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Erin Osmon presents a detailed, human account of the Rust Belt–born musician Jason Molina—a visionary, prolific, and at times cantankerous singer-songwriter with an autodidactic style that captivated his devoted fans. The songwriting giant behind the bands Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. had a knack for spinning tales, from the many personal myths he cultivated throughout his life to the poems and ballads he penned and performed. As with too many great musicians, Molina’s complicated relationship with the truth, combined with a secretive relationship with the bottle, ultimately claimed his life.
With a new foreword from singer-songwriter Will Johnson, Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost details Molina’s personal trials and triumphs and reveals for the first time the true story of Molina’s last months and works, including an unpublished album unknown to many of his fans. Offering unfettered access to the mind and artistry of Molina through exclusive interviews with family, friends, and collaborators, the book also explores the Midwest music underground and the development of Bloomington, Indiana–based label Secretly Canadian.
As the first authorized and detailed account of this prolific songwriter and self-mythologizer, Jason Molina provides readers with unparalleled insight into Molina’s tormented life and the fascinating Midwest musical underground that birthed him. It’s a story for the ages that speaks volumes to the triumphs and trials of the artistic spirit while exploring the meaningful music that Molina’s creative genius left behind.
Published | 01 Dec 2018 |
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Format | Paperback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 256 |
ISBN | 9781538112182 |
Imprint | Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |
Illustrations | 31 b/w illustrations |
Dimensions | 230 x 155 mm |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
The anecdotal details from Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost are what ring most vividly, exposing a side of Molina that rarely came through in his melancholic music.... Riding with the Ghost also enriches his songs, illuminating their characters in their own words and supplying context to the places they were set.
MTV
Among Riding with the Ghost’s most memorable passages are instances of Molina’s fandom, from his unconditional love for Sade and his evangelizing of Kraftwerk to Damien Jurado, to his edict to bandmates to study Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush. Molina’s passion rings through these pages, nowhere more distinctly than in the retelling of the fateful interaction that launched his career while studying at Oberlin College (where he was known as 'Sparky').
Pitchfork Media Inc.
Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost delves into each period of the artist’s life: from his first high school punk band Chronic Insanity, to his last days with heralded alt-country act Magnolia Electric Co., and the numerous iterations of his beloved folk-leaning band Songs: Ohia, as well as solo material and unreleased demos unkown to fans. It’s a fascinating look at one of the last pre-internet indie successes and the underground music scene that supported his meteoric rise. The book also examines the origin story of Bloomington, IN-based Secretly Canadian, and how the record label and Molina became inexorably linked in a nearly 17-year run as label and artist, despite major ideological and technological shifts in the landscape of independent music. It’s a book not just for Molina fans, but for music fans — a story for the ages that explores the triumphs and pitfalls of a very pure artistic spirit.
Glide Magazine
Jason Molina: Riding With the Ghost absolutely communicates just what Molina’s life meant to family, friends, collaborators and fans.... Osmon does an excellent job of painting a nuanced portrait of a complex human being.... Her interviews with former band members and those involved with the production process yield a lot of wonderful insight into Molina’s singular and demanding creative process and his prolificacy.... It was already clear from his immense output that there is endless meaning to be gleaned from Jason Molina’s body of work, but Osmon takes the story of his short, bright time on Earth, warts and all — just like a Songs: Ohia record, 'no overdubs!' — and puts it in the context of a real human life. And that unveils depths to his music that we’re only now able to explore.
Winnipeg Free Press
Osmon's biography is a must read for anyone who has more than a casual relationship with Molina's work; which, in my guess, would be anyone who has heard Molina's work.... Osmon pulls back the curtain and shows us Molina the man.
37 FLOOD
Never short on details, it’s a ravenous fan’s dream.... Osmon provides the deepest of glimpses into Molina’s worlds. All the trinket-filled mysteries left behind by one of the greatest songwriters who ever wrote a note are captured here.... Thanks ... Osmon for a guided tour of Molina’s mythological palette, warts and all.
Popmatters
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