I owe my pal Kyle for turning me into a huge Jason Molina fan.
Yesterday, WXPN aired a hour-long special on the late and great Jason Molina.
The moment I learned of this, I stopped what I was doing to tell him. Now I am sharing this with you.
Last night, WXPN in Philadelphia aired the first of Folkadelphia’s Unsung specials of which Jason Molina and Songs: Ohia were the focus. The hour-long feature centered around a watershed moment in Molina’s career, specifically the time leading up to Didn’t It Rain, it’s creation, and the transition to Magnolia Electric Co. Host Fred Kittel guides us through the time period and explores Molina’s impact on a larger scale. The episode includes conversations with important partners in the creation of Didn’t It Rain as well as a compilation of Songs: Ohia covers by local Philadelphia bands. Stream the full episode, covers, etc via the links below.
Listen to Unsung Episode #1: Jason Molina and Songs: Ohia’s Didn’t It Rain. Make sure you have some spare time on your hands as you are going to get sucked into this. It is a very interesting look into Molina and his time in Philadelphia while recording and those influenced by it.
Now comes the cool part… Some of those folk who were influenced by the late and great Molina have contributed to a very appropriate compilation.
I am still kicking my ass for missing Rise Against when they recently played Cleveland. I literally overlooked the show until hours before they started and had already committed to other engagements.
Ok, I am done feeling sorry for myself.
Today I was reminded of an awesome protest compilation album being released by A-F Records called This Concerns Everyone.
What does this have to do with Rise Against you ask? Go on, keep reading…
The album will feature a ton of artists playing covers and originals including Tom Morello, Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), Chris Farren (Fake Problems), Erica Freas (RVIVR), Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves, as well as Justin Sane and Chris#2 (Anti-Flag), just to name a few. See below for the complete track listing.
What first stated as a split between Anti-Flag’s Justin Sane and Chris #2 as well as The Homeless Gospel Choir and Chris Stowe turned into an inspirational idea. More and more people got involved and soon the split turned into a compilation.
An undisclosed portion of proceeds will be donated to the Right To Heal Campaign. I think this is an amazing way for artists to reach out to troops in need.
The good folk at Alternative Press are currently streaming Tim McIlrath’s rendition of a classic Guns N Roses track. Head over to Alternative Press to check out his rendition of “Civil War”.
This comp drops on 11/18/2014. Head over to A-F Records and pre-order yourself a copy now.
Side A:
01. Chris Farren (Fake Problems) – Establishment Blues (Rodriguez)
02. Erica Freas (RVIVR) – Tiny Murders
03. Chris Conley (Saves The Day) – A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke)
04. Chris #2 (Anti-Flag) – What Did You Learn In School Today (Pete Seeger)
05. PJ Bond – Dirty Hands
06. Anika Pyle (Chumped) – Ugly
07. Tom Morello (The Nightwatchman) – House Gone Up In Flames
08. The Homeless Gospel Choir – Some People
09. Chris Stowe – Other Peoples Guns Side B:
10. Chris Wollard (Hot Water Music) – Selected Scenes
11. Roger Harvey – What Are You Fighting For (Phil Ochs)
12. Shawna Potter and Brooks Harlan (War On Women) – Servilia
13. Tim Mcllrath (Rise Against) – Civil War (Guns N’ Roses)
14. Justin Sane (Anti-Flag) – I Ain’t Got No Home (Woody Guthrie)
15. Thomas From The Burning Land (Strike Anywhere) – The Deep State (Field Recording) Digital Bonus Tracks:
01. Prophet Motive – Hallowawa
02. Josh Massie – Life During War Time (Green Day)
03. Spoonboy – Last Of The Asshole (The Max Levine Ensemble)
04. Pat Thetic – Owe Us A Living (CRASS)
Danger Mouse has teamed up with Sparklehorse and David Lynch creating an album that may never be officially released.
Still scratching that noggin’?
Just listen to the album then already streaming in its entirety on NPR.org. The head scratching will stop some. This is a really interesting concept album of sorts.
May 15, 2009 – When the first cryptic bits of news about Dark Night of the Soul began trickling in earlier this year, it all sounded too good to be true. Though the whole project was shrouded in mystery, it appeared that Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, two of the most inspired artists making music today, were collaborating on a new album. That alone was enough to get our geek gears spinning with excitement. But there was an unusual twist that few of us at NPR Music could make sense of: Director David Lynch was somehow involved.
It all started back in March, at the South by Southwest music festival and conference. A number of us on the NPR Music team had noticed strange posters around downtown Austin, Texas, that read “Dark Night of the Soul.” They looked like movie posters and had David Lynch’s name on them, alongside names of some of our favorite artists, like Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse, Vic Chesnutt, Jason Lytle and more. We wondered if it was some sort of musical film.
Soon after our Austin trip, NPR Music received copies of the mysterious posters in the mail. No return address. Someone was messing with us. I tried to find out more, but had zero success. Then, weeks later, I finally got a note from a publicist with all the details we’d been waiting for.
It turns out Dark Night Of The Soul is an album and the songs were written by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, though the myriad singers featured on each track also had a big hand in composing and producing the work. The album was initially going to be packaged with a book of photos taken by David Lynch. But now there’s word that the music may never be officially released at all.
An unnamed spokesperson for Danger Mouse says that “due to an ongoing dispute with EMI” the book of photographs will “now come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: ‘For legal reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.'” When contacted, EMI declined to comment and wouldn’t confirm whether the label is even involved in the project.
You can order the book, sans music, from the official Dark Night Of The Soul Web site. In the meantime, you can hear the entire album here on NPR Music as an Exclusive First Listen.
I’ve listened to the record all the way through at least a dozen times, and can confirm that Dark Night of the Soul delivers in every way you’d hope for. It’s beautiful but haunting, surreal and dark, but sometimes comical and affecting, with ear-popping, multilayered production work. It just gets more mesmerizing with every listen.
In addition to Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, other artists appearing on Dark Night of the Soul include James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.
Check out the Dark Night Of The Soul official website where you can pre-order the book associated with the release full photography and a blank CD-R. The blank CD-R is there for you the reader/listener to add whatever music you see necessary. Freedom of choice. I like that.
I would rather see this entire album be released but that shall be determined.
For now head over to NPR.org where they are streaming Dark Night Of The Soul and see what the fuss is all about.
Track Listing:
1. “Revenge” (featuring The Flaming Lips) – 4:52
2. “Just War” (featuring Gruff Rhys) – 3:44
3. “Jaykub” (featuring Jason Lytle) – 3:52
4. “Little Girl” (featuring Julian Casablancas) – 4:33
5. “Angel’s Harp” (featuring Black Francis) – 2:57
6. “Pain” (featuring Iggy Pop) – 2:49
7. “Star Eyes (I Can’t Catch It)” (featuring David Lynch) – 3:10
8. “Everytime I’m With You” (featuring Jason Lytle) – 3:09
9. “Insane Lullaby” (featuring James Mercer) – 3:12
10. “Daddy’s Gone” (featuring Mark Linkous and Nina Persson) – 3:09
11. “The Man Who Played God” (featuring Suzanne Vega) – 3:09
12. “Grim Augury” (featuring Vic Chesnutt) – 2:32
13. “Dark Night of the Soul” (featuring David Lynch) – 4:38
UPDATE: Looks like EMI bitched out and canceled the two videos below that I posted. I swear if this album is not released then fingers should be pointed at EMI for reasons why the music industry is struggling. I listened to the stream 3 times now and think the album is brilliant and may be one of my top 10 for 2009.
Do yourself a favor and check it out before EMI sucks harder and pulls the stream from NPR.org.
NOT an official video, but still pretty entertaining:
I also found this interesting site that I will not mention what it is about but it may interest you. I am not sure how long it will even stay up…
I owe my pal Kyle for turning me into a huge Jason Molina fan.
