Not a single wave.

I think Jason Molina has been previously mentioned in this blog in reference to the level of emotional attachment I have to his music. To me, there is absolutely no one on this planet who seems to understand the sadder half of the world like Molina. Between his solo work, the Songs: Ohia catalogue (if you don't have Magnolia Electric Co. please please get it), and the more recent stuff with the band named after the aforementioned album Magnolia Electric Company, he has put together a group of work that is seriously impressive. Easily one of the best lyricists working today, Molina writes heartbreaking alternative country songs in the vein of Neil Young. But his work is a work all of it's own. Jason's voice has an otherworldly quality that couldn't better fit his melancholy lyrics.

Looking back I'm not really sure why I think I can explain in words here why his music is so important to me. I'd love to be that good of a writer, but when music hits you so hard every time you listen to it that your stomach just drops and all you can do is look at the person next to you and hope that they get it too, there's really not much you can do.

His new solo album Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go leaked awhile back, and I neglected to mention it because I remember so well the way his last solo project, Pyramid Electric Co., slowly worked it's way into my head, my heart, and my stomach. I remember listening to it a couple times and not really "getting it". The songs were so sparse, so empty, so atmospheric, and so unstructured that it was really hard to grab a hold of them and understand them. It's the kind of music that requires a seriously perfect moment to dawn on you. Mine with that album happened the summer between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. A few of us went camping up in Canada as kind of a last ho-rah before leaving for school. We were on a day long hike and my mind started to wander and worry about my future, I got pretty emotional thinking about the relationships I had lost or let fade and the relationships that would disappear when I moved away to school. I happened to put Pyramid Electric Co. on while walking through the most beautiful woods I've ever been to, and slowly Molina's voice worked it's magic. It was one of those moments where I felt so terribly sad, but reveled in the magic of having such strong emotion in such an amazing place, on the cusp of one of the biggest changes my life would ever experience.

Not to say that I've had any sort of similar experience with Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go, but it's had a bit of time to settle in, and at this point I can say that I think it's of comparable quality as his last solo effort. It's dark, sparse, and sad in the best possible way. I don't think there is another songwriter anywhere that can get away with this kind of depression. It's the kind of music I almost get scared to share with the world because I figure there can only be two reactions to such a thing. 1) The new listener wonders how the fuck anyone can listen to such music and function normally in this world, or 2) the new listener is dragged into Molina's world, and it profoundly changes their outlook on things. I'm pretty sure outcome two would be a good thing, but it's a risky business for sure.

i stood beside the ocean, not a single wave.

not a single thing left to say.

with the owl howlin' pain pain pain

with the ocean howlin' the same

with my life howlin' the same...

did i have to live this way?

Jason Molina - Alone With The Owl
Songs: Ohia - Almost Was Good Enough

I included a solo song as well as a Songs: Ohia song, because the two styles are profoundly different. And profoundly awesome. Godspeed.