- Interviewer: This is the Mountain Goats' 18th album in 20 years, not counting many other side projects and releases. What drives you to write so consistently?
- John Darnielle: This is a line I've repeated so many times throughout my career: I don't think I am special. I think other people are not taking their job seriously. My job is songwriter. That's what I'm supposed to be doing with my life, right? So how many months are there in a year? Is it really asking too much of me to write one a month? If I were a brick layer and I laid one brick a month, I'd be fired by the end of my first week on the job. So I think asking a songwriter to write two songs a month... at that point you should have 24 songs a year, and 10 of them should be good. I am productive, but I think everybody should be as productive as me if they really cherish the ability to do it.