Owen

Thanks to Patrick for the request, and Mike for providing so many of the rare tracks (not Kinsella, but thanks to him for making them too).

Owen is Mike Kinsella's solo project that began in 2001 in Chicago, Illinois. Mike Kinsella, as most of you know, has been in a bunch of amazing bands including Cap'n Jazz, American Football, The One Up Downstairs, Joan Of Arc, Owls, and most recently Their / They're / There. It should be noted that he played drums in some of those bands, instead of guitar and vocals like he does with Owen. Like many of his other bands, Owen is signed to Polyvinyl Records.

Owen (or Mike, for that matter) has a very distinct sound. Like his work with American Football, the music is very melancholic, focusing on alternate tunings, somewhat intricate guitar melodies and Mike's soft, delicate voice creaking over them. Though with Owen, the atmosphere is much more minimal (in a good way) since he uses a single acoustic guitar. Owen's earlier recordings are very stripped down, since they were recorded by himself in his home with his own equipment. Later albums would be done in a proper studio, incorporating more instrumentation (usually played by him) to back his vocals and guitar playing. Both eras or whatever you want to call them are absolutely beautiful in their own ways. I seriously have no idea what to say that can't be heard below. I mean, doesn't everybody already love this guy and everything he does? Though if somebody is starting out with this, check out his other bands if you haven't already, and try At Home With Owen first, though everything below is worth checking out too, it's seriously all amazing. Enjoy, and you most certainly will.

One other thing: if anybody has any rare/live/b-sides/covers/misc. tracks (not ones from The Seaside EP), I'd really appreciate you sending them to me, since I'm trying to get a collection together. I'm missing the tracks from The Rutabega side of the split too. Also, he's done three Daytrotter sessions, which I seem to have the worst luck with. I'm missing a song from the first one, I've yet to find the second one, and the third one has a 10-minute track of noise instead of "Blues To Black". So if anybody has working/full versions of those, you can send those too and I'll send my <3 back.

Owen (2001)

1. That Which Wasn't Said

2. Most Days And

3. Most Nights

4. Accidentally

5. Declaration Of Incompetence

6. You Should Do It Now While It's On Your Mind

7. Dead Men Don't Lie

8. Places To Go

9. Think About It

No Good For No One Now (2002)

1. Nobody's Nothing

2. Everyone Feels Like You

3. Poor Souls

4. The Ghost Of What Should've Been

5. Good Deeds

6. I'm Not Going Anywhere Tonight

7. Take Care Of Yourself

(the ep) (2004)

1. Skin and Bones

2. In the Morning, Before Work

3. Breaking Away

4. That Mouth

5. Gazebo 

Owen/The Rutabega (2002)

4. Owen - Never Meant (American Football cover)

5. Owen - Poor Souls

6. Owen - May First Brings Lots Of Laughs

I Do Perceive (2004)

1. Who Found Who's Hair In Who's Bed

2. Note To Self:

3. Playing Possum For A Peek

4. That Tattoo Isn't Funny Anymore

5. Put Your Hands On Me, My Love

6. She's A Thief

7. Bed Abuse

8. Lights Out

At Home With Owen (2006)

1. Bad News

2. The Sad Waltzes Of Pietro Crespi

3. Bags Of Bones

4. Use Your Words

5. A Bird In Hand

6. Windows And Doorways

7. Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground cover)

8. One Of These Days

Owen/The City On Film (2007)

1. Owen - Good Friends, Bad Habits

2. Owen - Top Shelf

3. The City On Film - Aurora Galore 

4. The City On Film - Fahrenheit 451

The Seaside EP (2009)

1. Heads Will Ache

2. I Woke Up Today

3. In the Morning, Before Work (live)

4. More Than Words (Extreme cover)

5. A Fever

6. Stolen Car (Bruce Springsteen cover)

7. I'm Not Seventeen 

New Leaves (2009)

1. New Leaves

2. Good Friends, Bad Habits

3. A Trenchant Critique

4. Never Been Born

5. Amnesia And Me

6. Brown Hair In A Bird's Nest

7. Too Scared To Move

8. The Only Child Of Aergia

9. Ugly On The Inside

10. Curtain Call

Abandoned Bridges (2010)

1. Abandoned Bridges

2. I'm Always In Love (Wilco cover)

O, Evelyn (2011)

1. O, Evelyn...

2. Girlfriend In A Coma (The Smiths cover)

Ghost Town (2011)

1. Too Many People

2. No Place Like Home

3. O, Evelyn

4. I Believe

5. The Armoire

6. An Animal

7. No Language

8. Mother's Milk Breath

9. Everyone's Asleep In The House But Me

L'Ami du Peuple (2013)

1. I Got High

2. Blues To Black

3. Love Is Not Enough

4. Coffin Companions

5. The Burial

6. Bad Blood

7. Who Cares

8. A Fever

9. Where Do I Begin?

10. Vivid Dreams

Other People's Songs (2014)

1. Descender (Lungfish)

2. Girl In A Box (Blake Babies)

3. Some Kinda Angel (Mojave 3)

4. Forget Me (The Promise Ring)

5. Judas (Depeche Mode)

6. Just Like Them (All)

7. Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart (Against Me!)

8. Under The Blanket (The Smoking Popes)

Owen/Into It. Over It. (2015)

1. Owen - Poison Arrows

2. Into It. Over It. - Poor Souls (Owen cover)

3. Into It. Over It. - Local Language

4. Owen - Anchor (Into It. Over It. cover)

The King Of Whys (2016)

1. Empty Bottle

2. The Desperate

3. Settled Down

4. Lovers Come And Go

5. Tourniquet

6. A Burning Soul

7. Saltwater

8. An Island

9. Sleep Is A Myth

10. Lost

The Avalanche (2020)

1. A New Muse

2. Dead For Days

3. On With The Show

4. The Contours

5. I Should've Known

6. Mom And Dead

7. Headphoned

8. Wanting And Willing

9. I Go, Ego

Live, Covers, Compilations, etc.

I'm Not Seventeen

I Woke Up Today (Daytrotter Session)

A Fever (Daytrotter Sesion)

No More No Where

Alison (Elvis Costello cover)

America (Simon & Garfunkel cover)

Chesterfield King (Jawbreaker cover)

Concept (Teenage Fanclub cover)

Don't Look Back In Anger (Oasis cover)

The Armoire (Nervous Energies session)

Brown Hair in a Bird's Nest (Nervous Energies session)

O, Evelyn... (Nervous Energies session)

ESRT Page 14

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