Elephant Michah “Ruination of the Runaways”

As some of you may know we released a ridiculously massive compilation in 2005 that had nearly 60 tracks and just as many bands on it.  It was nuts and made me vow to never put out a compilation again (I could get into my nostalgic memories of huge compilations of weirdo/obscure stuff ala Shrimper’s Abridged Perversion, one of the most important albums in history for me personally, but I’ll relent).  Anyway, one of the real gems on Gold Leaf Branches was this sweet rumination from Elephant Micah.  I first got in touch with Joe O’Connell because I wanted to interview him for the earliest inclination of Foxy Digitalis.  We stayed in touch and when the compilation started coming together I asked if he’d send me a song.  “Ruination of the Runaways” is that song and it’s a doozy.  It distills a specific point in time and does so vividly, his lyrics and melody perfect accompaniments for each other and brings back a lot memories of being a teenager in Tulsa, Oklahoma, feeling stuck and all those other feelings that so many of us remember.  “We fell in love but we burned with the 90s / Remember when we were 14 … It was something just to breathe” – kills me, every time.  It’s such a simple, wonderful song and that’s really the bottom line.  Elephant Micah, of course, has gone on to release countless fucking great records, but I think this song was what really cemented my love for the project.