Various Artists – Major Awards: A Tribute to Starflyer 59

Description

Major Awards: A Tribute to Starflyer 59 is a multi-artist tribute album for the American indie rock band Starflyer 59, released on Pacifirecords in December 2022. Featuring 15 American bands covering selected songs from various Starflyer 59 albums. All songs written by Jason Martin. Happy 50th birthday, Jason Martin; thank you for all the music you’ve shared with us!

Fell in love at 22 / I was 17 / When I’m all worked up, I think of friends of mine now 35 / And become the older ones who have the number 3 / It’s been 25 since I wrote Blue Collar Love, man, I need to go.

There’s no denying that Jason Martin has a penchant for numbers, especially those that evoke the passing of time, nostalgia for the past, and anxieties about aging. (Even the enigmatic name Starflyer 59 gestures vaguely toward a nostalgia for Cold War-era Americana.) This sense of longing and loss defines Martin’s music, even as its sound has evolved over the years. After 16 albums spanning 4 decades, Starflyer 59 provides a way for many of us to mark the flow of time in our own lives: “No New Kinda Story” marks a high school graduation; “A Good Living” marks a summer wedding; “Mr. Martin” marks the loss of parent; “Slow” marks the birth of a child.

But there’s one number that Martin claims is zero: the number of “Major Awards” his music has received. To which we all reply in unison, “Well, that’s not fair.” And so, in honor of Martin’s 50th, we decided to do something about it. We put out a call to those who have been influenced by Martin’s music to record one of their favorite songs as a tribute. The response was overwhelming: in a matter of months, we received nearly 50 songs spanning diverse genres from bands and musicians around the world. On this record, we’re featuring 15 of these songs – with another 20 available exclusively for digital download. We’re no music sheriffs, but this is our small way of saying – in the infamously understated words of Jason Martin – “thanks a lot.”

Thanks as well to all the bands and artists who contributed to this project: Adiós Cometa, Aggressively Average, believe it, it’s easy, benji goodrich, Bonhoeffer, The Burning Paris, Camp Crook, Cicero, the cinder highway, Conversing with Owls, Daniel Markham, Dolour, The Enigmatic Foe, Fepeste, First Full of Daisies, Glen Yoder, Huntingtons, I Could Live In Hope, Jesse Sprinkle, Joel Julian, Joel Kircher, Jonathan Swift Behr, Justin Hall, Leper, The Linnartists, Lowmid, The Mirror Radical, monospace typeface, Pacifico, Riot for Romance, The September Equation, The Summer Dolls, Squad Five-O, Whispers and Fuzz, and wilderness.

Finally, thanks to Brandon Ebel and Tooth & Nail Records, Jeff Cloud and Velvet Blue Music, Jonny Spinasanto and the SF59 fan group, and of course the man himself, Jason Martin, for sharing your songs and soul with us!

– David, Matt, Nick, and Ty

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. Jonathan Swift Behr – “When I Learn To Sing”
A2. Dolour – “Things Like This Help Me”
A3. The Mirror Radical – “All The Time”
A4. Glen Yoder – “You Think You’re Radical”
A5. The Summer Dolls – “I Was 17”
A6. Squad Five-O – “Young In My Head”
A7. Conversing With Owls – “Bored”

Side Two
B1. Jesse Sprinkle – “Blue Collar Love”
B2. The Enigmatic Foe – “Sundown”
B3. The September Equation – “Second Space Song”
B4. Daniel Markham – “Can You Play Drums?”
B5. Monospace Typeface – “Leigh And Me” (feat. Ava)
B6. Adiós Cometa – “Life In Bed”
B7. Pacifico – “Slow”
B8. Huntingtons – “Hazel Would”

Note: This is a Limited Edition 12-inch vinyl LP housed in a gatefold sleeve (pressed in 250 copies only – featuring 15 tracks) and digital release (featuring 35 tracks) only. Available at Bandcamp: https://pacifico.bandcamp.com/album/major-awards-a-tribute-to-starflyer-59