Readers of this blog know we post music videos occasionally and discuss music. Today it is with a heavy heart that I post about the death of one of my music heroes, Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse.

Sparklehorse got their start in the 90’s with great records like
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider. In the 2k’s, Linkous released the amazing It’s a Wonderful Life and Dreamt For Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. Linkous crafted these beautiful, woodsy alternative psych folk records. They were a perfect match for our woods and waters and I often listen to Sparklehorse while traveling to our great parks and forests.

Thanks for all the great music, Mark. I really appreciate it.

I’d like to post some fantastic tracks by Sparklehorse in remembrance this special artist:

“Comfort Me”:

dreamed I was born on a mountain on the moon
Where nothing grows or ever rots
I dreamed that I had me a daughter
who was magnificent as a horse

“Sunshine”

there will come a time gigantic
waves will crush the junk that I have saved
when the moon explodes or floats away
I’ll lose the souvenirs I made
la la la

“Gold Day”

“Sea of Teeth”:

This track is off of their new 2009 masterpiece, “Embryonic”. This record fits in with a lot of what we talk about on the Wilderness Sportsman. There is a nature/technology/balance theme running throughout the record. One of the last songs is called “Watching the Planets”, which is a tribal, earthy song. Previous to that track however is “Evil”, a song about the evil we all have inside of us, and whether we choose to trigger it or not. I think the readers of this blog who enjoy rock music will really like this album, both musically and lyrically. There are numerous references to animals, nature, the galaxy, etc.

The track “Evil” was especially haunting to me as I drove through the west, witnessing the dead coyotes hanging from the ranch fences and the numerous roadkill all over the highways. I looked up at the rural sprawl that pushes ever closer to the mountain sides,and the encroaching light pollution. I saw one of my favorite meadows which was once an amazing place to see moose now being drained and evened for a trophy home. I saw no moose that trip even though it was the rut. They had gone.

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips wrote “Evil” after hearing a story about an African village which befriended a baby hippo. This animal was the star of the village. They considered it “one of them”, and the animal provided great joy to the children. However, one summer a group of American hunters came into the village. The baby hippo enthusiastically rambled up to the hunters, and they promptly shot and killed the animal. No reason was given, just that they “got a kick out of it”.

Which person are you? Do you bring light or darkness into this world with the decisions you make?

You can listen to the song in the player below:

I wish I could go back
Go back in time
I wish I could go back
Back in time

Oh, I would have shown you
Those people are evil
And they’ll hurt you if they can
I’ll never understand
Understand

This track is from their new album “Raditude”. Great performance here:

Earle actually released a Townes Van Zandt cover album this year, called “Townes”. It’s excellent. Van Zandt was one of the finest songwriters ever, and IMHO was instrumental in the formation of alternative country, a miraculous respite form the awful garbage nu-country that plagues the airwaves. Notice how Letterman pauses the introduction to give tribute to Townes. Very cool, and an outstanding performance by Earle. Enjoy below in HD:

The Flaming Lips performing “Watching the Planets” on Conan the other night. Their new album “Embryonic” just came out yesterday and it’s outstanding. Lots of lyrics about space and nature. Very powerful record. Check it out if you can.

Strange stuff, but quite good. Check it out.

Nothing like the great Flaming Lips to start the weekend. This is from the Chicago Pitchfork Festival July 19th. Watch them perform “She don’t Use Jelly” and “Do You Realize?”:

Let it Be (a fitting music track for roadless areas, eh?):