Transmissions From The Molinaverse - December 29th
A regular update on all things JM
Magnolia Electric Co. at the Abbey Pub, Chicago during a fall 2008 tour with Tre Orsi and Bottomless Pit
Photograph by Howard Draper
Hey everyone,
Hope all’s good with you all.
We return today with another edition of our Molinaverse roundup, this time to round out the year. There’s a photo album from a MECo shoot that resurfaced recently, some footage and trinkets we’ve stumbled across in the archives, and some things we’ve enjoyed discovering on socials of late.
A reminder if there’s something you’d like to share with us here, please don’t hesitate to get in touch either by replying to this email or alternatively find us at Molina@secretlycanadian.com.
Finally, a huge thank you to everyone for subscribing and following throughout 2024. We’ve already got some exciting plans lined up for next year, so we hope to share more on those as soon as we can.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year when it arrives, and we’ll see you in 2025…
S&D x
MECo 2009 portrait shots
We loved seeing these incredible recently resurfaced portrait shots of Magnolia Electric Co. taken in Denver, 2009 by photographer Todd Roeth. You also can find them on Todd’s website here along with his other work: https://www.lookat.toddroeth.com/portraits/magnolia-electric-company
We’ve recently been sharing audio from this fairly mysterious early tape, recorded by Jason in London in 1995. As you might imagine from a timeframe that sits a couple of years ahead of the Songs: Ohia debut, it’s an embryonic, sketch-like collection of ideas, notes and demos that makes for an interesting listen for anyone who’d like an insight into Jason’s working methods during that early explorative phase.
Check out the tape in 3 parts here:
This Month in Molina…
Thanks to Songs: Ohia Video Archive for this early footage of Songs: Ohia performing unreleased track ‘Your Eyes vs The Sun’ in December 1998, shot during a Bloomington show at Second Story.
Next up, here’s a solo performance of ‘Come Twilight Come’, recorded at ACME Comics, Columbia SC, back in December 2006. With thanks to Tweedybootlicker for the footage.
Finally, here’s a clip of Jason performing ‘Talk To Me Devil’ in England the following year in 2007, at beloved London venue The Luminaire which sadly closed its doors in 2010. Footage via Paul Murff.
From the archives…
Something dug out from the Secretly Canadian archives: a handwritten collection of press quotes from the very early Songs: Ohia era.
From the socials…
Earlier this month, Julien Baker and Torres debuted songs from their new project together at Mercury Lounge, NYC. The set included this new song, which they concluded with a section from ‘Farewell Transmission’. Here’s what Julien had to say after the song:
“I wrote that song that you just heard, called ‘Tape Runs Out’, and then I was like, ‘Fuck, this is literally just… Farewell Transmission by Songs: Ohia, so I was like, let’s mash 'em up. …That’s why I was saying 'Listen.’ That wasn’t my command. Vicariously, through Jason Molina, it came.”
Elsewhere, something that brought a smile when it was sent our way, this clip of author, filmmaker and artist Miranda July dancing around the living room to ‘Farewell Transmission’ - especially for this particular S&D contributor who is currently in the middle of reading her brilliant novel ‘All Fours’, which is surely landing in many of 2024’s end of year must-read lists.
You can find Miranda on Substack here:
Magnolia Electric CO at Casbeers at the Church, San Antonio TX, fall 2008
Photograph by Howard Draper