The alternative rock world has lost another giant. Over the past couple of days the news of the death of Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse has shocked and saddened many fans, friends and artists. On Saturday, The New York Times reported that Linkous committed suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 47.
Colin Greenwood, the bassist for Radiohead, released this statement: “I was very sad to hear the news that Mark Linkous has died. He and his band toured with us in Europe, at the start of OK Computer, and they were great every night…He was softly spoken, with an Old South courtesy I hadn‘t heard before…Mark wrote and played some beautiful music, and we’re lucky to have it. Rest in Peace.”
From Steve Drozd, multi-instrumentalist for The Flaming Lips: “R.I.P. Mark Linkous. You were a kind soul…Mark Linkous toured with us in 2003. Every night he and I would share a quiet moment with a shot of whiskey and a few laughs. A nice memory.”
Via Twitter, the band Metric, wrote: “Don’t care about the Oscars. Thinking only of our latest loss too soon, Mark Linkous,” and Californe: “goodbye mark l., we will miss you badly.“
Linkous’ family has released the following statement: “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.”
Linkous had a Twitter account, but he rarely used it. His last message was in November of 2009, and seemed to indicate a sense of excitement about a new project: “working on a film about Beatles guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.”
In 1995, Sparkelhorse’s first album, vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, was released, and quickly became a hit on college radio, as did the song, “Someday I Will Treat You Good.” The following year, Sparklehorse toured Europe with Radiohead. While in London, Linkous overdosed on a combination of anti-depressants, heroin, alcohol and valium, and almost lost the use of his legs from the resulting emergency surgery. He was confined to a wheelchair for six months.
Ironically, last December, a mentor and fellow musician, Vic Chesnutt, who Linkous had collaborated with on the 2001 release of It’s a Wonderful Life, committed suicide in Georgia. Chesnutt was bound to a wheelchair for his adult life following a car crash at the age of 18. He was 45.
After recuperating, Linkous and the band released Good Morning Spider in 1998, a somber album that contained the song, “Saint Mary,” which Linkous is reported to have dedicated to the nurses who helped in his recovery.
Following GMS, Linkous and Sparklehorse recorded It’s a Wonderful Life, that, in addition to Chesnutt, included collaboration with another mentor, Daniel Johnston, plus, Tom Waits, Bob Rupe (The Silos and Cracker), Nina Persson and PJ Harvey. In 2006, Sparklehorse released their fourth album, Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain.
Last year, Linkous teamed up with Danger Mouse and producer David Lynch on the Dark Night of the Soul project, which was not released due to a legal battle between Danger Mouse and EMI. However, Pitchfork announced last week that Danger Mouse and EMI had resolved their differences, and the multimedia project, which Linkous co-wrote, co-composed and co-produced, would officially be released sometime this summer. Much of music from the project had already been leaked on the Internet.
According to BrooklyVegan, Linkous’ publicist confirmed that Sparklehorse was nearly done with a new album that was scheduled to be released by Anti- Records. However, there is no information on the Anti- website about the project or Linkous’ death.
Other collaborators on Dark Night of the Soul include James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.
For anyone who has followed Sparklehorse over all of these years, the loss of Linkous cannot be overstated. He was truly one of the most gifted singer and songwriters of the alternative scene.
“Little Girl” – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse featuring Julian Casablancas from Dark Night of the Soul (2010)
Stream Dark Night of the Soul on NPR
“Little Fat Baby” – Sparklehorse from It’s a Wonderful Life (2001)
“Saint Mary” – Sparklehorse from Good Morning Spider (1998)
“Return to Me” – Sparklehorse from Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (2006)
“Heart of Darkness” – Sparklehorse from Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995)
KCRW interview with Mark Linkous upon the release of It’s a Wonderful Life.
The official Sparklehorse website