I’ve always wanted to write a piece on Sparklehorse; I never imagined, however, that I would someday find myself writing an epitaph for Mark Linkous. Linkous’ first three albums were really important to me growing up—they’re the kind of records that you can live with for, say, 10 years and keep finding new things to love and new ways to relate. So I was pretty bummed to hear of Linkous’ death last weekend, in part because, as his split with Fennesz last year demonstrated, he seemed to have a lot left to give as an artist. There was, however, always a tension between Linkous’ personal and artistic lives, a fact I tried not to shy away from in the eulogy that I wrote for PopMatters. Linkous’ work was always informed by his personal struggles and I think it’s important to acknowledge that fact, as it provides us with a way into his records, which he seemed to want people to understand. For more insight on Linkous, I would recommend the short documentary film Belly of a Mountain (Part 1 | Part 2), which contains some pretty candid interviews with the man himself. Rest in peace, Mark. You will certainly be missed.
