The kind and gentle folks at Daytrotter caged Mountain Goat John Darnielle at this year’s SXSW long enough to have him record a couple of covers and two unreleased originals, now up for the internet’s consumption. On our fave of the batch, “Pinklon,” Darnielle indulges his fascination for ’80s-era pugilist Pinklon Thomas with an ode named in the boxer’s honor. John explains:

Pinklon Thomas is my hero. He was one of the best heavyweights of the 80s and his jab was described by many as the best since Sonny Liston?s. The line on him has always been that he was addicted to heroin at ten years old, and that he did time for armed robbery when he was young. My own research suggests that the former is certainly true but the latter might have been an embellishment on the part of boxing commentators looking for an angle. Still, embellishments make for better mythologies, so that?s what I went with here.

Just a Goat with an acoustic in folk tribute to a heroin-addicted heavyweight from the ’80s. We know, you’ve heard it a million times. Still, have a listen…

• The Mountain Goats – “Pinklon”Download

Head to Daytrotter for from the session.