message board

jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

Apparently songwriter Jason Molina died on Saturday, age 39, causes related to alcoholism. His 2003 album "Magnolia Electric Co." is one of the best modern albums I've ever heard. I wasn't a fan of his music before then, because I thought his band Songs:Ohia was just another Will Oldham-imitation (like the many others at that time). When I heard that Magnolia album it just knocked me out, really undeniably great. He changed the name of his band to Magnolia Electric Co. after the album came out.
I played a show with Songs:Ohia and Herman Dune at SXSW in Austin Texas when I was living there in 2001, actually it wasn't my show at all, I just joined Herman Dune onstage to sing Daniel Johnston's "I Did Acid With Caroline" and maybe I played one of my own songs too, I forget. But I remember being a bit surprised at the sort of arrogance or aggressiveness of Jason Molina during the Songs:Ohia set, he was not acting like a quiet folk singer, he started the set by saying "good evening, we're Songs:Oheea, motherfuckers..." Maybe he was angry that somebody has mis-pronounced his band name "Oheea"? I wonder if Herman Dune remember this show like I do. After the show we all sat at a table together; David and Andre and Neman seemed to already be friends with Jason (maybe from him playing in Paris). I was still just somebody putting out home-made cassettes, so I wasn't anybody to him, and I found him somewhat egotistical... he was making confident statements about his music and his upcoming album and how "I don't EVER want to make two records that sound alike." Maybe he was just at the height of his fame and feeling super-confident in himself. Anyway, it made a bad impression on me (and I already wasn't a fan of his albums or his live show). So it was really a shock to me when I heard that album a few years later and it was sooooo good. I really changed my opinion of him.
I saw him again at the End of the Road festival in England just a couple years ago, maybe it was 2009. He was playing a solo set just as "Jason Molina." I found him at his backstage tent and I got his autograph - he was really nice to me. I'm not sure if he knew my music or anything. I think I might have said "I met you a while ago, I'm friends with Herman Dune" but maybe I didn't even say that, I forget. Anyway, maybe my favorite song on that Magnolia Electric Co. album is the first song "Farewell Transmission" - there was a gal Bonnie I liked back in the US who had told me that was also her favorite, so I got Jason to write an autograph to her, it said "To Bonnie, a farewell transmission from Jason Molina." (I delivered it to her all the way out in California but no romance ever came of it! Oh well. It was still really nice of him to write!)
About a year or so ago I got an email from Dave Tattersall of the Wave Pictures that Jason Molina was in bad health, and asking if I would contribute a track to a tribute album to help raise funds for him, or just to make him feel better... I recorded a version of Farewell Transmission (but I don't think the tribute album ever came out? I don't remember if anything happened with this). Sort of stupid to bother trying to cover a recording that is already perfect.

Poor guy. A sad way to go, and a guy who made some really wonderful music. Maybe I could have gotten to know him better if I met him a third time somewhere.

Songs:Ohia: Farewell Transmission
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=malJUMz2A9Y

jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

And you know what else, a few of the lyrics on this album have always been with me, really strong things that have been sort of mental touchstones for me that I thought about many times.

jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

The second song on that album is also a killer... has any album in the past ten years had such a strong first track followed by such a strong second track?
It's basically like the best Neil Young album Neil Young never made.

Dav · Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:29 pm Post subject:

That's bad news. I never heard of him before you made this post here. I'll check for his LP you mention. The Wave Pictures just posted a tribute LP of his songs, They did 8 covers and an original song if i got it right. I'm listening right now.
Too bad the cover LP you're on hasn't been released...
Not related but Kevin Ayers died a couple of weeks ago. He made a really cool song with Syd BArrett called singing a song in the morning, his music was real nice.
_________________
http://uberaffe.bandcamp.com

jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

Yeah I heard about Kevin Ayers dying... My brother Jack called me and said he heard a really cool song on the radio called "Why Are We Sleeping" and I told him it was the Soft Machine, but it was from when Kevin Ayers was in the band, and the radio was playing these Kevin Ayers songs, so I guess he had just died... it always seems like a bad sign when you hear the radio playing more than one song in a row from a certain artist, if you hear three songs in a row you can probably be sure they have just died!
The only Kevin Ayers stuff that I know other than the early Soft Machine is his album "Joy of a Toy" and I like it a lot... I know he has a lot of other records, but I have no idea if any of them are as good, or what to get.

jefflewis · Joined: 21 Nov 2005 Posts: 1486

Also, it looks like you can hear the whole "Magnolia Electric Co" album on Bandcamp here - (or whichever tracks you want)
http://live.magnoliaelectricco.com/album/magnolia-electric-co