It’s impossible to mention Mark Linkous and his band Sparklehorse without mentioning his depression and substance addictions, or at least that seems to be the belief of the music press as a whole, so we’ll go with it. But even Linkous admits it’s difficult not to be fascinated by a mentally ill artist creating music; he has recently admitted to becoming interested in Daniel Johnston for the same reason. Ever since Brian Wilson put a sandbox in his house and created some of the most beautiful music ever put to tape, we have been enthralled by hearing what a depressed or otherwise unwell individual might have to communicate to us through words and music.
Like Wilson before him, the music of Sparklehorse is sometimes at odds with the lyrics or whatever was surely going on in Linkous’ mind at the time. While there is no doubt that Linkous has made more than his share of morose and downright dirge-like tunes, often times there are upbeat, sunshine-in-your-face type songs to complement them. Perhaps these indicate brief moments of clarity or happiness, or maybe it’s merely a front—a lie to himself and others that he tells when he desperately wants to believe that everything will be okay.
“Some Sweet Day,” from the recent Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, is the type of song that, had it been made thirty years earlier (and with the post-hip hop production toned down a bit), would undoubtedly have been a Mellow Gold favorite played on A.M. radio alongside Chicago’s “Baby What a Big Surprise” and Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze.” Not unlike the Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” it seems to be a “happy death song”—a tale of a loved one who has recently passed away. Linkous ponders to the deceased, “Where did you go, up to the sun? / Where are you now, part of the sea in every drop / Or did you simply stop?” and asserts that “some sweet day you will be mine, you’ll be mine.” The narrator then describes the loved one saying “she was my black earth / And the fire in my spine / Her magnetic waves gave birth / I was the one who loved you most.” With such a sweet description, Linkous almost makes a case to the listener about how pleasant death could be. Almost.
“Sick of Goodbyes,” from Goodbye Spider (co-written by Cracker frontman David Lowery and originally recorded for his band’s Kerosene Hat album) offers a surprisingly catchy and rocking power-pop song with a chorus so good you won’t even mind that it’ll be stuck in your head for weeks. I’m not going to pretend to know exactly what a song with the line “no one sees you on a vampire planet” means, but I’m guessing the lyrical content is probably a great deal sadder and at odds with the jubilant, seize-the-day tone of the music.
“Gold Day” from It’s a Wonderful Life sounds like Linkous’ own “Strawberry Fields Forever,” starting off with a mellotron part and some sampled strings. The song is a rather romantic one, especially for Linkous, seemingly about a couple helping to support each other: “keep all your crows away / Keep skinny wolves at bay / In silver piles of smiles” and ends with the coda “may all your days be gold my child.” It brings to mind the more psychedelic work of John Lennon, a man who, despite having more than his share of psychological issues, nonetheless made some of the (presumably) happiest music of anyone.
[buy stuff here]