Everybody needs more (good) sad music in their lives. So when I stumbled upon Songs: Ohia, I was absolutely elated to add another great artist to add to my rainy day playlist.
Songs: Ohia’s most popular album, Magnolia Electric Co., really resonated with me when I first heard it. Starting with the nearly 7.5 minute epic track “Farewell Transmission,” I was immediately drawn by the combination of indie, folk, and bluegrass influenced sound. Not to mention, the depth of styles found on the album is incredible.
I instantly became obsessed. Who was this band? Why had I never heard of them? Did they have any hit albums after Magnolia Electric Co. in 2003? Reading more about Jason Molina, the organizer and lead of the band, helped me answer some of these questions. I found out Molina grew up and lived quite near to my house in the Cleveland, Ohio area. In my opinion, this explains much of the midwest folkish-blues sound that appears in Magnolia Electric Co. As to why Songs: Ohia no longer exists, Jason Molina struggled with depression and alcoholism for most of his career. After years of struggling with addiction, Molina passed away in 2013 from organ failure.
This difficult reality of Molina’s life explains what is reflected by his music. Lyrically he references these struggles in the song “Just Be Simple” when singing, “You’ll never hear me talk about one day getting out. Why put a new address on the same old loneliness?”. In the song “Peoria Lunchbox Blues”, Molina writes, “Two old friends in the night, who always knew they would if they could, meet one last time in the old neighborhood”. To me, this lyric summarizes the difficulty of returning to places in our past that are tough to revisit. The entire album hits hard.
You will probably be reading this article over winter break. Take time to go back to the places you miss, and for many of you that may be a hike in your local park. If you think you don’t have one near your home, check out http://findyourpark.com/find to see if there’s one nearby. If you’re staying in DC, go explore The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park down on the Potomac River. You can get there easily from campus by walking down the Battery Kemble Park ravine via the dog park down Nebraska Ave.
So check out Magnolia Electric Co. and other Songs: Ohia albums, and don’t forget to get a good hike in before the winter and snow.