Sparklehorse - Good morning spider

When I started this blog I pledged to commemorate the anniversary of the death of two of my favorite artists.....and then promptly missed both dates.

Mark Linkous committed suicide March 6 2010 - and it was at least a week later that I realised, with great annoyance and regret, that I'd missed the anniversary of that date.

So you'd think I would've been prepared for May 6, which marked the fifth anniversary of the death of Grant McLennan, who passed away in his sleep on that date in 2006. But no! Although I missed this date, at least I have published some of his material previously.

Since I can't see this blog lasting until the end of this month, let alone March next year, the time for a Linkous post, or more precisely, a post on Linkous' band, Sparklehorse, has arrived......only for another dilemma.....which of the equally great four albums do I post?

I've elected to post the second album, Good Morning Spider, for two reasons - it's the album I feel most personally connected to, and due to the circumstances surrounding it's genesis. Being a slack motherfucker (a gratuitous Superchunk plug*), I'll quote from Wikpedia:

"Linkous overdosed on a combination of anti-depressants, valium, alcohol, and heroin in a London hotel room. 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 left him wheelchair-bound for six months."

The opening three tracks emphasise what I love about this band. Pig is frantic punk rock. Painbirds is mellow, mid-tempo pop, while Saint Mary is an achingly beautiful track featuring just vocals and acoustic guitar. More diversity and great songwriting in three songs than most bands manage in a career!

Other highlights include the uptempo pop of Sick of Goodbyes,  Hey, Joe (unfortunately not a cover of the Hendrix classic - now that would have been something!), featuring just acoustic guitar, piano and vocals, the driving Chaos of the Galaxy/Happy Man, cloaked in radio static for the first 2 minutes, and the lazy and summery Sunshine.



Sparklehorse - 1998 - Good morning spider

1. Pig
2. Painbird
3. Saint Mary
4. Good Morning Spider
5. Sick of Goodbyes
6. Box of Stars, Pt. 1
7. Sunshine
8. Chaos of the Galaxy/Happy Man
9. Hey, Joe
10. Come on In
11. Maria's Little Elbows
12. Cruel Sun
13. All Night Home
14. Ghost of His Smile
15. Hundreds of Sparrows
16. Box of Stars, Pt. 2
17. Junebug

FLAC: Pt1, Pt2, Pt3, Pt4
MP3

* Yes, I know I've used the Superchunk reference before, which just goes to emphasise that it's the truth!