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Son Volt — Medication
Album: Okemah and the Melody of Riot
Avg rating:
7.1

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2843









Released: 2005
Length: 4:52
Plays (last 30 days): 6
Living on medication
Don't wanna know what I've done
Place to place, on the run
Living on medication

Living on medication
Wanted to slow the world down

Make a break concentrate on
Different solution
Realization waves of the soon to learn
Walking oil spill


Living on medication
Nothing can stop us now
Headed for the stratosphere
Living on medication

Destination set, engines on
Drop a toe into the jetstream

Make a break concentrate on
Different solution
Realization waves of the soon to learn
Pollution restitution
Comments (129)add comment
Not again, oh my god... put him out of his misery someone please
 h8rhater wrote:

Say that 10 times real fast.   It surely is a mouthful. 
 
That being said, having to choose between Jay and Jeff just feels like a Sophie's Choice to me.  Very unnecessary.


Beg to differ, Wilco to me is an uninspired husk of Uncle Tupelo that was turned mash, used in a still in order to create rubbing alcohol.  Son Volt is a fine cask-strength bourbon that's not for the palate of the casual listener, and may burn when not properly prepared with a fat ice rock, some bitters, and a peel of an orange. 
The same things that make me love the music of Neil Young make me appreciate Jay Farrar. They can capture and convey all the snarkiness we see and feel in and all around us, and distinctively sing such real, keenly observant insights and timeless truths, while their oddities and quirkiness help me know and believe that they are not afraid to be real about who they are and what they feel. They can make songs that make me care, or make me realize that I care. They can also make songs that make me laugh and want to party and dance in the intimidating, leering face of Life As We Know It. I love how they are inspired and confident enough to use their own voices and approaches to the music they create, from the simplest, most down-to-Earth acoustic poems to fat, tasty  runs of symphonic Feedback Rock. I love the fact that RP loves this, too! JAMTHERE IS NO PLACE ON EARTH QUITE LIKE RADIO PARADISE!
no, no, no, yuck, no.
 tm wrote:

Lily - chill baby it was played 4 times in the last month. I personally love Son Volt and this album - so for me it is fantastic



i totally understand, i do. i actually really do love son volt, but there are a lot of other songs that could be played - in addition to this one. it seems to be the go-to for the main mix very frequently. 4 times in one month is kinda frequent. that's all i'm saying. but, thank you..."baby."
 Rockit9 wrote:

Dad Watt



So by process of elimination, Mommy Amp?
 idiot_wind wrote:

to the son volt and wilco fans:

take a pilgrimage to Belleville, IL and figure out how two great bands were spawned from that city.

then before/after drive to the dispensary west of town, near the Mississippi River.

that's quite a sojourn. 



Well there was one band first - Uncle Tupelo - that split into Wilco and Son Volt when Tweedy and Farrar stopped playing nice. 
Lily - chill baby it was played 4 times in the last month. I personally love Son Volt and this album - so for me it is fantastic
Look, I generally have little time for the whole  this sounds like that commentary we often find here on various RP tracks...but holy moley, I can't not hear a relatively obscure guy out of southern Ontario that went by the stage name Hayden that some of you may have heard on CFNY.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Check it out...not just me, right?
i'm hearing this far too frequently. i used to like it, but it goes down a number each time i hear it.
 unclehud wrote:

My dream of retirement ....

Headed for the stratosphere
Living on medication
Destination set, engines on
Drop a toe into the jetstream



Still the plan, and it's set for 2023.  Come on, NASDAQ; help me out a little bit, OK?
A Song to Our Sons
 xrdstv wrote:



Mom Ohm?



Sister Amp L'bro resistor Current Wife Uncle Transistor or auntie transistor
 Rockit9 wrote:

Dad Watt




Mom Ohm?
 obispo wrote:

Whenever this song comes on I have to stop whatever I'm doing and listen to every note of every instrument.  Always counter-productive.  Love it.


I find myself in the same situation.
Son Volt songs can be hit or miss for me but this is fantastic.   This driving, trippy song hits the spot.


Huge Wilco and Tupelo fan here. Saw Jay and SV for the first time a few weeks ago at an iconic festival in Berwyn, IL. He/they absolutely killed it. Sounded as great as ever.
PSD!
9 times the last 30 days? That's 10 times too much.
 lizardking wrote:

Wiki confirms this:  Mark Spencer is listed playing the slide guitar and slide dulcimer on "Medication"


now that is a useful comment....thanks
For any Beatles fan who still reads, I strongly recommend  https://www.target.com/p/here-...
Here, There, and Everywhere by Geoff Emerick who was their studio engineer from the ripe old age of 15 right (as an intern) right on through into their solo careers. The book has insights I have never seen anywhere else and offers inside info on studio activities, innovations, etc. Highly Recommended
Whenever this song comes on I have to stop whatever I'm doing and listen to every note of every instrument.  Always counter-productive.  Love it.
This guy never met a note he couldn't miss.
Sublime psychedelia song
 laverdakeith wrote:

No place like ohm

As a dad, I approve of this Dad Joke.
Good Tune!
 Rockit9 wrote:

Dad Watt




No place like ohm
to the son volt and wilco fans:

take a pilgrimage to Belleville, IL and figure out how two great bands were spawned from that city.

then before/after drive to the dispensary west of town, near the Mississippi River.

that's quite a sojourn. 
Yet another great song by Son Volt! One of my favorite bands. 
Well written song!
Thank you R.P for the reeducation.
I use to think I was an audiophile.
Didn't know how much I didn't know!
Didn’t they go down with the resistance? Rockit9 wrote: Dad Watt paulmcnett wrote: Mother Ampere I remember them, they were quite the electrifying couple. Their son had a lot of potential, too. Posted 3 months ago by eyke from Laurel Highlands, Pennsyltucky
 bmatesen wrote:
Dig it.  Kinda has a Northern Africa vibe to the guitars. 
 
Look after the king of R n R please 
 cyoungdelmar wrote:

Interesting the album cover connection to Woodie but it was Jeff and Billy Bragg that did Mermaid Ave

 
...thanks, I own both albums
Dig it.  Kinda has a Northern Africa vibe to the guitars. 
 Queue wrote:
I'm hearing some alternate tunings here, cool.
 

I think Jay Farrar's standard-tuning skills have atrophied :-).

Love his style & tunings. 
 xcranky_yankee wrote:
Kazoo is a Wilco guy, I am a Son Volt gal. We both enjoy them and are into Uncle Tupelo where we found them both. Saw Jay Farrar in Tarrytown NY - uncomfortable theater for long-legs but a fine town and a great show.
PS Check out Mermaid Avenue for a fun Woodie Guthrie 'tribute'
 
Interesting the album cover connection to Woodie but it was Jeff and Billy Bragg that did Mermaid Ave

Trippy stuff from a Belleville band. 

Could have been due to drinking too much beer from the now defunct local brewery,  Stag Beer.

Or some of that micro dot, blue barrell,  or shrooms. 

And now there is a dispensary just west of Belleville...near the Mississippi River. Near the strip joints. 

Road Trip!!!!   
Rockit9 wrote:
Dad Watt

paulmcnett wrote:

Mother Ampere
 

I remember them, they were quite the electrifying couple. Their son had a lot of potential, too. 
Upped it to an 8 today.
"Hug me honey snuggly bunny love's as good as SOMA" - or move to Oregon. 
 Rockit9 wrote:
Dad Watt
 
Mother Ampere
 ShockwaveRider wrote:
I think the cover art is a reference to Woody Guthrie, who was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.

 
jacopo777 wrote:
I think he meant to say Omaha is stead of Okemah. 
 
 
Omaha is in Nebraska. Okemah is, indeed, in Oklahoma.
always think lyrics are unnecessary when the melody and good engineering can carry the song, thanks as always B&R for the education
 Shwing wrote:

Ya.... After blowing all that money on cover art, there was none left for a spell checker.
 

Did you blow all your money, leaving none left for your medication?
 oldfart48 wrote:
this is my life, both before i died ( 6/17/12)  and sence, yowza,yowza, and yep.{#Lol}{#Cheers}{#Dance}{#Tongue} some meds are much better than others.......
 
Glad to hear you recovered from death.
I love the vocals on this. 
I also get an injection of REM. Nice meld of influences.
Kazoo is a Wilco guy, I am a Son Volt gal. We both enjoy them and are into Uncle Tupelo where we found them both. Saw Jay Farrar in Tarrytown NY - uncomfortable theater for long-legs but a fine town and a great show.
PS Check out Mermaid Avenue for a fun Woodie Guthrie 'tribute'
 thewiseking wrote:
Outstanding. The more of Son I hear the better he sounds. Love this Bert Jansch style stuff
 
You have good taste.
 ShockwaveRider wrote:
I think the cover art is a reference to Woody Guthrie, who was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.

 
jacopo777 wrote:
I think he meant to say Omaha is stead of Okemah. 
 
 

No, Okemah
 Laptopdog wrote:

Woody Guthrie was born in the small Oklahoma town of Okemah in 1912.
 

Posted 1 month ago by Laptopdog: ShockwaveRider wrote:

I think the cover art is a reference to Woody Guthrie, who was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.

jacopo777 wrote:

I think he meant to say Omaha is stead of Okemah.


Try Google first.
 ShockwaveRider wrote:
I think the cover art is a reference to Woody Guthrie, who was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.

 
jacopo777 wrote:
I think he meant to say Omaha is stead of Okemah. 
 
 
Woody Guthrie was born in the small Oklahoma town of Okemah in 1912.
Outstanding. The more of Son I hear the better he sounds. Love this Bert Jansch style stuff
Well, this rings hard on my wife's current TV indulgence: Season Two of Castle Rock.

Living on medication
Don't want to know what I've done.
 ShockwaveRider wrote:
I think the cover art is a reference to Woody Guthrie, who was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.

 
jacopo777 wrote:
I think he meant to say Omaha is stead of Okemah. 
 
 
Ya.... After blowing all that money on cover art, there was none left for a spell checker.
I'm hearing some alternate tunings here, cool.
My dream of retirement ....

Headed for the stratosphere
Living on medication
Destination set, engines on
Drop a toe into the jetstream


Son Volt is on tour - they'll be in San Francisco at Slim's on October 11th. 
I think the cover art is a reference to Woody Guthrie, who was born in Okemah, Oklahoma.

 
jacopo777 wrote:
I think he meant to say Omaha is stead of Okemah. 
 
Perfect segue from the Arabian Waltz.
I don't know why, but this is just what I needed this morning. Lovely.
c.
Somehow I don't get the idea they are talking about blood pressure medication.  But I do absolutely love this tune.
 lizardking wrote:

Wiki confirms this:  Mark Spencer is listed playing the slide guitar and slide dulcimer on "Medication"
 
That's impressive. The mix is very cool... I wouldn't have guessed this was SV for the first minute or so. I usually don't like this band. 
Great track
I think he meant to say Omaha is stead of Okemah. 
outstanding
 Proclivities wrote:

I don't think there's any sitar or mohan veena on this tune; I believe it's guitars and a dulcimer played with slides.
 
Wiki confirms this:  Mark Spencer is listed playing the slide guitar and slide dulcimer on "Medication"
 Tomasni wrote:
I think original and 7  interesting
 
I'm right there with you on this one, Tomasni - in fact most Son Volt tracks that BillG spins get a 6 or lower from me....this one has something I like....interesting in deed! Long Live RP!!
Perfect early morning music! 
Dad Watt
 jhorton wrote:
Only the second time I ever heard this, and I love it.

On an unrelated note, I don't think that's a sitar, it sounds like that thing that Harry Manx plays, whatever that is? 
 
I don't think there's any sitar or mohan veena on this tune; I believe it's guitar and dulcimer, both played with slides.
 chinaski wrote:
In my opinion it was Jay Farrar who was the better of the various and sundry derivations of the original spring from which this sprung.

 
Say that 10 times real fast.   It surely is a mouthful. 
 
That being said, having to choose between Jay and Jeff just feels like a Sophie's Choice to me.  Very unnecessary.
I think original and 7  interesting
Perfect Chillout!
In my opinion it was Jay Farrar who was the better of the various and sundry derivations of the original spring from which this sprung.
Sehr schön.
A little originality goes a long way ... 10
Pass the naan, please...
This is such a fantastic album.  Front-to-back, not a bad track.  I burned this one up for the first two years after it came out.
 2TheBone wrote:
I'm a hearing Bruce Cockburn here or is it just me? 

 
I'm tempted to say "yes', but you are right.
 k_trout wrote:

walking oil spill

i like that line a lot
 
In agreement with you Kilgore. Also, walking on an oil spill. Either/or.
beautiful! 
shout out to Davey Graham and Bert Jansch 
Is this song not available for purchase in iTunes ???????????????????

LaLaLaLaLaLa
I wish i could sing 'cause I'd be a noisy little cuss...
I'm a hearing Bruce Cockburn here or is it just me? 
 h8rhater wrote:

Perhaps you would prefer that actual song Ipecac that appears 3 songs before this one on the same CD?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezD5gn8Mg_g

 
I was just about to make the same comment!
Three cheers for the open tuning extravagance we were just treated to.
 MojoJojo wrote:
Audio ipecac

 
Perhaps you would prefer that actual song Ipecac that appears 3 songs before this one on the same CD?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezD5gn8Mg_g
Cool sitar work.  All the Biblically named people in my Las Vegas hotel room be dancin'.
this is my life, both before i died ( 6/17/12)  and sence, yowza,yowza, and yep.{#Lol}{#Cheers}{#Dance}{#Tongue} some meds are much better than others.......
Just love this guy...
Simply cool :)
Singer's voice is a lot like Beck- the sitar and guitar work reminiscent of George Harrison. Nice organic sound. Simple and sweet.
What an awesome SV song!
Hey...

this is a derivative band from Uncle Tupelo. They like to push muscial boundaries.


We need this bad in the 21 century. We can onyl take son much of the "thud and drone" genre that is killing RnR.      
 stromdal wrote:

Nope. I rated this 3, just like I did with The Beatles' "Within you without you". They both sound like crap. In fact, when "Within you without you" started playing just now, I switched off RP and played me some Asian Dub Foundation on youtube instead.


 
So "Eurotrashville" really does cover your locale.
 jhorton wrote:
Only the second time I ever heard this, and I love it.

On an unrelated note, I don't think that's a sitar, it sounds like that thing that Harry Manx plays, whatever that is? 
 
I am not sure about the instrumentation being used in this song, but I think the instrument you are referring to with Harry Manx is styled a Mohan Veena.
Audio ipecac
i agree, former member. this is very nice for the ears!
btw: what happened to Romeotuna?
Nice guitar work..
Only the second time I ever heard this, and I love it.

On an unrelated note, I don't think that's a sitar, it sounds like that thing that Harry Manx plays, whatever that is? 
some of you are way too critical.
You can never have too much sitar in rock!
 PA1749 wrote:
Only a 6.8? If George Harrison would have done this everyone would rate it a 9. IMHO. Good Song.
 
Nope. I rated this 3, just like I did with The Beatles' "Within you without you". They both sound like crap. In fact, when "Within you without you" started playing just now, I switched off RP and played me some Asian Dub Foundation on youtube instead.

Kinda Ravi, late Beatles, not bad except he moans a bit. A 6, a 7?
Decent music, terrible voice.
Hey...Better Living Thru Chemistry.
 
i like the chang
 HazzeSwede wrote:
thought I heard; walking on oil spill !? {#Ask} #7

 
walking oil spill

i like that line a lot

Only a 6.8? If George Harrison would have done this everyone would rate it a 9. IMHO. Good Song.
 jhorton wrote:
My first listen: Farging brilliant!!
  Yep.


My first listen: Farging brilliant!!
 mandolin wrote:
you're really not mad at anyone, you're just mad at the world
 
Nice subtle implication that Vitamins are a good Medication.

thought I heard; walking on oil spill !? {#Ask} #7

 rdo wrote:


No, but I may need something to keep from dozing off while listening to it.
 
go ahead, sleep, and stop writing already

Liking this.
you're really not mad at anyone, you're just mad at the world
really like this
 forge wrote:
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3  anything Jay Farrar does. I didn't even know I liked country music until I heard Uncle Tupelo.

 
Because it's good "country"!

 peter_james_bond wrote:
Nice sedate tune from Son Volt - you certainly don't need medication to enjoy it. {#Sunny}
 

No, but I may need something to keep from dozing off while listening to it.
 Tim_in_N_FL wrote:
Like it...but then, I've been a fan of Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, & Wilco for many years... {#Yes}
 
{#Yes}
And Jay Farrar.


<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3  anything Jay Farrar does. I didn't even know I liked country music until I heard Uncle Tupelo.