The world lost one its best (soul-baring) artists this year when the great songwriter Jason Molina went AWOL-into-the-next-world.  Thankfully, many continue to carry the torch for Molina and all of his various fronts (Songs: Ohia; Magnolia Electric Co.).  Included in this worthwhile effort are his label Secretly Canadian, but also the Avett Brothers and a murder of others.  Most recently, Secretly Canadian released the superb Deluxe Edition of Didn’t It Rain.  If you don’t own it, then Merry Christmas to yourself.

Adding to the host of homilies for Molina, Strand of Oaks also paid perfect homage to Molina this year with the song JM off of their 2014 album Heal.  We love everything about it, including the lyrics and the Neil Young/Built to Spill guitar razing.

We’ll admit to being somewhat ambivalent about Strand of Oaks (Tim Showalter) until recently.  But with the album Heal and a recent stream of captivating cover song releases, we’ve been completely won over by the artist.  You can go HERE to read the back-story on Heal, but as the Jamaicans say: “Dem dat knows it feels it.”  And with Heal, we all definitely feel it.  Without getting too maudlin and specific, when we listen to Heal (and, specifically, JM) it’s as if the words were written on our souls.  Lived through this and that, and out the other end.  Oh that it were so for JM.  The crow has in fact lost its wings.

Check JM out below (the song’s lyrics follow the song), and while you’re at it, go HERE to see our post about and listen again to one of our favorite re-releases of the year in Molina’s Journey On: Singles Collected, including the sweetest of songs, Soul.  Desolation row has never sounded so good.  Hammer down, heaven bound, dearly departed.

JM:

“I was an Indiana kid, getting no one in my bed I had your sweet tunes to play I was staring at the map, feeling fire in my head I had your sweet tunes to play I was mean to my dad, cause I was mean to myself I had your sweet tunes to play Stealing smokes in my car, with the window way down I had your sweet tunes to play Your sweet tunes to play I was sitting in the bath, cleaning off the ash I had your sweet tunes to play And I hated all my friends, and wouldn’t let them in I had your sweet tunes to play On a long desert train, with a knife in my bag I had your sweet tunes to play Under the Market Street Bridge, burning one in my hand I had your sweet tunes to play Your sweet tunes to play Now its hard to hear you sing, the crow has lost his wings I got your sweet tunes to play I’m getting older everyday, still living the same mistakes I got your sweet tunes to play Either get out or stay in, I won’t let these dark times win We got your sweet tunes to play Your sweet tunes to play.”