Mark Olson's Gritty Prettiness

Mark Olson, founding member of the seminal alt-country group The Jayhawks, recently released his second solo album, "Many Colored Kite." It's a great album, gentle and beautiful. Admittedly, Mark's nasal, wavering voice and decidedly unslick songs are an acquired taste. But since his days in The Jayhawks, Olson has proven himself to be a premier Americana singer/songwriter.

Mark's music is earnest, unflashy, and favors expression over musicality. His melodies often sound constrained, and he revels in such simplicity that sometimes it's hard to hear a strong melody or musical hook. But when the songs are embellished with harmony vocals, bass lines, or additional instrumentation, the full beauty of his music is revealed. When he was in The Jayhawks, bandmate Gary Louris had the more pleasing lead vocal, but the soul of the band was Mark (which is why The Jayhawks became a mediocre pop band when Olson left). All the same, I think Olson sounds best when paired with Louris or his girlfriend Ingunn Ringvold's crystal clear voice to compliment his gravely sound and bring out the song's hidden beauties. Mark may not have the best voice or delivery, but what he does provide is a rock solid foundation for great songs.

The GOP and the Mosque at Ground Zero

The GOP’s outrage over building a Mosque at Ground Zero is more revealing of their simple-minded bigotry than any accusation I could make. The simple problem with their position is that they equate Islam with Al-Qaeda. Islam is one of the world’s largest religions. Al-Qaeda is a terrorist network. We see this all the time from the GOP though, and there’s a word for it: intolerance.

Certainly, Al-Qaeda would not approve of this Mosque, because they accept no form of Islam other than their own. And for all the GOP’s talk about freedom, what about religious freedom? Typically, they only support freedom when it’s for their own beliefs. But the real indication of freedom is allowing it for people different from yourself.

By the way, there’s already a Mosque at another 9/11 site: there’s one inside the Pentagon.