title: Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost
author:  Erin Osmon 
description: <span><span>The anecdotal details from </span><span style="font-style:italic;">Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost</span><span> are what ring most vividly, exposing a side of Molina that rarely came through in his melancholic music.... </span><span style="font-style:italic;">Riding with the Ghost</span><span> also enriches his songs, illuminating their characters in their own words and supplying context to the places they were set.</span></span> (<i>MTV</i>)<br /><br /><span><span>Among </span><span style="font-style:italic;">Riding with the Ghost</span><span>s most memorable passages are instances of Molinas fandom, from his unconditional love for Sade and his evangelizing of Kraftwerk to Damien Jurado, to his edict to bandmates to study Neil Youngs </span><span style="font-style:italic;">After the Gold Rush</span><span>. Molinas 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'). </span></span> (<i>Pitchfork Media Inc.</i>)<br /><br /><span><span style="font-style:italic;">Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost </span><span>delves into each period of the artists 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. Its 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. Its 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.</span></span> (<i>Glide Magazine</i>)<br /><br /><span><span style="font-style:italic;">Jason Molina: Riding With the Ghost</span><span> absolutely communicates just what Molinas 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 Molinas singular and demanding creative process and his prolificacy.... </span><span>It was already clear from his immense output that there is endless meaning to be gleaned from Jason Molinas 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 were only now able to explore.</span></span> (<i>Winnipeg Free Press</i>)<br /><br /><span><span>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.... </span><span>Osmon pulls back the curtain and shows us Molina the man.</span></span> (<i>37 FLOOD</i>)<br /><br /><span><span>Never short on details, its a ravenous fans dream.... Osmon provides the deepest of glimpses into Molinas worlds. All the trinket-filled mysteries left behind by one of the greatest songwriters who ever wrote a note are captured here.... </span><span>Thanks ... Osmon for a guided tour of Molinas mythological palette, warts and all.</span></span> (<i>Popmatters</i>)<br /><br /><span><span>If Jason Molina has ever been important to you, then you need to read the book, because Osmon did a magnificent job detailing Molinas life, struggles, music, and demise. So many lingering questions are answered, and questions youd never considered are answered as well. Read it. Now.</span></span> (<i>Third Coast Review</i>)<br /><br /><span><span>In her new book, </span><span style="font-style:italic;">Riding With the Ghost</span><span>, writer </span><span>Erin Osmon</span><span> accomplishes a tricky feat regarding the late Jason Molina... She presents Molina, whose work can so often mythic, as if carved from ancient stone, fully as a person, with faults, desires, humors, and failings. She doesnt strip his songs of their mystery or allure, but rather illustrates the idiosyncratic and personal details that led to his remarkable words and melodies. In doing so, she gives us the gift of more fully knowing Molina, as well as his companions and friends, those who traveled alongside him through life.</span></span> (<i>Aquarium Drunkard</i>)<br /><br /><span><span style="font-style:italic;">Riding With The Ghost...</span><span>captures the heaviness and levity that coexisted in Molinas personality, and it enriches a moving and inexhaustible artistic legacy.</span></span> (<i>Decoder Magazine</i>)<br /><br /><span><span>[E]mpathetic and informative.... Erin Osmon is a great biographer, writer and critic. She has used new interviews to weave an empathetic and informative story around Molina and his music, without turning him into a martyr, without trying to make him even more of a cult figure than he has become. She does not condone or condemn, simply tells it straight. Here is the story of one creative spirit who could not cope. Here is how he lived and made the music he left behind. Read and listen: it is the story of how music is made.</span></span> (<i>International Times</i>)
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  Jason Molina
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jason Molina
  
  
  Riding with the Ghost
  
  
  Erin Osmon
  
  
  ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
  
  
  Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Published by Rowman & Littlefield
  
  
  A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
  
  
  4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
  
  
  [www.rowman.com](http://www.rowman.com)
  
  
  Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB
  
  
  Copyright © 2017 by Erin Osmon
  
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
  any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
  retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a
  reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
  
  
  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
  
  
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
  
  
  Names: Osmon, Erin.
  
  
  Title: Jason Molina : riding with the ghost / Erin Osmon.
  
  
  Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2017] | Inc