Magnolia Electric Co. - Jason Molina & Songs: Ohia
This is one of my favorite albums of all time. It was produced by Steve Albini (R.I.P) and was at the height of Jason Molina's career. A few songs legitimately floor me every time I hear them. Farewell Transmission is at the very top of that list. Everything about it hits me viscerally, from the gorgeous lyrics ("Mama here comes midnight with the dead moon in its jaws"), to that goddamn perfect ending cutting out at just the right moment. "Listen!"
The rest of the album carries on from there, sprawling farther and farther with each song after the opener, and god if Hold On Magnolia isn't a hell of a bookend. The sheer pathos and emotion of this album is incredible. But fuck me if Farewell Transmission isn't just one of the greatest songs of all time.
Anywho, definitely give it a listen!
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Blindsided by this, really sad. The list of Albini's productions is jaw-dropping. Magnolia Electric Company is one of the great pieces of post-industrial Americana, bleak and beautiful. Farewell Transmission is Jason Molina's most powerful recording, but the album (incl. outtakes) is stacked. Heavy & gorgeous, suitable for the moment.
May 8, 2024
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In March of 2023 I was on tour with my band Trophy Wife. We had just played a set on the second date in a dingy hardcore bar in Philly that was selling microwaved White Castle sliders and packs of American Spirit for cheap. Ahead of us was a 17 hour drive to New Orleans that would have to be made in one day.
I woke up in the backseat somewhere in between and leaned my head on the window beside me. It was pitch black but before sunrise. The road becomes something different when you're traveling for that long, resembling more of a habitat than a construct with its own set of strict rules and guidelines. In the dark, protected by the shell of a Honda CRV, I would watch the trucks pass by like behemoth steed; big iron whales, and I am so small.
'Wooly Mammoth's Absence' became gospel during that drive. I found it before we left, sometime during our day in Philly when I was getting ready for the show. I listened alone at first, the woody nylon guitars and hushed words of Phil Elverum were a trusted secret for my ears only.
Once I showed it to them we discovered multiple versions of the song that were released over the years, my favorite of which is the first one I heard, from 'Seven New Songs'. It was a perfect companion; something wiser than me that kept me moving forward, like the only torch in a dungeon.
"Quickly forgotten was this forgetful way of life, when I left home and I lived as if I had died" he still sings quietly, and only for me.
Jan 26, 2024
Never went deep on microphones or mount eerie but now I am going deep. Listened to the glow pt.2 for the first time and it paralyzed me. Sat on my bed with noise cancelling headphones on and just sat still and listened. Musical paralysis, incredible stuff. This has also reignited my LOVE for Dear Nora, and why not throw some beat happening in there for a PNW triple threat.
Dec 13, 2024
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Idk, I want to see more expression on the street
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Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is an experience. It is a beautifully messy, heart-wrenching, experimental masterpiece that somehow feels even more relevant twenty-plus years later. I have recently found that Radiohead fans tend to enjoy this album thoroughly, and adding Wilco to your arsenal of Spotify playlists is always a good move.
Rejected by their label, self-released online, and now considered one of the greatest albums of all time—talk about a comeback story. If you haven’t given this one a deep listen (or if it’s been a while), now’s the time.
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