Sparklehorse

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Sparklehorse
Background information
Origin	Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Genres	Lo-fi, indie rock, alternative country, alternative rock, experimental
Years active	1995–2010
Labels	EMI (Capitol, Parlophone, Odeon, Astralwerks) Slow River Devil in the Woods
Associated acts	Danger Mouse Sol Seppy David Lynch Angela Faye Martin David Lowery Cracker Christian Fennesz
Website	sparklehorse.com
Past members	Mark Linkous Scott Minor Scott Fitzsimmons Johnny Hott Paul Watson

Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. Sparklehorse was active from 1995 until Linkous' 2010 death. Prior to forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands Johnson Family and Salt Chunk Mary. Only one song, "Someday I Will Treat You Good," survived from these earlier bands to be played by Sparklehorse. Linkous stated that he ultimately chose Sparklehorse for a name because the two words sounded good together and it could loosely be used as a metaphor for a motorcycle. At its inception, members of Sparklehorse included Paul Watson (banjo, cornet, lap steel and electric guitar), Scott Minor (drums, chord organ, banjo), Johnny Hott (Wurlitzer organ, percussion, backing vocals), and Scott Fitzsimmons (standup bass).

History[]

Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995), produced by Cracker frontman David Lowery (musician) who is credited as "David Charles" on the record, was a modest college radio success. In 1996, while touring Europe with Radiohead shortly after the album's release, Mark Linkous consumed a combination of anti-depressants, valium, alcohol, and heroin in a London hotel room.^[1] Unconscious and with his legs pinned beneath him for almost fourteen hours, the resulting potassium build-up caused his heart to stop for several minutes after his body was lifted up. The ensuing surgery almost caused him to lose the use of both legs and as a result he needed to use a wheelchair for six months and he required dialysis for acute kidney failure.

Good Morning Spider (1998) was recorded following this incident. Critics^[2] have conjectured that Linkous's brush with death inspired the sombre tone of the album, though Linkous stated that much of the material on GMS had already been written. One song that did result from it is "St. Mary", which is dedicated to the nurses at the eponymous hospital in Paddington where Linkous recuperated.

In 1999 Sparklehorse performed at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.^[3] 2001 saw the release of It's a Wonderful Life, featuring appearances by Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Bob Rupe, Nina Persson and Dave Fridmann.^[4] Whereas much of Vivadixie... and Spider were recorded solely by Linkous on his Virginia farm, the new album was a more collaborative work. Linkous expressed his satisfaction with the overall sound of It's a Wonderful Life, which was engineered by Joel Hamilton, while also claiming that he would have preferred to include more experimental and instrumental material.^[5]

On September 25, 2006, Sparklehorse released their fourth album, Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, collaborating with Danger Mouse, Christian Fennesz, and Steven Drozd. This album featured the radio release "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" and a remastered version of "Shade And Honey", which Linkous originally wrote for Alessandro Nivola to sing in the 2003 movie Laurel Canyon, as well as a virtually unchanged re-release of "Morning Hollow," the bonus track from It's a Wonderful Life.

In 2008, Sparklehorse recorded a cover of the song "Jack's Obsession," from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas for the official compilation album Nightmare Revisited.

In 2009, Sparklehorse teamed up with Danger Mouse and David Lynch in the project Dark Night of the Soul. Corliss et al. (2010) describe Dark Night of the Soul as “spooky, beautiful, (and)… bittersweet…considering Linkous’ untimely death.”^[6]

In 2009, Linkous teamed up with electronic ambient-music artist Christian Fennesz to create In the Fishtank 15, a wafting album EP of experimentation and dreamy atmospherics. The last four live shows, Linkous did together with Fennesz during a European tour that was held during October 2009.

Linkous committed suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 6, 2010.^[7]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

• Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (August 1995, UK No. 58)
• Good Morning Spider (October 1998, UK No. 30)
• It's a Wonderful Life (June 2001, UK No. 49)
• Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (September 25, 2006, US Heatseekers No. 11, UK No. 60)^[8]
• Dark Night of the Soul (with Danger Mouse) (2010, UK No. 32)

EPs[]

• Chords I've Known EP (CD, April 1996)
• Distorted Ghost EP (CD, July 2000)
• In the Fishtank 15 EP (with Fennesz – September 2009)

Compilations[]

• Chest Full of Dying Hawks ('95–'01) (U.S. promo) (2001)
• "Stained Glass Tears ('95–'06)" (CD, Promo, Comp) (Capitol Records, 2006)

Singles[]

• "Spirit Ditch" / "Waiting for Nothing" (7", 1995, US)
• "Hammering the Cramps" / "Too Late" (7", 1995, US)
• "Someday I Will Treat You Good" / "Rainmaker" (7", February 1996, US Modern Rock No. 35^[9])
• "Someday I Will Treat You Good" / "London" / "In The Dry" (7" & CD, February 1996, UK)
• "Hammering the Cramps" / "Spirit Ditch" / "Dead Opera Star" / "Midget In A Junkyard" (7" & CD, April 1996)
• "Rainmaker" / "I Almost Lost My Mind" / "Intermission" / "Homecoming Queen (Live On KCRW)" / "Gasoline Horseys (Live On KCRW)" (7" & 2x CDs, August 1996, UK No. 61)
• "Come On In" / "Blind Rabbit Choir" (7", February 1998, US)
• "Maria's Little Elbows" / "Painbirds" / "Wish You Were Here" (with Thom Yorke) (Pink Floyd cover) / "Haint" (CD, July 1998)
• "Sick of Goodbyes" / "Good Morning Spider (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)" (7", October 1998, UK No. 57)
• "Sick of Goodbyes" / "Happy Place" / "Happy Pig (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session)" / "Shot A Dog" / "Gasoline Horseys (Live)" (2x CDs, October 1998, UK No. 57)
• "Gold Day" / "Heloise" / "Devil's New" / Maxine" (CD, July 2001)
• "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" / "Ghost In The Sky" / "Knives of Summertime" (CD, 4 September 2006)
• "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" / "Galveston" (Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell cover) (7", 4 September 2006)
• "Ghost in the Sky" / "Marigold" (7", 11 September 2006)
• "Knives of Summertime" / "Caroline" (7", 18 September 2006, US)

Various artists compilations[]

• "Heart of Darkness" on "Dear Charlottesville" (1995)
• "Heart of Darkness" on "Cowpunks" (1996)
• "Sad & Beautiful World" on "Boys Soundtrack" (1996)
• "West of Rome" (Vic Chesnutt cover) on "Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation" (1996)
• "Hammering The Cramps" on "Chicago Cab Soundtrack" (1996)
• "Sad & Beautiful World" on "Dreamworld: Essential Late Night Listening" (2000)
• "Galveston" (Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell cover) on "New Sounds Of The Old West Volume Three" (2001)
• "Shade And Honey" on "Devil In The Woods Magazine 3.3" (2001)
• "It's A Wonderful Life" on "Laurel Canyon Soundtrack" (2003)
• "Go" (with The Flaming Lips) (Daniel Johnston cover) on "The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered" (2004)
• "Wish You Were Here" (with Thom Yorke) (Pink Floyd cover) on "Lords of Dogtown: Music from the Motion Picture" (2005)
• "Dark as a Dungeon" (Merle Travis/Johnny Cash cover) on "Cash Covered" (MOJO Magazine Tribute CD to Johnny Cash) (2006)
• "Jack's Obsession" (Danny Elfman cover) on "Nightmare Revisited" (2008)

Guest appearances on Cracker tracks[]

• "Eyes of Mary" on "Garage D'Or" (2000)
• "Rainy Days and Mondays" (The Carpenters cover) on "Garage D'Or" (2000)

Filmography[]

• Southern Man: Sparklehorse (1998, VPRO, 50mins)^[10]
• This is Sparklehorse (2019, Seven & Seven, 90mins)^[11]

Legacy[]

In March 2020, Spin magazine stated that Linkous was more respected by his peers, such as PJ Harvey, Nina Persson and Tom Waits, than recognized by the record-buying public.^[12]

References[]

External links[]

• Sparklehorse.com (official site)
• Sparklehorse MySpace (official)
• Sparklehose Fansite
• Mark Linkous is Sparklehorse – 1998 documentary, part of VPRO's series Lola Da Musica.
• The Sad and Beautiful world of Sparklehorse – feature length music documentary.