Video: Power In A Union

John Darnielle and his band  The Mountain Goats take a break from all of their recent philanthropy to play  9:30 Club this Friday (3/25), and we have a chance for you to win a pair of tickets . In typical fashion from the band that brought us " This Year ," the go-to song in times of crisis, they've been busy helping others in need. Just a few days ago, the band included a  one-of-a-kind demo tape in [...]

Recent events in Wisconsin have prompted two members of the Mountain Goats - John Darnielle and Peter Hughes - to produce covers of pro-union songs.  First up was John Darnielle's cover of Billy Bragg's "Power in an Union."  On the vimeo page , John writes: Everybody knows I don't generally do the acoustic guitar guy rocking political jams deal but as a former member of SEIU 660 & the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians & a kid who benefited from great teachers I wanted to spend tonight saying WE ARE ON [...]

• Peter Peter Hughes - Themselves

The Mountain Goats frontman supports pro-union protesters in a song reminiscent of Woody Guthrie. Instead of a lengthy editorial on the Mountain Goat's John Darnielle, I'll simply say that Darnielle filmed himself covering Joe Hill's "There is Power in a Union." This is a great example of a musician taking a political stance, instead of isolating themselves in a cocoon of artistry. We need more of this sort of solidarity from musicians. Power In A Union [...]

Power In A Union from JD on Vimeo . The Mountain Goats, "Power in a Union" And while you're listening, make sure to withdraw all your money from good ol' M&I .

• Mountain Goats - Power in a Union

A little John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats for any who are losing faith on this Friday.  And if you haven't lost faith, join a protest today... they are all over the country, hopefully including in high schools at 2 o'clock this afternoon.  Your continued efforts might wake the corporate media into covering this story about the fight for basic Democracy going on in America right now, in Wisconsin and all across our great land.   Power In A Union from JD on [...]

The labor strife that has encompassed the state of Wisconsin looks to be nowhere near an end, and the duration has to be taking a toll on even the most dedicated among the public servants. Mountain Goats mastermind John Darnielle is seeking to offer a little bit of solace via his cover of "Power In A Union," a 1903 Joe Hill composition that was revived by Billy Bragg. A former union member, Darnielle also says that he benefitted from great teachers. As decisions come down to dollars and cents, this song and sentiment serve to remind us that there is [...]

John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats has always been a bit political on his twitter account, but yesterday he upped it a notch by recording this cover of "Power in a Union" for the Wisconsin teachers' union. The song was written in 1913 by Joe Hill, recorded much later by Billy Bragg and brought up [...]

The original Mountain Goat himself, John Darnielle, has decided to do his part for the working man. "Power In A Union," a Billy Bragg staple, is a nice little folk number/call to arms pointing out the importance of a worker's union in general. Darnielle has decided to sit down and perform the track to show his support for said unions, seeing as he is a former member: "Everybody knows I don't generally do the acoustic guitar guy rocking political jams deal but as a former member of SEIU 660 & the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians & a [...]

John Darnielle joined Wisconsin's public employees by covering a 1913 protest song.

John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats is angry about the situation in Wisconsin and the whole union-busting situation. So he did what every good indie guitar player should do when something political gets his, uh, goat (hehe). He broke out his guitar, channeled that bit of Billy Bragg that lives inside all of us, and covered one of the best political songs ever, "There is Power in a Union." Says Darnielle Everybody knows I don't generally do the acoustic guitar guy rocking political jams deal but as a former member of SEIU 660 & the [...]

Dedicated to the workers of Wisconsin. We need songs like this now more than ever.