Over the weekend, singer-songwriter Mark Linkous, the mastermind of Sparklehorse (whom we profiled more than a decade ago), reportedly took his own life. He was most famous for his success with his own band, but he most recently worked with Danger Mouse and filmmaker David Lynch on Dark Night of the Soul, a collaboration album with various musicians and artists that was recently given the okay for print by EMI. In honor of his work we've chosen some of our favorites from his work (forewarning, many of these are fan-made videos).
5. "Wish You Were Here" Cover
"Wish You Were Here" was one of our favorite cover songs of the decade and it's one of the best examples of what made Sparklehorse great. It's the type of cover that does everything right, it links back with the original while still offering its own interpretation.
4. "Piano Fire"
This is one of the finest examples of a solid, rocking Sparklehorse song. While he mistepped often enough in his action-oriented tracks, "Piano Fire" manages to capture the noisy spaced-outness that defines Sparklehorse while still making the listener bob their head.
3. "Heart of Darkness"
Short, sweet and ambling. With songs, movies and everything else seeming hell-bent on attaching itself to the word "epic," sometimes a minute and half song is all you really need to prove your point.
2. "Homecoming Queen"
Soft and quiet, it's not wonder this is many fan's favorite track. Sparklehorse had a great sense of pacing in many of his songs and the amount of restraint shown in "Homecoming Queen" really exemplifies this, it feels ready to burst at any moment, but never does.
1. "It's A Wonderful Life"
One of Sparklehorse's greatest achievements was capturing the sensibility of children's lullabies without directly ripping them off. "It's A Wonderful Life" is an excellent example of this, with a lulling melody and child-like quality it captures the inner, slightly depressed child in all of us.
