Songs: Ohia

Some of what Jason Molina sings seems to give off the air of having been stricken with the worst sort of sadness, even some of his more upbeat songs still feature a bit of a pain in his voice, if you ask me. But there are three Songs: Ohia songs in particular that I am drawn in by. These three songs seem to me (and perhaps only to me)to depict a feeling and state of mind that leaves me awestruck. His songs "Tigress", "Lioness" and "How To Be Perfect Men" all give off this same vibe to me. The sadness and powerless feeling his voice often portrays in his saddest songs is now looking towards the woman and asking for mercy. They seem to be sung by a man who feels so powerless and impotent in the face of the more powerful part of the species. A man ready to be ripped limb to limb by the object of his affection, and never a moment of dislike for her, it is almost a sense of admiration along with fear. He knows her plan, and has entered it knowing full well that it will mean his demise. Simply put, he seems to be willing to do anything, even let her destroy him, just to make her happy.

These songs fascinate me because though his depiction of women is a rather evil and unpleasant one, he is also showing a respect for them. That is not even to mention the songs beautiful and haunting qualities, but alas just the rawness and the vulnerability laid out in them is something uncommon.

• Tigress (left click)
• How To Be Perfect Men (left click)
• Lioness

Angie Hart

Sometimes you fall back on old favorites. Today I am finding great pleasure in a late 90's favorite, Frente! For a mostly acoustic band they are able to pull off some amazing sounds with great lyrics. I'm always impressed.

Angie Hart, lead singer for Frente!, has moved on to some other projects, including her band Splendid. I have Splendid's album, and though it is enjoyable enough, is no Frente! Strangely, I hadn't thought much about Frente! or what they were up to until I was at a friend's house 4 or 5 years ago watching some episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer she had taped and heard the unmistakably Angie Hart voice and looked at the screen to see Angie Hart backed by people who weren't Frente singing at Buffy's hangout "The Bronze" (in season 2's "I Only Have Eyes For You" episode for you Buffy geeks out there). That is how I found out about Splendid, by hearing the song "Charge" featured at the beginning of the episode. "Charge" made it to the soundtrack as well. It is one of Splendid's song, but the Buffy version is a different version, one I prefer over the album version. She has also uploaded a solo song called "Blue" to her website that is a beautiful ballad. Check it out.

• Splendid - "Charge (Buffy version)"
• Splendid - "You & Me"
• Angie Hart - "Blue"