This week on The Search for Skip James, I leaned into the rainy weather and pulled some melancholic records from the shelf. The gray skies set the tone for a set steeped in feeling — music that holds space for reflection, loss, and quiet joy.
This weekend, I’ve been feeling especially inspired by community. On Friday, my family and I joined a presentation at the Hollywood Theatre hosted by my friend Eric Isaacson of Mississippi Records titled A People’s History of North American Music. It’s a presentation I’ve seen before — and, truthfully, I’ve been getting snippets of it for the past 15 years from a barstool at the counter of Mississippi Records.
Eric is, without exaggeration, one of the biggest influences on my life as a listener. His deep knowledge, curiosity, and generosity have shaped how I think about music and culture. To share that night with close friends and family — people who’ve heard me ramble about records, artists, and stories from that magical place — felt deeply special.
One of the evening’s most moving moments was a film of home recordings of Michael Hurley. His music continues to move me, and it’s been heartening to see so many others discovering his songs this past year since his passing.
In this set, I played several tracks from the Mississippi Records catalog, including Shelley Short, whose album Pacific City (2011) remains a hidden gem, and Dragging an Ox Through Water, the longtime project of Brian Mumford. I’ve seen Brian perform countless times over the past decade — early shows often featured a light-sensitive pedal triggered by a candle flame. As the set built toward chaos, he’d bend down and blow out the candle — ending the performance in a dramatic hush.
Tracklist
The Melody Mates – “Enchantment” (1957)
Shelley Short – “Hill and Tracks” (Pacific City, 2011)
Marisa Anderson – “Night Air” (Cloud Corner, 2018)
Arthur Russell – “Barefoot in New York” (Corn, recorded 1982–83, released 2015)
Cameron Winter – “Cancer of the Skull” (Cameron Winter, 2024)
Karen Dalton – “Green Rocky Road” (Green Rocky Road, recorded 1962, released 2008)
Skip Spence – “Little Hands” (Oar, 1969)
Silver Jews – “Dallas” (Natural Bridge, 1994)
Michael Hurley – “The Rue of Ruby Whores” (Snockgrass)
Cindy Lee – “Baby Blue” (Diamond Jubilee, 2024)
13th Floor Elevators – “Baby Blue” (Easter Everywhere, 1967)
Lucinda Williams – “Am I Too Blue” (Lucinda Williams, 1988)
Michael Hurley – “Penguins” (Long Journey, 1976)
Mazzy Star – “Fade Into You” (So Tonight That I Might See, 1993)
Dragging an Ox Through Water – “False True Love” (Dragging an Ox Through Water, 2008)
As the rain came down and the needle wore through these grooves, I kept thinking about how music ties us together — how a record can hold a whole community inside it. From candlelit performances to the dusty bins at Mississippi Records, these songs remind me that melancholy isn’t just sadness — it’s connection, memory, and the slow pulse of being alive.
Tune in next Sunday from 5–6 PM on Shady Pines Radio for another search — maybe for Skip James, maybe for something else entirely.
