Note to Indie Rockers: If you come to China on vacation, schedule a gig or two¹

So,the Mountain Goats have a new album out and on it is a song called "Tianchi Lake." It's about the the crater lake at Changbai Shan, in Jilin Province, on the North Korean border. (More photos from our 2004 trip to Tianchi here.)

You can listen to the song here. And here are the lyrics:

Children by the water banks laughing long and loud Changbai’s high fine western peaks just beneath the clouds Currents in the water churning in their course Body of a sea-lion, head just like a horse

Preacher in the soft brown sand begins to speak his piece
High winds in the treetops low flying winter geese
No one taking pictures everybody still
And then the water sought its course again the way that waters will

No one at the lakeside now, moon up in the sky
Night birds in the dragon spruce, moaning long and high
Backstroking on the surface, moonlight on its face
Floats the Tianchi Monster, staring into space

Out around the temple now narcissus in bloom
Censers packed with sandalwood send smoke into the room
Children in the sand outside on their hands and knees
Sketching pictures all day long of stranger things than these

Here's a photo of the "monster" John Darnielle sings of.

¹ This goes for Bishop Allen, too. While things have gotten better in recent years, we are still seriously starving for good live music over here.

Photo from danwashburn