Over the last few days I have been
contemplating a few different topics to write about. Nothing seemed to really grab my
interest. I hate forcing my
writing. It never sounds right when I
do. So I had decided to wait until
something popped into my head that really grabbed a hold of me. This sometimes takes a few days or a few
weeks, but eventually it will happen.
Well this morning I put on some Blind Melon while I was writing my
morning emails. Almost immediately the
music sucked me in and I was looking at pictures of the band, posting them on
the Locomotive Facebook page. Then, I
got to thinking about Shannon Hoon’s passing and how tragic and preventable it
was. Shannon was so talented with such a bright future. To this day I believe Blind Melon’s self
named debut album is one of the best debuts of all time and are completely
underrated as a band. Unfortunately I
never had the chance to see them live. I
am sure they were fantastic. Needless to
say I eventually got back to work, still blaring the Blind Melon. Shannon’s face was sort of etched into my
brain for while. Somewhere around 2:30 I
checked my phone for the first time in a few hours and a buddy of mine had sent
me a text saying that Jason Molina had died from alcoholism. My heart sank.
Jason Molina, was a musician somewhat new
to my catalog. He was the singer for
Magnolia Electric Co. and Songs: Ohia.
My great friend and fellow music lover Paige turned me on to him a few years
ago. I have listened to the albums Sojourner,
What Comes After The Blues, and Trials and Errors quite a bit over the last
three years. His haunting voice and
painful lyrics have kept me company on many lonely and sad nights. I will admit
while I read the articles about Jason’s passing this weekend, I shed a few
tears. His songs about love lost,
mistrust, hurt, pain, death, and hope, have all matched up with some point in
my life these last few years. Lyrically,
it is some of the best music I have ever heard.
North Star, Such Pretty Eyes for a Snake, and The Dark Don’t Hide It
are brilliant songs beyond comprehension.
It is almost as if he was looking at the world through my eyes when he
wrote those songs. It is funny, I enjoy
those albums so much, I have yet to venture past them. Jason had an amazing career spanning 15 years
and a huge lot of albums and EPs. Many
of which I have yet to listen too. I better
get busy. I can only imagine the gems
that lay hidden on that wax.
Once I decided to write about this
subject I pondered what I read about Jason Molina’s struggles with
Alcoholism. I thought about all the
other amazing musicians that died from the terrible disease of addiction. Addiction is something I understand
well. I have my own battles with
substance abuse. I spent a lot of time
wondering why musicians are so different.
Why is their pain so much heavier than other artists? Or is it the rock star image that pulls them
in and never lets go. Andrew Wood, Brent Mydland, Danny Whitten, Jay Bennett,
and Phil Lynott are a few
musicians that you might not know that all died from addiction. All of these guys are now ghosts in my music
collection. Hopefully one day fellow
musicians will learn from the mistakes of their elders, so that the deaths of
so many amazing artists will not have been in vain. Maybe?
I would have much
rather come up with another topic than the very recent death of a musician that
I loved. I guess that is why we call it
Rock N Roll. Life is full of ups and downs;
life and death are everywhere, even in music.
Shannon Hoon, Bradley Nowell, and Jason Molina all sang about their
deaths and the possibility of it happening sooner than later. I wonder how many other musicians that died
from drugs or alcohol also sang about their untimely deaths before they happened. This sounds like a perfectly good excuse to
waste a Sunday and make some “mixed tapes”.
Jason Molina, thank you so very much for the amazing gifts you have given
me in your music. I will continue to
cherish your work long into the sunset my friend. RIP!
“It’s your
last chance, to forget me now and its done for good
you always said I’d make it out somehow darling, I knew I never would.”
you always said I’d make it out somehow darling, I knew I never would.”
Jason Molina
1973 - March
16, 2013
There but for the grace of God, go I. May you rest in peace, Jason.
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ReplyDeleteThe loss of Jason Molina is especially felt by those who had already touched through his songwriting.. It's now your job, as a fan, to help keep his music alive.
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