Crucial Molina

Jason Molina aka Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. was a singer-songwriter that bridged the gap between Neil Young's Americana and slowcore acts like Karate, Low, Ida, Red House Painters, Codeine, Duster, Arab Strap, and others.

A prolific songwriter, Molina and his bands released 16 studio albums, many EPs, and a handful of live albums over the course of their 14 year existence. Molina sadly passed away in 2013, at the age of 39, after dealing with health issues resulting from his fight with alcoholism.

Every so often something triggers me to re-visit the music of Songs: Ohia – this time it was a live video of MJ Lenderman playing "Blue Factory Flame" with Magnolia and Johnson Electric Co., Molina's former bandmates and collaborators.

The Molina discography is immense and overwhelming. Not in an extreme Guided By Voices way (54 albums!), but compared to most groups/artists nowadays, there's a lot to get through... so I thought it would be a cool idea to put together a "Crucial Molina" playlist, highlighting some of my favorite tracks from this amazing songwriter. Hopefully this helps introduce Jason Molina to more people – his lyricism and heartfelt songwriting should not be missed.

The tracks I've selected:

• "Cabwaylingo" off Songs: Ohia (1997) (as portrayed on Live: Vanquishers)
• "The Black Crow" off The Lioness (2000) (as portrayed on Live: Vanquishers)
• "Being in Love" off The Lioness (2000) (as portrayed on Live: Vanquishers)
• "Lioness" off The Lioness (2000)
• "Just a Spark" off The Lioness (2000)
• "Blue Factory Flame" off Didn't It Rain (2002)
• "Didn't It Rain" off Didn't It Rain (2002)
• "Blue Chicago Moon" off Didn't It Rain (2002)
• "Farewell Transmission" off Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)
• "Just Be Simple" off Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)
• "I've Been Riding with the Ghost" off Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)
• "The Dark Don't Hide It" off What Comes After the Blues (2005)
• "Don't Fade on Me" off Fading Trails (2006)
• "The Handing Down" off Josephine (2009)
• "Nobody Tries That Hard Anymore" off Live: Vanquishers (2024)

Get the playlist here on Apple Music.

Enjoy. (And please give attention to the lyrics!)