“The Jam Eater Blues” plus two 7″ consists of a song from one of the YoYo 12″ sessions in Olympia — probably Devil in the Shortwave though I’m not sure — and two from the cassettes I was always still working on at the time. “Store” and “Straight Six” were EQ’d and transferred to reels at the original Tiny Telephone during the same assembly session that finalized “All Hail West Texas.” This single, therefore, represented the last time the Panasonic would make its sympathetic drone heard before a long but not terminal silence. All hail the moment before the big change!.
“Life is too short to refrain from eating jam out of the jar” goes the opening refrain of this Sub Pop Singles Club entry — courtesy of eternally beloved songwriter John Darnielle — a relatively quiet (at least by Mountain Goats standards in this period), somewhat lovelorn ballad about the life not lived when you’re wasting time spreading toast, living in Tampa, and waiting for an old lover to come back home. On the flipside is “Straight Six,” which references the same Jenny character from the immortal “All Hail West Texas”, preceeded the classic “Store,” a song about a vision of seeing a departed friend while being concussed or dead (depending on who you ask) in the middle of a grocery, fingertips wet with blood from touching their head wound.
“Jam Eater Blues” + “Store” + “Straight Six” are now available on all digital stream providers,
The Fat Angel Sings 