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  1. #1
    slightly, all the time jonnyhambone's Avatar
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    RIP Jason Molina

    Not much else to say, just seemed like it should be acknowledged here. One of my favorite songwriters and creators of beautiful, haunting sonic atmospheres. I'll spin Didn't It Rain in his honor tonite.

    Jason Molina, RIP

  2. #2
    Rae
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    a golden ball of light Rae's Avatar
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    I just learned of this myself. Don't really have time to formulate thoughts, but he was not only such a singular voice but was a real giant around here around the time Didn't It Rain came out. Still one of my absolute favorite records.

    RIP.

    ~Rae

  3. #3
    very clever with maracas Davey's Avatar
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    Wow, that is sad. I was just thinking about him this weekend and wondering how he was doing. He was something special.

    I know that serpents will cross universes to circle around our necks
    I know that hounds will cross a universe to circle around our feet
    They're always close
    Always so close
    Step by step, one's beside me, to kill me or to guide me
    Why wouldn't I be trying to figure which one out
    Why wouldn't I be trying to figure which one out

  4. #4
    Rae
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    Listening to Didn't It Rain this morning almost made me crumble. The delivery of the titular line in the title track is so devastating, but the moment that really gets me is when he leans away from the mic to tell the band to bring it around one more time. Jesus, I feel punched in the gut.

    ~Rae

  5. #5
    Rae
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    It looks like everything that he recorded is now online for free at the Magnolia Electric Co site, including many obscurities:

    Magnolia Electric Co.

    Not sure if that's a temporary deal or what.

    ~Rae

  6. #6
    slightly, all the time jonnyhambone's Avatar
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    cool, I'll check that out tonite after work. I've spent the last couple evenings pretty ensconced in the handful of albums I have of his - revisited Ghost Tropic after years not hearing it...really gorgeous. Thanks for the tip.

  7. #7
    very clever with maracas Davey's Avatar
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    Listening to his last record as Songs:Ohia today, Magnolia Electric Co., and really hits me how much I will miss him. That first side is one of the best and most harrowing set of songs I heard on any album in any times.

  8. #8
    Forum Regular Ex Lion Tamer's Avatar
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    I read this news when Johnny first posted, but I was too busy to respond - read it again today and the shock was like reading it for the first time.

    Tonight I will acknowledge this very sad passing by playing all the Molina I have, unfortunately that only amounts to Didn't it Rain and Magnolia Electric Co. but what great albums they are.

    Anyone want to guide me on what else I should get from Jason's catalogue?
    "I don't know. A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof, and when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven." The Right Honourable JC.

  9. #9
    very clever with maracas Davey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ex Lion Tamer View Post
    Anyone want to guide me on what else I should get from Jason's catalogue?
    I have a lot of Jason Molina stuff, and really do love most of it, even in the early days of Songs:Ohia when everything hadn't yet fully coalesced, there were still some knockouts that foretold the greatness. But if you want the best of the best, you have the first two parts already. The third is Black Ram. It is only available within the Sojourner Box, at least that was the past. Might be different now, but that was kind of a shame at the time that one of his best records was only available within a limited edition box set. Didn't bother me too much since I had to have the box anyway, but Black Ram should've gotten a lot more attention than it did.

    Edit: Just did a quick search and there is a really nice article at the Brainwashed site about this one with some interview notes. Echoes what I said above but more eloquently and with a few more words. He's also right about Fading Trails, it is a very good collection, but feels kind of like that, a collection. If you can find the Box, go for it. Lots to love. Maybe I'll upload Black Ram later (and I did, usual place). On my second listen of Black Ram today right now, this could go on for days, if I'm not careful. Once I get in one of those Molina-type places, I usually stay a while. Not always a good thing.

    Brainwashed - Magnolia Electric Co., "Black Ram"
    Last edited by Davey; 07-14-2013 at 02:50 PM.

  10. #10
    slightly, all the time jonnyhambone's Avatar
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    I'm also a huge fan of 'What Comes After The Blues'. Ending with I Cannot Have Seen The Light !?...crushingly gorgeous!
    "Will I have to be alright all of the time
    No one has to be alright all of the time
    Do I have to be alright all of the time.
    I thought I saw the light
    I saw the light"
    (w/ the perfect, crackling harmonies from Jennie Benford - I think the same Jennie from Didnt It Rain sessions?...). The whole damn album's good but this song could play daily for me. RIP Jason.

  11. #11
    Rocket Surgeon Swish's Avatar
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    Dang. I didn't even know he was ill. And only 39. What a tragedy.

    Quote Originally Posted by jonnyhambone View Post
    Not much else to say, just seemed like it should be acknowledged here. One of my favorite songwriters and creators of beautiful, haunting sonic atmospheres. I'll spin Didn't It Rain in his honor tonite.

    Jason Molina, RIP
    RIP indeed.
    I call my bathroom Jim instead of John so I can tell people that I go to the Jim first thing every morning.

    If you say the word 'gullible' very slowly it sounds just like oranges.

  12. #12
    very clever with maracas Davey's Avatar
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    Nowadays, when Jason Molina sings "I didn't choose to go down this road, no one chooses to be sick" in the song North Star from The North Star Blues Session on the Studio Brussels radio show in 2003, I always get a little teary-eyed.

    Jump to around 3:05 for the beginning of North Star, but if you have the time, listen to the whole set and look at the pictures to get a feel for the man and his music. It's very well done, each song sounds almost like an epitaph now, and the simple, raw versions here are some of his best. Or download it to your computer in the highest resolution available like I did, I have a few versions of this show on my computer now and I can attest that it's highly loved by all his fans. Stripped down, very moving, and highly recommended, I think three of them really are the goto versions (Leave the City, North Star, and Don’t This Look Like the Dark). Don't know how many times I've listened to this in the last couple years, but I know it's a whole bunch. Just mp3/mp4, and not perfect audio, but you'll need to hear them someday if you're a fan, and can easily get them at the youtube link below or ... http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/201....april-20-2003/


  13. #13
    very clever with maracas Davey's Avatar
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    One of my favorites from The Lioness, and this live version from the great Italian concert record Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma is pretty special ...



    Being in love
    Means you are completely broken
    Then put back together

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