Transmissions From The Molinaverse - October 23rd

A regular update on all things JM

Jason in Oberlin - photograph from the Secretly Canadian archive

Hello,

Hope you’re all keeping well out there.

Here’s another little round up of some (hopefully) interesting things from all around the Molinaverse.

From books inspired by Jason’s work, to photos from the archives and all time lists featuring Molina albums, we hope you find something here that interests you.

Something we’d also like to note: later this week we’ll be sharing a full folder containing both the entire Josephine Demos and Lamb & Flag Tape III, which will be free to download for all paid S&D subscribers.

Lots of you have been asking for an option to purchase / download these but we are hesitant to put these very raw demos up on Bandcamp, Secretly Store or elsewhere and so we thought this makes sense. If you subscribe ($5) you’ll be able to get these two tapes and dig into any other paid content and then hop back onto the free tier after a month.

All the best,

S&D x

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A published author and distant friend of Jason Molina, Christian Kiefer has recently released his new novel The Heart of It All. Set in a declining small town in central Ohio, The Heart of It All asks how one manages, in an America of increasing division, to find a sense of family and community.

Christian cites Jason as a big influence on his work, and the novel even features some of Jason’s lyrics. To accompany a playlist he recently compiled for Larghearted Boy, he said the following of The Magnolia Electric Co. album:

“What you get on this album is what I always wanted Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town to sound like: a certain plaintive wailing marked by solid forward momentum. Jason talks a lot about wanting to change, often failing, often hiding himself from the people he loves. The album starts with this: “It’s been hard doing anything. Winter’s stuck around so long.” Man yeah it has. That’s what the whole book is about.”

In the LHB Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. Christian’s playlist heavily features Jason’s music, and can be found here

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"Its looseness and weariness grow on you with each listen, representing both the lightning-in-a-bottle occurrence of the album’s recording and Molina’s unquestionable presence that, 20 years removed from Magnolia Electric Co.’s release, is missed now more than ever."

To mark turning 20 this year, Treble have recently ranked every Treble album of the year from 2003 up to 2022, with Songs: Ohia's 'The Magnolia Electric Co' landing at number 6.

Read the full piece here

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From the archives: Jason at a Bloomington coffee shop, October 1997.

Photograph by Thomas Heath