Mark Linkous
Encyclopedia
Mark Linkous was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as leader of Sparklehorse
. He was also known for his collaborations with such notable artists as Tom Waits
, PJ Harvey
, Daniel Johnston
, Radiohead
, Black Francis, Julian Casablancas
, Nina Persson
, Sean Terrington Wright
, David Lynch
, Danger Mouse
, and Sage Francis
.
A member of the 1980s indie band the Dancing Hoods, Linkous moved with the group from his native Virginia
to New York City
and later Los Angeles
in hopes to achieve mainstream success. By 1988, the band had failed to land a major record label deal, and they disbanded with Linkous returning to Virginia, where he began writing songs under various monikers.
By 1995, he created a project named Sparklehorse, of which he would remain the only permanent member. The band released a quartet of critically acclaimed albums on Capitol Records
: Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
, Good Morning Spider
, It's a Wonderful Life
, and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
. Linkous lived the last years of his life in Hayesville, North Carolina
, where he established Static King Studio. He committed suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee
on March 6, 2010.
He would later characterize himself during his teenage years as a "juvenile delinquent", and began hanging out in a motorcycle gang at a young age. During his adolescence, he was sent to live with his paternal grandparents in Charlottesville, Virginia. Linkous also attended Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, where he "went to school to see my friends—that's the only reason I didn't drop out." During his high school years, he began abusing alcohol
and marijuana heavily.
, where he co-founded the band Dancing Hoods. The band featured Linkous on guitar and vocals, Bob Bortnick on vocals and guitar, Don Short on drums, and Eric Williams on bass. In 1984, the group released a self-titled EP; a year later, they released an album titled 12 Jealous Roses on Relativity Records
, which received a number of positive reviews. The Replacements and The Del Fuegos
were also vocal fans of the band after the release of their first record.
In 1988, Dancing Hoods put out their second album, Hallelujah Anyway, on Combat Records
. A single from the album, "Baby's Got Rockets", was a modest college radio hit, and its video was picked up by MTV
's 120 Minutes
program. That same year, the group relocated to Los Angeles
in hopes of achieving mainstream success, but broke up shortly after.
, "Sick of Goodbyes", was recorded by Cracker
and appeared on their 1993 album Kerosene Hat
. While in Virginia, he performed concerts under the monikers The Johnson Family (with members of Richmond punk legends Honor Role) and Salt Chunk Mary. Linkous finally settled on the band name Sparklehorse
, and released Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
on Capitol Records
in 1995. He remained the only consistent member throughout the band's existence.
In 1996, while supporting Radiohead
on the first Sparklehorse tour, Linkous overdosed on alcohol, Valium
and antidepressant
s and possibly other substances in his London hotel room. Rendered unconscious by the combination of drugs, he collapsed with his legs pinned beneath him, and remained in that position for almost fourteen hours. He was treated at St Mary's Hospital, London. Subsequent surgeries saved both legs but left him wheelchair
-bound for six months; his legs never fully regained their original strength.
1998 saw the release of Good Morning Spider
; some of the album's songs dealt with Linkous' accident in London and subsequent rehabilitation, namely "St. Mary". In 2001, Sparklehorse released It's a Wonderful Life
, which featured contributions from Tom Waits
, PJ Harvey
, John Parish
, Nina Persson
, Vic Chesnutt
, and Dave Fridmann
.
In September 2006, Sparklehorse released Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
.
In 2009 Linkous teamed up with electronic ambient artist Christian Fennesz
to create In the Fishtank 15
, a wafting album EP of dreamy atmospherics and experimentation. The last four live shows Linkous did together with Fennesz were during a European tour which was held in October 2009.
At the time of his death, his manager confirmed that Linkous "had completed most of the work for a new Sparklehorse album", was in the process of moving to Knoxville, Tennessee
, and was working on setting up a studio where he planned to finish the record.
, and helmed works such as Nina Persson
's solo record, A Camp
, and Daniel Johnston
's Fear Yourself
. Linkous was one of the most ardent supporters of Johnston, an outsider artist
who has had a long battle with mental illness. In 2004, Linkous curated and produced The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered
, a tribute album to Johnston featuring acts such as Beck
, Death Cab for Cutie
, Vic Chesnutt
, Tom Waits
and Bright Eyes. It also includes a collaboration between Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips
on the track "Go". He provided music for Indie Rapper Sage Francis
on his album LI(F)E
on the song "Love The Lie". The album and song were released after Linkous' death.
by shooting himself in the heart outside a friend's house in Knoxville at 1:20 pm on March 6, 2010. He was 47 years old. According to a spokesperson for the Police Department, the musician was staying with two friends. The friends said Linkous went upstairs for a short period and then told the two that he was going for a walk and exited through a back door. A witness saw him sit down in the alley near Irwin Street, pull out his rifle
, and fire into his own chest. Linkous was declared dead at the scene; police did not find a suicide note
, but told the press that he was having personal problems. The musician's publicist confirmed the details of his death to a number of publications on the same day.
Within a few hours of his death, a message attributed to the Linkous family was posted on the official Sparklehorse Web site: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member Mark Linkous took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy, and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.” A number of notable musicians and people in the music world made statements mourning the loss of Linkous, including Patti Smith
, Radiohead's Colin Greenwood
, Death Cab For Cutie
's Chris Walla
, Steven Drozd
of The Flaming Lips
, Steve Albini
, Gemma Hayes
, and the Jesus Lizard
's David Wm. Sims
.
Emily Haines
of Metric also wrote a eulogy entitled The Rings of Saturn on Your Fingers.
, the director David Lynch
and ten other musicians. It was released on the Internet in May 2009, as was a book of photographs by David Lynch to accompany the music. Though long-delayed due to legal problems, it was officially released in 2010 several months after Mark's death. The album features several guest singers and writers, such as The Flaming Lips
and Iggy Pop
. Vic Chesnutt
, another guest on the album, committed suicide just a few months before Mark. Because of this, the album is dedicated "in memory of Mark Linkous and Vic Chesnutt
".
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
. He was also known for his collaborations with such notable artists as Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
, Daniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Black Francis, Julian Casablancas
Julian Casablancas
Julian Fernando Casablancas is an American singer-songwriter and musician of The Strokes. Casablancas pursued a solo career during The Strokes' hiatus, releasing the album Phrazes for the Young on November 3, 2009....
, Nina Persson
Nina Persson
is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...
, Sean Terrington Wright
Sean Terrington Wright
Sean Terrington Wright is a British songwriter, singer, guitarist, record producer, artist, writer, and poet. He has collaborated with Kim Fowley, Najam Sheraz, Mark Linkous, Mark Tinley, Enrico Coniglio, Yvalian, Josh Woodward, & many indie artists...
, David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, Danger Mouse
Danger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
, and Sage Francis
Sage Francis
Paul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
.
A member of the 1980s indie band the Dancing Hoods, Linkous moved with the group from his native Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and later Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in hopes to achieve mainstream success. By 1988, the band had failed to land a major record label deal, and they disbanded with Linkous returning to Virginia, where he began writing songs under various monikers.
By 1995, he created a project named Sparklehorse, of which he would remain the only permanent member. The band released a quartet of critically acclaimed albums on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
: Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot is the 1995 debut album by Sparklehorse. The album was largely recorded with musicians from Cracker, for which Mark Linkous worked at the time as guitar tech, roadie, and sometimes collaborator...
, Good Morning Spider
Good Morning Spider
-Track listing:All songs by Mark Linkous, except where stated.#"Pig" – 2:22#"Painbirds" – 3:50#"Saint Mary" – 3:59#"Good Morning Spider" – 1:09 #"Sick of Goodbyes" – 3:32...
, It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life (album)
It's a Wonderful Life is the third album by Virginian indie rock group Sparklehorse, released in 2001. The album features appearances by Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, John Parish, Nina Persson, Vic Chesnutt, and Dave Fridmann.-Track listing:...
, and Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain is the fourth and final album by Sparklehorse before Mark Linkous' death in 2010. It was released September 25, 2006 on Astralwerks Records.-Recording:...
. Linkous lived the last years of his life in Hayesville, North Carolina
Hayesville, North Carolina
Hayesville is a town in Clay County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 297 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clay County.-Geography:Hayesville is located at ....
, where he established Static King Studio. He committed suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
on March 6, 2010.
Early life
Frederick Mark Linkous was born on September 9, 1962 in Arlington, Virginia, to Gloria Hughes Thacker and Frederick Linkous. He had three brothers: Matt, Paul, and Daniel Linkous. Many members of his family were coal miners by trade, and Linkous chose a career in music in part to avoid working in mines. His parents divorced before he was 13.He would later characterize himself during his teenage years as a "juvenile delinquent", and began hanging out in a motorcycle gang at a young age. During his adolescence, he was sent to live with his paternal grandparents in Charlottesville, Virginia. Linkous also attended Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, where he "went to school to see my friends—that's the only reason I didn't drop out." During his high school years, he began abusing alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and marijuana heavily.
Dancing Hoods
Shortly after graduating from high school in the early 1980s, Linkous moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he co-founded the band Dancing Hoods. The band featured Linkous on guitar and vocals, Bob Bortnick on vocals and guitar, Don Short on drums, and Eric Williams on bass. In 1984, the group released a self-titled EP; a year later, they released an album titled 12 Jealous Roses on Relativity Records
Relativity Records
Relativity Records, often branded just Relativity, is an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distribution in metro New York. Early on, as an indie label, Relativity released music in a variety of styles, including dance, jazz, punk, and...
, which received a number of positive reviews. The Replacements and The Del Fuegos
The Del Fuegos
-History:Formed in 1980, the Boston-based band gained success in 1984 due to success of their songs "Don't Run Wild" and "I Still Want You" and appearing in a widely-seen television commercial for a beer company...
were also vocal fans of the band after the release of their first record.
In 1988, Dancing Hoods put out their second album, Hallelujah Anyway, on Combat Records
Combat Records
Combat Records was an independent record label from New York City. The label was home to predominantly metal and punk rock acts including Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, Death, Dead Brain Cells, Possessed, Crumbsuckers, Agnostic Front, Agent Steel, Dark Angel, Heathen, Zoetrope and...
. A single from the album, "Baby's Got Rockets", was a modest college radio hit, and its video was picked up by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's 120 Minutes
120 Minutes
120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to alternative music, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003....
program. That same year, the group relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in hopes of achieving mainstream success, but broke up shortly after.
Sparklehorse
Following the breakup of Dancing Hoods, Linkous moved back to Virginia, where he continued writing songs. One of the tracks that he wrote during this period with David LoweryDavid Lowery
David Lowery is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter; he is the founder of alternative rock band, Camper Van Beethoven, and co-founder of the more traditional rock band, Cracker...
, "Sick of Goodbyes", was recorded by Cracker
Cracker (band)
Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
and appeared on their 1993 album Kerosene Hat
Kerosene Hat
Kerosene Hat is Cracker's second album, released on August 24, 1993. It reached #1 on Billboards Top Heatseekers chart, and #59 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
. While in Virginia, he performed concerts under the monikers The Johnson Family (with members of Richmond punk legends Honor Role) and Salt Chunk Mary. Linkous finally settled on the band name Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
, and released Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot is the 1995 debut album by Sparklehorse. The album was largely recorded with musicians from Cracker, for which Mark Linkous worked at the time as guitar tech, roadie, and sometimes collaborator...
on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in 1995. He remained the only consistent member throughout the band's existence.
In 1996, while supporting Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
on the first Sparklehorse tour, Linkous overdosed on alcohol, Valium
Diazepam
Diazepam , first marketed as Valium by Hoffmann-La Roche is a benzodiazepine drug. Diazepam is also marketed in Australia as Antenex. It is commonly used for treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures including status epilepticus, muscle spasms , restless legs syndrome, alcohol withdrawal,...
and antidepressant
Antidepressant
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood;...
s and possibly other substances in his London hotel room. Rendered unconscious by the combination of drugs, he collapsed with his legs pinned beneath him, and remained in that position for almost fourteen hours. He was treated at St Mary's Hospital, London. Subsequent surgeries saved both legs but left him wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
-bound for six months; his legs never fully regained their original strength.
1998 saw the release of Good Morning Spider
Good Morning Spider
-Track listing:All songs by Mark Linkous, except where stated.#"Pig" – 2:22#"Painbirds" – 3:50#"Saint Mary" – 3:59#"Good Morning Spider" – 1:09 #"Sick of Goodbyes" – 3:32...
; some of the album's songs dealt with Linkous' accident in London and subsequent rehabilitation, namely "St. Mary". In 2001, Sparklehorse released It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life (album)
It's a Wonderful Life is the third album by Virginian indie rock group Sparklehorse, released in 2001. The album features appearances by Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, John Parish, Nina Persson, Vic Chesnutt, and Dave Fridmann.-Track listing:...
, which featured contributions from Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
, John Parish
John Parish
John Parish is a British musician and producer best known for his work with singer and songwriter PJ Harvey,. His sister is the actress Sarah Parish.-Partial discography:Solo*Rosie *How Animals Move...
, Nina Persson
Nina Persson
is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...
, Vic Chesnutt
Vic Chesnutt
James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
, and Dave Fridmann
Dave Fridmann
Dave Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. From 1990 onwards he co-produced all releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips...
.
In September 2006, Sparklehorse released Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain is the fourth and final album by Sparklehorse before Mark Linkous' death in 2010. It was released September 25, 2006 on Astralwerks Records.-Recording:...
.
In 2009 Linkous teamed up with electronic ambient artist Christian Fennesz
Christian Fennesz
Christian Fennesz is an Austrian guitarist active in electronic music, often credited on albums simply as Fennesz....
to create In the Fishtank 15
In the Fishtank 15
In the Fishtank 15 is a collaborative EP by Sparklehorse and Christian Fennesz. It is the fifteenth and most recent installment of the collaboration project by Konkurrent and the final release by Sparklehorse before the death of leader Mark Linkous in 2010...
, a wafting album EP of dreamy atmospherics and experimentation. The last four live shows Linkous did together with Fennesz were during a European tour which was held in October 2009.
At the time of his death, his manager confirmed that Linkous "had completed most of the work for a new Sparklehorse album", was in the process of moving to Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, and was working on setting up a studio where he planned to finish the record.
Production and other work
Aside from his own music, Linkous became a sought-after record producerRecord producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and helmed works such as Nina Persson
Nina Persson
is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...
's solo record, A Camp
A Camp (album)
A Camp is the self-titled debut album by A Camp, the side project of Nina Persson, vocalist for the popular Swedish indie/pop band The Cardigans. The album garnered significant critical acclaim from music critics. It produced two singles, "I Can Buy You" and "Song for the Leftovers"...
, and Daniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston
Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
's Fear Yourself
Fear Yourself (Daniel Johnston album)
Fear Yourself is a 2003 album by Daniel Johnston. It's his 15th album and is produced by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. It includes an 8 page booklet with exclusive Daniel Johnston drawings.-Track listing:All songs written by Daniel Johnston# "Now" – 3:01...
. Linkous was one of the most ardent supporters of Johnston, an outsider artist
Outsider music
Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with...
who has had a long battle with mental illness. In 2004, Linkous curated and produced The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered
The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered
The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered is a 2004 Gammon Records two-disc set. The first disc features covers of Daniel Johnston songs by a variety of different artists...
, a tribute album to Johnston featuring acts such as Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
, Vic Chesnutt
Vic Chesnutt
James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
and Bright Eyes. It also includes a collaboration between Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
on the track "Go". He provided music for Indie Rapper Sage Francis
Sage Francis
Paul "Sage" Francis is a hip-hop artist from Providence, Rhode Island.-Biography:Born Paul Francis in Miami, Florida, Sage Francis is a rapper/writer/performer from Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label Strange Famous Records...
on his album LI(F)E
Li(f)e
-Charts:-References:-External links:*...
on the song "Love The Lie". The album and song were released after Linkous' death.
Death
Linkous committed suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by shooting himself in the heart outside a friend's house in Knoxville at 1:20 pm on March 6, 2010. He was 47 years old. According to a spokesperson for the Police Department, the musician was staying with two friends. The friends said Linkous went upstairs for a short period and then told the two that he was going for a walk and exited through a back door. A witness saw him sit down in the alley near Irwin Street, pull out his rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
, and fire into his own chest. Linkous was declared dead at the scene; police did not find a suicide note
Suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
, but told the press that he was having personal problems. The musician's publicist confirmed the details of his death to a number of publications on the same day.
Within a few hours of his death, a message attributed to the Linkous family was posted on the official Sparklehorse Web site: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member Mark Linkous took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy, and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.” A number of notable musicians and people in the music world made statements mourning the loss of Linkous, including Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, Radiohead's Colin Greenwood
Colin Greenwood
Colin Charles Greenwood , is an English musician and composer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Radiohead. Apart from bass, Colin plays keyboards, synthesizers and works on sampling on the electronic side of Radiohead...
, Death Cab For Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
's Chris Walla
Chris Walla
Christopher Walla is an American musician and music producer, most notable for being the guitarist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. He is also a former DJ of KCWU, 88.1 The Burg...
, Steven Drozd
Steven Drozd
Steven Gregory Drozd is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist and lead guitarist for The Flaming Lips.-Early life:...
of The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
, Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
, Gemma Hayes
Gemma Hayes
Gemma Claire Hayes is an Irish singer-songwriter and member of The Cake Sale.-Early life:...
, and the Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard was an American alternative rock and noise rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial...
's David Wm. Sims
David Wm. Sims
David William Sims is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist of the bands Scratch Acid , Rapeman, and the Jesus Lizard. In addition, he has recorded or performed with Sparklehorse, Rhys Chatham, Shivaree, Pigface, Flour, and others...
.
Emily Haines
Emily Haines
Emily Haines is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter. She is the lead singer and keyboardist of the band Metric and a member of Broken Social Scene. As a solo artist, she performed with her own name and under the alias Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton...
of Metric also wrote a eulogy entitled The Rings of Saturn on Your Fingers.
Dark Night of the Soul
In the late 2000s, Linkous recorded an album titled Dark Night of the Soul with the producer Danger MouseDanger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
, the director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
and ten other musicians. It was released on the Internet in May 2009, as was a book of photographs by David Lynch to accompany the music. Though long-delayed due to legal problems, it was officially released in 2010 several months after Mark's death. The album features several guest singers and writers, such as The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
and Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
. Vic Chesnutt
Vic Chesnutt
James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
, another guest on the album, committed suicide just a few months before Mark. Because of this, the album is dedicated "in memory of Mark Linkous and Vic Chesnutt
Vic Chesnutt
James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
".
External links
- Sparklehorse.com - official website
- Light years later: Linkous back after five years
- He sparkles: the sad and beautiful world of Mark Linkous
- Mark Linkous Guitar Rig
- Rolling Stone: Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous Takes Own Life
- NME: Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous commits suicide
- RIP: Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, 1962-2010
- David Wm. Sims: Mark Linkous, 1962-2010