Another Big Loss For Music

Here I am for the second time in the last few months lamenting the suicide of a tremendous musician. First it was Vic Chesnutt, and today it is Mark Linkous, of Sparklehorse fame.

Until this week, Sparklehorse was one of those bands I would hear about every so often, but had never listened to before. So the event of me discovering Linkous’s music on the occasion of his death strikes me as extremely bittersweet.

I can say without hesitation that Sparklehorse is the best new music I have discovered in the past two years. If you are not familiar with his work, I suggest you start by immediately purchasing his last album entitled Dark Night Of The Soul, which was co-produced by Dangermouse, and is accompanied by a photobook from David Lynch.

It turns out that I had already been exposed to Linkous without having known it. He co-wrote with David Lowery the 1993 song “Sick Of Goodbyes,” which appeared on Cracker’s album Kerosene Hat. Here is a clip from the Sparklehorse version, which was recorded a few years later:

And after listening to several albums over the last few days, I realized that I had heard and unknowingly enjoyed a couple Sparklehorse songs back when it was possible to listen to Pandora here in China.*

In a sadly ironic twist, it also turns out that Linkous and Vic Chesnutt were frequent collaborators. So I have discovered some new Chesnutt music in the past couple days as well.

Rather than write more about a musician I really knew nothing about before this week, I will let his music speak for itself. You can listen to Dark Night Of The Soul at the NPR link above. Or here’s a clip of Sparklehorse playing in concert**:

That really makes me wish I had gotten the chance to see them play live.

Finally, I think the following song sums up everything quite nicely:

*On a side note, here’s yet another example of why the music industry is leaking money faster than a heroin-addicted accountant. If I were still able to access Pandora, I would have illegally downloaded the Sparklehorse discography long before this week. And if given the chance, I would have paid good money to go and see them in concert. Now I’ll never have that opportunity. Get the music out there for everyone to hear, and make your money on concerts and action figures.

**As a bonus, you can listen to Sheryl Crow in the Related Videos Playlist. Sheryl Crow is not dead, and you can still see her in concert. And who says life isn’t fair?

Check out Decater's new novel, available now at Amazon. Plus, don't forget his earlier books: Ahab's Adventures in Wonderland and Picasso Painted Dinosaurs.