Unseen until recently - Jason performing with MECo at Audio, Brighton, UK 2009
Photograph by Greg Neate
Hey everyone,
We’re well aware it’s been a minute, so we’re back here with a somewhat bigger update of some interesting things that have been occupying our hearts and minds of late.
There’s a little streaming update on Jason’s catalog, some nice bits of writing we’ve stumbled across recently, and some great recommended listening if you have the time.
Beyond that, we take another little dive into the archive, and share some beautiful fan tattoos that have been sent our way in the last few weeks.
As ever, if there is something you want to share here you can reply to this email or get us at Molina@secretlycanadian.com
Hope you enjoy reading.
S&D x
Jason Molina - streaming services catalog update
Linking together all of his Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co. and self-titled output, you can now find all of Jason's discography in one place under the 'Jason Molina' tag across streaming services wherever you happen to listen.
Recommended reading…
"Over two decades later, the LP remains Molina’s most incisive"
Paste Magazine recently included ‘The Magnolia Electric Co.’ in their first ever “Greatest Albums of All Time” list.
Read the full article here: https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/greatest-albums/the-300-greatest-albums-of-all-time-
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“The fact that Molina is still not lauded as a great American songwriter is a travesty, and one wonders how his influence has not been more widely celebrated today.”
Elsewhere but still on Songs: Ohia’s ‘The Magnolia Electric Co’., we enjoyed reading this recent piece from Pop Matters on the continued legacy of both the album and Jason’s work more widely.
Read the whole thing here: https://www.popmatters.com/songs-ohia-magnolia-electric-co-atr2003
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And while we’re here and still on the subject…here’s one final (and deeply personal) take on The MECo from Sonder Union: https://www.sonderunion.com/otr-take-53/
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‘‘Sometimes a song finds you, feels like the only thing you can hear”
Lastly, here’s a great little piece of writing from Marianela D’Aprile centred around ‘Farewell Transmission’.
Check it out here:
This (last) month in Molina
We might be into July by now, but let’s have a little June recap as we’ve been looking back at some footage from various June shows Jason played over the years. There’s a few short examples with individual songs compiled here, but in most cases you can find full show footage from these particular clips if you wish to dig further.
Thanks to Songs Ohia: Video Archive and Vantomas Productions for the footage below.
9th June 2000 - Jason performs a solo Songs: Ohia show at NXNE Festival, Toronto, Canada
19th June 2007 - Magnolia Electric Co. live at Cafè del Teatre Escorxador, Lleida, Spain
20th June 1998 - 'On My Way Home' at a house party in Connersville, Indiana
From the archives…
From the archives…this beautiful one-off drawing by William Schaff inspired by the lyrics of Songs: Ohia’s ‘The Black Crow’, from a series of letters and art he exchanged in the mail with Jason over the years.
Recommended listening…
We loved listening back to this recent Jason Molina tribute show on NTS radio from presenters James Knight and Beatriz G. Aranda, featuring an hour of music and conversation as they selected and spoke of their favourite songs from Jason’s discography.
Listen back here or via the Soundcloud link above:
https://www.nts.live/shows/low-bias-show/episodes/low-bias-show-15th-may-2024
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A little while back we shared that Caitlin Rose had been covering ‘Nashville Moon’ as a staple of her live sets for some time.
We’ve been really enjoying this recent live session version recorded with British band Hollow Hand for the Netherlands-based blog and Youtube channel ‘The Influences.’
Fan tattoo corner
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Fan tattoos (clockwise from top-left: MECo owls via Brian Abbott and Pascal Hildebrand, Songs: Ohia crossbow via Andrew Dufrane, rabbit and magnolias inspired by Songs: Ohia S/T via Katrina Burkhardt, and Sarah Jane’s tattoo inspired by William Schaff's The MECO Owl and the lyrics to Songs: Ohia's 'Being In Love'.
Bottletree Cafe, Birmingham AL, 2008
Photograph by Wes Frazer