo
Why doesnt she have a band yet? These songs are huge.
I thought she did have a band
She's in a band called Forrister, but for her solo work, she just doesn't want one. She has a violinist who tours with her now and plays on her newer songs, but really, what needs to be added? She sounds fantastic just on her own.
Band schmand
She does, it's called Forrister
I think the performance is beautiful. That being said I think the whole song is lost in this arrangment. The only thing half recognizeable is the lyrics. I think if it stayed closer to the original Melody and varied it a little for more of a ballad effect it could have been alot more powerful personally speaking. Other than that she's a great singer and I like the vibes. Just not sold on the arrangement.
I think the point is she's approaching and interpreting the lyrics differently, and picked an arrangement that matched her interpretation. I like hearing my favorite bands do straightforward covers of songs I like but those are never more than just fun novelties, you don't get Jimi's version of All Along the Watchtower or Prince's version of Creep or Iron & Wine's version of Such Great Heights or Johnny Cash's version of Hurt without taking a chance on your own vision for the song
This is one of those rare moments where an artists covers another artist and they somehow capture the heart of the song better than the original writer.
That's a bold statement
I wouldn't say better, her take is totally different, darker. The Mountain Goats version lighter and far more synicacal.
Both versions are great, I always thought of the song as a synical expression of feeling about the ideas of marriage, but Julien turned it into an expression of the sadness of a disolving marriage. (I could be totally wrong, but that is what I got).
Saw the Mountain Goats this year, hoping Julien Baker comes to Vancouver soon. Won't miss that.
Edit, It's amazing how tone can completely change the meaning of the same lyric.
I love Julien very much, but as a The Mountain Goats fan I digress. Yes, her version is beautiful and melancholic, but I think the point of No Children is to embody the anger and contempt the couple has for each other, Tallahassee in general is supposed to be filled with anger and again, I loved this cover but nothing can top John Darnielle's raw and uncut No Children.
anyways this made my mental illness even worse
I can see why this is getting the praise that it is, from the comments and from the original songwriter, but for me that praise is directed at an evoked feeling VERY different from what I got out of the original song.
No Children has this unapologetic energy to it that really drives home the absurd nature of the central couple. It's relatively fast pace and staccato tone drive this jarring narrative of two people that really are miserable with one another, pushing it at you faster than your mind is able to adjust to it. "I hope I lie, and tell everyone you were a good wife" is a mental slap in the face, but only just hard enough to daze instead of sting, frequently leading to uncomfortable laughter on a first listen. The oddness of things is furthered by the construction of this couple's relationship in the song. These people have friends trying to help them, have an extended history with one another that context (and the songwriters previous works) promises was just as rocky, and despite what is assured to be a mutual loathing, are depicted as fully committed to one another in that misery, finding comfort in that shared misery in a way that only this kind of toxic relationship can. They are in this together, "hand in unlovable hand", until the ship sinks to the murky depths to be crushed by unbearable pressures.
Part of why I love this inversion of a love story is for how up front and unapologetic it is. For how stark a depiction it is of this toxic relationship that should by all right end but clearly will not. I love this because it pushes that kind of relationship, one we have all either heard of or experienced, out of the shadows and into the light. It's not hidden away, festering like a cancer, as so many similar relationships and marriages were from decades past, but instead on full display.
And that's why I can't get behind this cover. It takes away the very elements of the original song that resonated with me so much. It's slow and reserved, seemingly trying to allow time to adjust to the absurd reality of this couple's dysfunction. It even insinuates some redemptive capacity for the couple, which I understand is the core of the draw to those that enjoy it, but which, again, takes away entirely the power and purpose behind the original in my eyes.
This song was selected as a representation of an American Anthem by NPR, and in the related interview the songwriter described fans in relationships calling it "their song", as well as how concerned this made him for their future together. But for me that makes perfect sense because it would take an already fundamentally strong relationship to hear of this union of hate and, rather than exposing discomfort in the couple, instead strengthening their bond over confidence that this situation is separate from their experience. A couple that can laugh at this song together, and desire repeated sessions to relive that joined moment, is one that knows they harbor no resentment toward one another, and never will, because any dissatisfaction that may arise will be addressed in the open. Like fucking adults.
I love No Children for what it says about those that love it, and I wouldn't change a single thing about it.
Nah.
**sigh** i think she missed the point
valid point. i will defer to say that she probably gets it completely and just wanted to sing a song she really likes and this is here style.
julien baker is extremely thoughtful and intelligent and this song isn’t that hard to get she just covered it, and if she did it exactly the same that would have been pointless, however if this were how the original were recorded it wouldn’t have the same point so i see what you’re saying.
@parker marlow -both strong points! i’m persuaded :0)
@Green Eggs -i mean she’s playing the lyrics totally straight and really leaning into the melancholy. the original version by the mountain goats is super-cheeky: i laugh every time they get to “i hope we both die” followed by a few blank bars where a conciliatory sentiment would go if it were a more conventional song (e.g. “but i still love you,” or some such tripe; just brilliant how the musical phrase goes unresolved, even leaving the melody on an unstable scale tone!) anyway, to me, that’s the secret sauce that sells the high emotion at the climax of the song (“hand in unloveable hand”). like the best episodes of futurama, it’s got me laughing right up until i’m sucker punched by gross sentimentality, and the contrast makes it land that much harder.
@@doctaflo Not playing it in the same style as the original isn't "missing the point". John's version is a sort of tongue-in-cheek helpless and defeated perspective. Her's is much more saturnine and tired--it conveys an entirely different type of defeat. One of exhaustion as opposed to frustration. Covers aren't supposed to sound like attempts at imitating the original. Also, John Darnielle himself loved this cover so much that he tried to cover her cover at a show, so apparently he doesn't think she missed the point and he wrote the song in the first place.
Looking for a cover. Got a generic emo type doing emo type for the entire video. I do not approve. No Sir. I do not like it.
Christoncrutches.....she butchered "no children" so bad I couldn't listen to the rest.
This is on record as John Darnielle's favorite cover of this song so it can't really be butchered if the artist who wrote it loves it.
really really gross cover hahaha