Jason Gonulsen, Author at Glide Magazine

Erin McCarley – Saving The Empty

Jason Gonulsen March 16, 2009 No Comments

With the recent boom of female singer-songwriters in the past few years, there is reason to believe that there is room for all the talent in the world, even if you’re not the second coming of Lucinda Williams—you don’t have to write the next Car Wheels on a Gravel Road to make a decent living. But, the truth is simple for McCarley: if her first offering, Love, Save the Empty, gives us any hint about what is to come, it’s that her musical pulse is not to be denied.

Volume 21: Bon Iver

Jason Gonulsen March 3, 2009 No Comments

There is a scene in The Shawshank Redemption where Red, played by Morgan Freeman, and his fellow prisoners are treated to a piece of music, courtesy of fellow inmate Andy Dufresne. Red, who is the narrator in the film, confesses that he had no idea what the two Italian ladies were singing about that afternoon, and he didn’t want to know. “Some things are better left unsaid,” Red tells us. There are times when I feel the same way about Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

Neko Case: Middle Cyclone

Jason Gonulsen March 3, 2009 No Comments

“Just because you don’t believe it/ Doesn’t mean I didn’t mean it,” Neko Case sings on “The Next Time You Say Forever,” one of the many superb tracks on her sixth solo album, Middle Cyclone. Believe this: Case has turned in an album that easily ranks among her best—quite possibly the best of her career.

New Arrivals: Volume 3

Jason Gonulsen February 25, 2009 No Comments

Volume Three of New Arrivals features 19 tracks by independent artists who are devoting their music for a great cause: National Eating Disorders Association.

Portugal. The Man – Wasilla’s Censored Colors

Jason Gonulsen February 16, 2009 No Comments

Saying you’re from Wasilla, Alaska these days is like painting a giant bulls-eye across your face – you’re going to get stuff flying at you from every direction. For Portugal. The Man, the up-and-coming band from—you guessed it—Wasilla, this can be a wondrous thing. Take their latest album, Censored Colors, as an example. Around its release, lead singer John Baldwin Gourley posted this blog to the band’s MySpace page, which centered around Wasilla’s most famous figure—you guessed it (again)—Sarah Palin.

Ashton Allen: Wellspring

Jason Gonulsen February 13, 2009 No Comments

Though Wellspring is only the second offering from singer-songwriter Ashton Allen, it seems that he’s got the relaxing-acoustic-pop-art thing down to a science.

Bon Iver: Blood Bank

Jason Gonulsen February 11, 2009 No Comments

When Justin Vernon speaks these days, people line up to listen at every corner. It wasn’t always this way for Vernon, who now records under the name Bon Iver. You know him because of his beautiful For Emma, Forever Ago, a record that everyone seemed to love because of its cold truth—that pain is somehow always around us.

Volume 19: Andrew Bird

Jason Gonulsen January 19, 2009 No Comments

In 2001, when I was overly busy following Ryan Adams and Cowboy Junkies around the Midwest, I was first introduced to a guy and his violin. This particular person could also whistle clear enough to give you chills, create imposing fractured patterns on guitar, and draw you into his music because it changed in similar ways your feelings do when you’re first in love. Of course, the guy I’m referring to is Andrew Bird.

Jenny Lumet – Rachel Getting Married

Jason Gonulsen December 29, 2008 No Comments

For writer and teacher Jenny Lumet, this has been a long time coming. Her first screenplay to be made into a film, the Jonathan Demme-directed Rachel Getting Married, has made waves in the movie world, something that Lumet, daughter of Academy Award-winning director Sidney Lumet, didn’t necessarily see coming, but has enjoyed.

Strangers Almanac: Best of 2008

Jason Gonulsen December 19, 2008 No Comments

Last February, we began our first collaboration with Strangers’ Almanac, a bi-monthly tribute to our much loved singer-songwriters, including both veteran artists and newcomers to the music scene. Slowly, we’ve been building a thoroughly subjective reference section to help you navigate your way through the best lyrical poets making music today.

Jason Gonulsen

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