Sometimes I wonder what it says about me that my heroes all end up taking their own lives. posted by signalnine at 10:23 PM on March 6, 2010 [3 favorites]
My understanding is that he when he almost lost his legs, it was because he sort of blacked out while partying, and fell into a crouching position in a space beside the refrigerator. He was passed out there for 14 hours or so and his circulation had been cut off. Woke up in a spirit ditch, indeed. posted by StickyCarpet at 10:37 PM on March 6, 2010
I keep coming back here because, as my wife has kindly pointed out, I am doing a fucking shitty-ass job of expressing how fucking terribly this makes me feel. This fucking sucks and I fucking hate it. posted by shakespeherian at 11:01 PM on March 6, 2010
When I was living in London in 1997 I had the privilege of attending a Mazzy Star concert which took place in an old church. Sparklehorse, whom I had never heard of prior to this event, happened to be the opening act. The concert as a whole remains one of the best I've ever seen. And I've been a Sparklehorse fan ever since.
This is very sad news and a great loss.
It just occurred to me that I've never actually seen Sparklehorse live in concert, which is rare among my favorite bands. A friend and I went to see them at Temple Bar in Santa Monica in 2002 or so. Waited in line for awhile but it didn't seem like they were letting anyone in, so we went drinking at Father's Office instead. posted by puritycontrol at 12:46 AM on March 7, 2010
Though it's been quite a spell since I've seen him I considered Mark a friend and comrade. All I can say right now is that even though a lot of worthwhile souls are lost to the disease he apparently died from I've just had the wind knocked the fuck out of me. posted by item at 1:38 AM on March 7, 2010
Fuck. He made such beautiful music. This is terrible. posted by haveanicesummer at 1:43 AM on March 7, 2010
Well, this sucks. I was just listening to Dreamt for Light Years the other day. posted by dortmunder at 5:41 AM on March 7, 2010
this hurts. The Sparklehorse folks are part of my extended family of friends. RIP. It is a dark world indeed...... posted by tarantula at 5:46 AM on March 7, 2010
I don't even know what to do with this. Sparklehorse and Mark Linkous have meant a lot to me, especially in the past year, and always gave me such tremendous comfort. I was actually listening to a ton of Sparkehorse this week.
I don't think I will be able to listen to it for a while. posted by darksong at 6:16 AM on March 7, 2010
What terrible news. posted by elmono at 6:31 AM on March 7, 2010
Well, shit. posted by Gilbert at 7:15 AM on March 7, 2010
I was just introduced to his music last year and was very touched by it and looking forward to more. Very sad news.
Condolences to his loved ones. posted by readery at 7:23 AM on March 7, 2010
I hadn't listened to "It's a Wonderful Life" in a long time... whoa.
Mark's father Randy was the manager of a Barnes & Noble bookstore where I worked during the summer of 1994. The first time I came in to Randy's office to ask for some schedule changes to accommodate my band's occasional performances, Randy's eyes lit up. "You're a musician? My son's a musician, too." He was really proud of Mark.
This is terrible. I love, love, love Sparklehorse and was listening to "It's a Wonderful Life" in my studio this past week. posted by stagewhisper at 8:09 AM on March 7, 2010
Also: this is the first time I've ever burst into tears upon hearing news of the death of a celebrity I've never even met. posted by stagewhisper at 8:32 AM on March 7, 2010
Is it just me, or was there Vic Chesnutt link on the front page of Sparklehorse's site that isn't there now? Were they friends? Who else do they hang out with, so I can prepare myself to lose another amazing musician?
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................! posted by nevercalm at 8:34 AM on March 7, 2010
Too many talented people are killing themselves nowadays. PLEASE TO BE STOPPING.
Damn. Those first two Sparklehorse albums are absolute faves. I met Mark a few times and he was very kind, but also very introverted. When we talked about other artists that I thought he reminded me of, he was adamant that he wasn't as good as any of those artists. Not in a false modesty way, he genuinely seemed like it was a disservice to those artist to compare what he was doing to the music they made. posted by Slack-a-gogo at 9:36 AM on March 7, 2010
I don't play guitar, but I've got a hobby project building an electric guitar with special features. The goal of my project is specifically to emphasize and expand on the kind of sound that he got at times. posted by StickyCarpet at 11:37 AM on March 7, 2010
.
.
When I was 13 Or 14, I found 'It's a wonderful Life' while randomly browsing music albums at the library. Cable internet was recently installed at my house [hadn't found a replacement to napster yet] and I began finding out more about non-mainstream music, so I would go to the library or just look for a bunch of interesting-looking ones and take them home [I still do this, once in a great while, to this day]. I found this, something more intelligent than just what was on the radio and it was one of the first albums that introduced me to indie pop-rock. posted by fizzix at 12:09 PM on March 7, 2010
This is the first "celebrity" death to really, really affect me personally.
It's so upsetting that the man whose music I listened to when I needed a pick me up from my dark lows found the world too much for himself to pull through.
Oh fuck. Terrible, terrible fucking fuck.
Really, there are no words to express the grim appalling nature of this.
It's so sad. It's a Wonderful Life is just amazing.
And now he's gone
. posted by hydatius at 2:15 PM on March 7, 2010
A friend and I went to see them at Temple Bar in Santa Monica in 2002 or so. Waited in line for awhile but it didn't seem like they were letting anyone in, so we went drinking at Father's Office instead.
I was at that show, and saw him again with Jesse Sykes last time he was in San Francisco. He had such a sense of wonder about him, and we were lucky to see the world through his eyes for a brief time.
I cried a lot last night. But then I thought, we were lucky to have him as long as we did. It remains a sad and beautiful world. posted by freya_lamb at 2:03 AM on March 9, 2010
Here's a longish report from the local alt-weekly. He had apparently moved to Knoxville with the intent of opening a recording studio with Scott Minor. posted by frobozz at 12:50 PM on March 11, 2010
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posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:21 PM on March 6, 2010