RIP Mark Linkous aka Sparklehorse

(Hundreds of Sparrows)

Sad news I heard via the radio today about the suicide of Mark Linkous aka Sparklehorse. Maybe not a name/band you know of, but Good Morning Spider and later Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot were an important part of my life in the late 90’s. It’s a cliche to say ‘got me through some bad times’ but yes, his music did at a time when really most UK music sucked and I felt little if at all about it…So I got into Sparklehorse, Grandaddy, Radiohead, Super Furries, Flaming Lips et al, as well as a less serious diet of speed garage and drum and bass! But it was Sparklehorse and Grandaddy’s music I’d come back to if I needed someone that expressed that particular confused/down/mid-late 20’s state of mind, where you have the long post-University come-down and realise real life is much harder, and the dreams you had might not be possible. Also wrapped up in that would be coming out and painfully falling in love for the first time…

‘Cause everything beautiful is far away’ ‘I just want to be a happy man’ ‘I’m so sick of goodbyes’ ‘There`s one thing we still got, This one last dance in this parking lot, Oh yeah, I got a heart of darkness’ ‘Summer here kids! Summer here really lies’.

And this comes a few months from the suicide of Vic Chesnutt who with Dangermouse and Mark Linkous worked on the now-to-be-released ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ which last year was embroiled in EMI politics/legals. Sad they didn’t actually get to hear it released while they were alive. Here’s a track off it – certainly was well rotated in my iPod last year when the tracks ‘leaked’ – Mark co-wrote and produced all the tracks and appeared on several, as did Vic, it is a truly collaborative work – the cynical (me!) would say that it’s interesting EMI sorted out their legal problems just as the eagerly awaited and much praised Broken Bells album is released. Hmm.

Here’s The Flaming Lips with Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse with ‘Revenge’ – a beautiful track:

And finally a track off his first LP, Sad & Beautiful World:

And one that became an anthem of mine – Happy Man (not sure where I heard this – I think it’s a bonus hidden track on Good Morning Spider? Certainly didn’t buy the EP)

I hope now indeed you are a happy man, Mark. RIP.